A review by carly_reads
Penance by Eliza Clark

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


Did you listen to a podcast? Did the hosts make jokes? Do you have a dark sense of humour? Did that make it okay? Or were they sensitive about it? Did they coo in the right places? Did they give you a content warning? Did you skip ahead? Did you see pictures? Did you look for them?

From the jump it’s clear that Eliza Clark is an incredibly talented writer. The way she’s able to depict the distinct tone of every character was actually kinda freaking me out- especially when it would be a transcript of a flippant podcast or a tumblr comment. Uncanny. 

This is an unflinching look at the ethics of the way we talk about true crime cases and victims as well as how we talk to the people around them. Furthermore, it asks us to consider journalistic integrity and accuracy/objectivity. Who has the right to tell the story? When talking about true crime, it feels like people forget that these are real people whose real lives have been turned upside down and the line between the curiosity we feel and being invasive is thin. 

Overarching topics/themes/points of interests: toxic internet culture, toxic friendships, ethics of true crime, men telling women’s stories, fandoms, and more.

Expanding on ways that toxic internet culture is depicted: online bullying and mental health implications, the disconnect between online personas and how people are perceived in real life, and what happens when an online persona is outed in an insular setting like high school. “Tumblr did ‘cancel culture’ before cancel culture was a thing.” Also something I couldn’t stop thinking about was the casual way people tend to talk about horrific things online and even subsequent romanization. Quotes like “entry level serial killers” and the idea of “flower crowns on mass shooters” stood out to me and reminded me of the AHS edits of Tate in the skeleton makeup I’d see when I was younger. 

Something to note: the narrator insists he passes no judgement on anyone who was involved but seems to play with the question of whether Joni’s murder was justified.  Maybe that was just me. The decision to have a male narrator talking about high school girls was also particularly impactful to me. With the opening letting the reader know that we have an unreliable narrator, it really colors the way he dramatizes the information into prose and dialogue. 

I’ve never read a true crime book before but I imagine this is how it would be (although this is obviously fiction). I did get ever so slightly bored at times, but everything adds up to play a role in the bigger picture. I do wish that I understood more about the Brexit implications, but that’s a me thing, not the author. I’ll probably think about this book for the rest of my life. 
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