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bookishblond 's review for:
3,096 Days
by Natascha Kampusch
This book is incredibly disturbing but fascinating psychologically. If this book endures the test of time, I'm confident it will emerge as required reading in many psychology and criminology classes.
3,096 Days is Natascha Kampusch's account of her early childhood until her 1998 abduction. The book was published only four years after her 2006 escape. Four years isn't very long at all. It's incredible to see how insightful Natascha is, and how far she's come after her escape. She rejects victimization and seems to be seizing life to make up for her eight years in captivity. Good for her. (And, yes, I realize that a ghost writer was probably involved.)
Natascha holds back on some graphic, physical details of her captivity, which I completely respect. But she still gives us enough to really capture the horror she endured: physical violence, emotional abuse and manipulation, starvation. She describes her disturbing, warped relationship with her kidnapper, but ultimately rejects the label of "Stockholm syndrome" (despite arguably providing us with a textbook example of the phenomenon--she even comforts him when he is upset that she wants to leave).
The creepy details are going to stick with me for a long time. For example, her first night in the basement prison, Natasha (who is only ten years old), asks her kidnapper for a goodnight kiss, and to be tucked in. When he grabs her and pulls her into his white van (why is it always a white van?!), she asks him his shoe size (she learned this was important from crime shows on tv) and whether he is going to molest her (also from tv) ("No, of course not, you're too young for that!"). As the years go by, the kidnapper lets Natascha upstairs to cook and clean (although always in his sight) and even lets her swim in the neighbor's pool, accompany him to at least one shop, and even a ski trip. So, so disturbing. It's incredible that she eventually musters up the resolve to run. Even when she finally escapes, the Austrian citizens she encounters don't help her. Law enforcement treats her like a criminal. It's just awful.
This book is Natascha's story. It's incredibly rare for a kidnapped child to live so long. Other cases I can think of are Jaycee Dugard and the Cincinnati Three (Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus) (definitely read their books!). I was generally familiar with Natascha's case, but after I finished the book, I just HAD to do some additional research to find out more. Who was her kidnapper? All we know from the book is his name (and that he was profoundly mentally ill). Unfortunately, there is not much information available about him online (and there won't be--he killed himself after Natascha escaped).
Overall, this is an essential piece of true crime reading. Just be warned: it is incredibly disturbing.
3,096 Days is Natascha Kampusch's account of her early childhood until her 1998 abduction. The book was published only four years after her 2006 escape. Four years isn't very long at all. It's incredible to see how insightful Natascha is, and how far she's come after her escape. She rejects victimization and seems to be seizing life to make up for her eight years in captivity. Good for her. (And, yes, I realize that a ghost writer was probably involved.)
Natascha holds back on some graphic, physical details of her captivity, which I completely respect. But she still gives us enough to really capture the horror she endured: physical violence, emotional abuse and manipulation, starvation. She describes her disturbing, warped relationship with her kidnapper, but ultimately rejects the label of "Stockholm syndrome" (despite arguably providing us with a textbook example of the phenomenon--she even comforts him when he is upset that she wants to leave).
The creepy details are going to stick with me for a long time. For example, her first night in the basement prison, Natasha (who is only ten years old), asks her kidnapper for a goodnight kiss, and to be tucked in. When he grabs her and pulls her into his white van (why is it always a white van?!), she asks him his shoe size (she learned this was important from crime shows on tv) and whether he is going to molest her (also from tv) ("No, of course not, you're too young for that!"). As the years go by, the kidnapper lets Natascha upstairs to cook and clean (although always in his sight) and even lets her swim in the neighbor's pool, accompany him to at least one shop, and even a ski trip. So, so disturbing. It's incredible that she eventually musters up the resolve to run. Even when she finally escapes, the Austrian citizens she encounters don't help her. Law enforcement treats her like a criminal. It's just awful.
This book is Natascha's story. It's incredibly rare for a kidnapped child to live so long. Other cases I can think of are Jaycee Dugard and the Cincinnati Three (Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus) (definitely read their books!). I was generally familiar with Natascha's case, but after I finished the book, I just HAD to do some additional research to find out more. Who was her kidnapper? All we know from the book is his name (and that he was profoundly mentally ill). Unfortunately, there is not much information available about him online (and there won't be--he killed himself after Natascha escaped).
Overall, this is an essential piece of true crime reading. Just be warned: it is incredibly disturbing.