Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

147 reviews

abeeni's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

3.0

Krakauer presents a narrative that contrasts the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty with the history of Mormonism itself, drawing on Mormon, non-mormon, and former mormon scholars and witnesses to events he describes. Krakauer presents a balanced view of religion as something natural to humans and even fanatics as perhaps not mental illness, but a natural extension of beliefs one is raised on. He further emphasizes the power of religion to create both kind, warm peoples - as many Mormons are - and violent fanatics. In a sense he reveals that religion is like any human creation, bound to be used for “good” or “evil”. However the organization of the text is sometimes hard to follow and I would have appreciated some sort of list of names at the beginning of the book. There are dozens of names, often from large families which isn’t Krakauer’s fault, but a reference point would have provided clarity. I would have also appreciated some sort of timeline for events, I understand the choice to jump between the Lafferty’s and Mormonism’s history, but it often made the order of events jumbled in my head. 

If you’re looking for intrigue and a more true crime focus, I’d recommend skipping the book and watching the mini-series. The series isn’t perfect in its portrayal of events, but does represent the power of faith and focus on the true crime aspect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

andmingmingtoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

This book sets itself apart from most other "true crime" by going beyond the who+what+where+when to ask why-- instead of just focusing on one tragedy, this book asks how the setting and history surrounding what happened led to it occurring.
(Also bonus points to this book for making me hyperfixate on mormonism. It's so hard to explain to my friends that I'm having a mormon phase but not in a religious way, it's in a learning about neat history way)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Incest, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, and Rape

Moderate: Confinement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism

Minor: Deportation, Homophobia, Cursing, and Alcohol

The main case in this book involves

the murder of a woman and her baby

. There's also a lot of discussion around religious fundamentalism, which includes

religiously-motivated murders and religiously-sanctioned child brides

lmsokol18's review against another edition

challenging dark informative fast-paced

5.0

Fascinating book that tells the story of the Lafferty murders and Mormon fundamentalism alongside the history of the Mormon religion. This book is enraging and devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Blood, and Child abuse

gwynian's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual violence, Stalking, Incest, Pedophilia, Body horror, Sexual assault, War, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol and Miscarriage

whitneybarr's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

jjyork's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

beachbookbabe's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Child abuse, Death, Incest, and Murder

catslippers's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

3.75

Good pacing and prose for a fascinating topic. Krakauer editorialized a little too much for my taste, both in favor of and against Mormonism and the various other faiths depicted in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, and Rape

venusianbabie's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

marypetrushko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Rape