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oatylime's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
4.25
Well-researched, thorough, well-written, thoughtful.
I’m docking points because it was just so dark; and I don’t blame the author for it. The subject matter itself does not lend itself to a positive spin, despite Mormons being so consistently nice.
Who knew a religion based in not questioning authority, patriarchy, lies, racism, and not being part of outside community, would be so dark??? I mean, it starts off with a horrific murder and keeps going from there to pedophilia, incest, assault, and just general abuse.
So it was a tough read for those reasons. I needed a lot of fluff in between.
I’m docking points because it was just so dark; and I don’t blame the author for it. The subject matter itself does not lend itself to a positive spin, despite Mormons being so consistently nice.
Who knew a religion based in not questioning authority, patriarchy, lies, racism, and not being part of outside community, would be so dark??? I mean, it starts off with a horrific murder and keeps going from there to pedophilia, incest, assault, and just general abuse.
So it was a tough read for those reasons. I needed a lot of fluff in between.
ailbheclaire's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
4.0
A thorough read. Deeply dark subject matter. An important book
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder