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A review by thelifeofkim19
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
3.0
I should start this review by saying that I don't normally read non-fiction... I find it quite difficult to keep up with a bombardment of facts without writing them down as I go along. This, obviously, isn't conducive to reading on the go or in bed, which is coincidentally how I do pretty much all of my reading.
However, I was SO pleasantly surprised by TFOAB. I read this as I had seen plenty of rave reviews about it and thought, as the national public librarian, I probably should at least try to give it a go, as it seemed like one of those 'You Must Read Before You Die' type of books. I was NOT disappointed.
This book is written in such a flowing narrative style, and is so utterly absorbing that I found myself looking for any available moment to fit in some more, even if it was just a few pages.
Alexandria's own story is cleverly and believably interwoven with her research and retelling of the murder of Jeremy Guillory. Both stories are heartbreaking and sorrowfully convoluted. More often than not, 'stories' are nicely wrapped up, as the reader is clearly directed towards someone to 'blame'. However, with TFOAB I was left feeling a little uneasy, as there is no clear perpetrator of the blame. The example of the law of proximate cause in the prologue is 100% fitting, and if you keep that in mind throughout the reading of this book, you might be able to rationalise this feeling of uneasiness.
I cannot recommend this book enough, whether you enjoy learning or reading about law, well-written memoirs, tales of human adversity and survival, or simply a good old mystery.
However, I was SO pleasantly surprised by TFOAB. I read this as I had seen plenty of rave reviews about it and thought, as the national public librarian, I probably should at least try to give it a go, as it seemed like one of those 'You Must Read Before You Die' type of books. I was NOT disappointed.
This book is written in such a flowing narrative style, and is so utterly absorbing that I found myself looking for any available moment to fit in some more, even if it was just a few pages.
Alexandria's own story is cleverly and believably interwoven with her research and retelling of the murder of Jeremy Guillory. Both stories are heartbreaking and sorrowfully convoluted. More often than not, 'stories' are nicely wrapped up, as the reader is clearly directed towards someone to 'blame'. However, with TFOAB I was left feeling a little uneasy, as there is no clear perpetrator of the blame. The example of the law of proximate cause in the prologue is 100% fitting, and if you keep that in mind throughout the reading of this book, you might be able to rationalise this feeling of uneasiness.
I cannot recommend this book enough, whether you enjoy learning or reading about law, well-written memoirs, tales of human adversity and survival, or simply a good old mystery.