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beckymmoe 's review for:
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer
I read this one years ago--apparently before I was on Goodreads--so I can just go by what I still remember now here.
1) This is, definitely, a compelling true crime story. But...
2) ...Krakauer, as per usual, veers away from his main story with numerous *other* story tangents way too often (sure! Give us background of the Mormon religion. But perhaps we don't need quite so much in-depth detail here? It wasn't as bad as in [b:Into the Wild|1845|Into the Wild|Jon Krakauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634587789l/1845._SY75_.jpg|3284484], but it was close). And also...
3) ...the origins of Mormonism? Just whoa. I guess all religions' origins sound pretty out there when you really look into them, but maybe we're just too close to this one timewise for it to really seem realistic? Add in the "fundamental" portion and just...wow.
So. I guess I would have liked this one better if it focused more on the crime itself, giving us the religious background information in the background instead of frequently treating it as the main focus. I like Krakauer; his writing is interesting, but I just wish he could pick a story and stick with it all the way through. Yes, it kept me turning the pages, but some of those pages were turning more so I could finally get back to the main story, not because what was actually written on them was particularly compelling.
Rating: 3 stars / C+
Print book borrowed from the library.
ETA: re-read (July 2022) comments:
Original thoughts still stand, for the most part. Way too much straying off of the original stated topic. Yes, we need some LDS history and FDLS background to understand why Ron and Dan would be motivated to commit the crime. However, we do not need NEARLY as much as Krakauer gives us here. All of the child bride stories, for example--interesting, but not really relevant to the stated purpose of the book (though it was gratifying to realize that I'd seen later information for some of them--especially Ruby Jessop, who at the time of publication had "disappeared" into Warren Jeff's group but has since managed to permanently escape with her kids and was featured on Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey). I still feel like a lot of what the author put in the book was put there for titillation purposes more than anything else, and that bothers me.
Honestly, I'm amazed that the miniseries based on the book managed to have as much of a story as it did, given the source material. I 100% understand why they needed to add in the detectives as characters, because there really isn't a whole lot of "detecting" happening in this so-called true crime book.
I'm also amazed at how much about LDS and FDLS I'd forgotten from my first read through. Makes me almost wish I hadn't done a re-read after all...
Rating: still 3 stars / C+
Listened to audiobook from Audible.
1) This is, definitely, a compelling true crime story. But...
2) ...Krakauer, as per usual, veers away from his main story with numerous *other* story tangents way too often (sure! Give us background of the Mormon religion. But perhaps we don't need quite so much in-depth detail here? It wasn't as bad as in [b:Into the Wild|1845|Into the Wild|Jon Krakauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634587789l/1845._SY75_.jpg|3284484], but it was close). And also...
3) ...the origins of Mormonism? Just whoa. I guess all religions' origins sound pretty out there when you really look into them, but maybe we're just too close to this one timewise for it to really seem realistic? Add in the "fundamental" portion and just...wow.
So. I guess I would have liked this one better if it focused more on the crime itself, giving us the religious background information in the background instead of frequently treating it as the main focus. I like Krakauer; his writing is interesting, but I just wish he could pick a story and stick with it all the way through. Yes, it kept me turning the pages, but some of those pages were turning more so I could finally get back to the main story, not because what was actually written on them was particularly compelling.
Rating: 3 stars / C+
Print book borrowed from the library.
ETA: re-read (July 2022) comments:
Original thoughts still stand, for the most part. Way too much straying off of the original stated topic. Yes, we need some LDS history and FDLS background to understand why Ron and Dan would be motivated to commit the crime. However, we do not need NEARLY as much as Krakauer gives us here. All of the child bride stories, for example--interesting, but not really relevant to the stated purpose of the book (though it was gratifying to realize that I'd seen later information for some of them--especially Ruby Jessop, who at the time of publication had "disappeared" into Warren Jeff's group but has since managed to permanently escape with her kids and was featured on Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey). I still feel like a lot of what the author put in the book was put there for titillation purposes more than anything else, and that bothers me.
Honestly, I'm amazed that the miniseries based on the book managed to have as much of a story as it did, given the source material. I 100% understand why they needed to add in the detectives as characters, because there really isn't a whole lot of "detecting" happening in this so-called true crime book.
I'm also amazed at how much about LDS and FDLS I'd forgotten from my first read through. Makes me almost wish I hadn't done a re-read after all...
Rating: still 3 stars / C+
Listened to audiobook from Audible.