Scan barcode
A review by jennifermreads
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Em’s sister was raped outside a frat party. When a jury finds the rapist guilty, Em is relieved: she is the one that advocated for her sister to go to the hospital, to press charges, to find the strength to testify. And, throughout the trial, Em wrote and published profiles of other rape survivors, helping their voices be heard. But, the judge opts for a sentence of no prison time. Em and her family are thrown into a tailspin and Em struggles to find a way to move forward. Do words matter? Why should Em follow her journalistic passion when it didn’t result in what she had hoped?
What happens after the verdict? There are many stories about rape and rape survivors. But this was the first I read that seemed to center on (1) after the verdict, and (2) a family member of the rape survivor. Having had a passion for journalism when I was in high school, it was interesting to read how Em used her words throughout her sister’s rapist’s trial and how, after the verdict, she felt abandoned by the field she loved. I enjoyed Em’s approach to using a historical figure to try to come to terms with a violent event. I would have read an entire novel just about Marguerite de Bressieux. I was fascinated with the creation of her story and really wish Joy McCullough’s author’s note had said a bit more about the fact vs. fiction of that part of the tale.
However, I felt like the historical parts of the novel led me away from Em’s story; I felt like I was reading two novels pushed together into one. On their own, each story had strength and interest. Together, I found my emotions and attention jumping too much to be 100% invested in either tale. But this feeling of being torn between two narratives did not detract from my overall reaction nor the emotional punch.
Em’s sister was raped outside a frat party. When a jury finds the rapist guilty, Em is relieved: she is the one that advocated for her sister to go to the hospital, to press charges, to find the strength to testify. And, throughout the trial, Em wrote and published profiles of other rape survivors, helping their voices be heard. But, the judge opts for a sentence of no prison time. Em and her family are thrown into a tailspin and Em struggles to find a way to move forward. Do words matter? Why should Em follow her journalistic passion when it didn’t result in what she had hoped?
What happens after the verdict? There are many stories about rape and rape survivors. But this was the first I read that seemed to center on (1) after the verdict, and (2) a family member of the rape survivor. Having had a passion for journalism when I was in high school, it was interesting to read how Em used her words throughout her sister’s rapist’s trial and how, after the verdict, she felt abandoned by the field she loved. I enjoyed Em’s approach to using a historical figure to try to come to terms with a violent event. I would have read an entire novel just about Marguerite de Bressieux. I was fascinated with the creation of her story and really wish Joy McCullough’s author’s note had said a bit more about the fact vs. fiction of that part of the tale.
However, I felt like the historical parts of the novel led me away from Em’s story; I felt like I was reading two novels pushed together into one. On their own, each story had strength and interest. Together, I found my emotions and attention jumping too much to be 100% invested in either tale. But this feeling of being torn between two narratives did not detract from my overall reaction nor the emotional punch.