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A review by justinkhchen
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
5.0
5 stars
A heartfelt character study with an unconventional approach to storytelling, Notes on an Execution thoroughly explores the undefined zone between Good and Evil — purposefully contemplative and light on visceral thrills (it pitches itself as 'literary suspense', which is 100% accurate), this is definitely one of the more memorable reading experience of this year thus far.
Kudos to Danya Kukafka for coming up with the novel's unique narrative mechanism (especially for its subject matter); the combination of counting down to a death sentence and flashbacks of seemingly unrelated characters really had me captivated throughout the read. As the character relations starting to be revealed, they offered a decent amount of surprise, and plenty of emotional power (I can easily overlook some of its plot convenience for the overall intricacy).
Notes on an Execution manages to be both a heartfelt story about humanity and a social commentary with deliberate message; its perspective on (white male) criminal idolization in media, and his female victims (directly and indirectly) is clear, convincing, and unforced. Despite being a fictional narrative, there's a commitment to realism, and it has an overall feel of a documentary / podcast (which is quite on the nose reflecting upon one of its themes). This is simply a well thought out novel executed in spade.
A heartfelt character study with an unconventional approach to storytelling, Notes on an Execution thoroughly explores the undefined zone between Good and Evil — purposefully contemplative and light on visceral thrills (it pitches itself as 'literary suspense', which is 100% accurate), this is definitely one of the more memorable reading experience of this year thus far.
Kudos to Danya Kukafka for coming up with the novel's unique narrative mechanism (especially for its subject matter); the combination of counting down to a death sentence and flashbacks of seemingly unrelated characters really had me captivated throughout the read. As the character relations starting to be revealed, they offered a decent amount of surprise, and plenty of emotional power (I can easily overlook some of its plot convenience for the overall intricacy).
Notes on an Execution manages to be both a heartfelt story about humanity and a social commentary with deliberate message; its perspective on (white male) criminal idolization in media, and his female victims (directly and indirectly) is clear, convincing, and unforced. Despite being a fictional narrative, there's a commitment to realism, and it has an overall feel of a documentary / podcast (which is quite on the nose reflecting upon one of its themes). This is simply a well thought out novel executed in spade.