Scan barcode
A review by potaithlin
The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen by Kris Kneen
2.0
The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen by Krissy Kneen really intrigued me by the description. Family history is something that always intrigues me. I have not read Kneen’s previous work, Affection, but I do not think it is necessary as Kneen goes over the essentials in this book anyway. The book is divided into three parts, each representing a different journey for both Krissy and Lotty, spiritually and geographically; starting in Australia, travelling to Slovenia, and then ending in Egypt. I felt like this was a book that was necessary for Krissy Kneen to write as a process of grief and it is a deeply personal story to her. As much as I loved the storytelling, the language, the descriptions and the myths in the first part of the book, the other two parts really declined.
Part one of The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen held a lot of vivid imagery and many interesting aspects of storytelling, especially concerning fairytales and how such stories had such a deep impact on Krissy’s family life. Kneen describes how it was like growing up mostly around females (her grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister) with small mentions of her father and grandfather. Lotty Kneen was seen as a strict and protecting matriarchal figure, keeping everyone in her family protected and isolated from the world in a remote part of Australia. I wish Kneen had gone deeper into her family life here, as I feel like the information we were given was vague and the same elements were repeated. Similarly, I had hoped to learn more information with the male figures of the family and what had happened to them, how their presence impacted the household, but their presence was only mentioned in passing, and we never found out why Lotty Kneen wanted to avoid men for herself and her family. The Slovenian myths were extremely interesting and sprinkled throughout the book, adding a few more details every time they were mentioned, I also liked how Kneen speculated how her previous relatives must have lived in the past in a story-like manner. Kneen places a lot of attention on biology of the cells and the atoms that compose us; which I felt was unnecessary, if not a repeated theme that did not add much to the story.
From part two onwards, in which Krissy Kneen herself embarks on a journey of self-discovery, the writing style drastically changes and it feels as if I was reading someone’s travel blog, with a few findings of her family history and line sprinkled throughout. I appreciate that this was also about Krissy as much as it was about Lotty, however, many of the comments of her travels I saw as unnecessary as they were thoughts on how well they had travelled or how the places made her feel. When Kneen does find anecdotes relating to her family, it feels as if it was information that she had already gathered. I did find it amazing however the luck that Kneen had in finding people that knew of or were actual blood relatives to her, and how they could expand on the mysterious family tree, but no new information about Lotty’s mysterious past was actually revealed.
I did appreciate and found interesting the forgotten history of the Aleksandrinkes, Slovenian women who had to leave their country and families to be nannies for Egyptian women, specifically in Alexandria, to send money back to their families. The history of these women are rarely talked about, and it is interesting how they were painted in a negative way by those back in their homelands as they were seen to ‘abandon’ their families, when these women were the ones supporting their families. With this in mind, we find that Kneen’s great-grandmother was an Aleksandrike, who was able to bring her children to Egypt with her. However, we never find out anything about their personal story and how Lotty Kneen spent her formative years there, and why she never wanted to return or if she had any bad encounters.
I’m disappointed because the first part of this book started out extremely strong, only to fall afterwards and never get back up. Once Kneen spreads the last few ashes of her grandmother in Egypt, she does not conclude on how this journey of self-discovery has made her feel, this being strange as this was the whole reason she went. It does not end on any reflective thoughts or changed views of her grandmother, maybe because in the end we still never really knew who Lotty Kneen was.
I would recommend this book for people who share a similar history with Kneen about trying to connect pieces of their mysterious family members, or if someone is interested in the Aleksandrinke movement. Also to note, the pacing of the book can jump from the past, present, and to some small stories and myths, but I think this was done well and was not confusing. Yet I would only recommend part one as it was the most enjoyable and beautifully written part of this book.
Part one of The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen held a lot of vivid imagery and many interesting aspects of storytelling, especially concerning fairytales and how such stories had such a deep impact on Krissy’s family life. Kneen describes how it was like growing up mostly around females (her grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister) with small mentions of her father and grandfather. Lotty Kneen was seen as a strict and protecting matriarchal figure, keeping everyone in her family protected and isolated from the world in a remote part of Australia. I wish Kneen had gone deeper into her family life here, as I feel like the information we were given was vague and the same elements were repeated. Similarly, I had hoped to learn more information with the male figures of the family and what had happened to them, how their presence impacted the household, but their presence was only mentioned in passing, and we never found out why Lotty Kneen wanted to avoid men for herself and her family. The Slovenian myths were extremely interesting and sprinkled throughout the book, adding a few more details every time they were mentioned, I also liked how Kneen speculated how her previous relatives must have lived in the past in a story-like manner. Kneen places a lot of attention on biology of the cells and the atoms that compose us; which I felt was unnecessary, if not a repeated theme that did not add much to the story.
From part two onwards, in which Krissy Kneen herself embarks on a journey of self-discovery, the writing style drastically changes and it feels as if I was reading someone’s travel blog, with a few findings of her family history and line sprinkled throughout. I appreciate that this was also about Krissy as much as it was about Lotty, however, many of the comments of her travels I saw as unnecessary as they were thoughts on how well they had travelled or how the places made her feel. When Kneen does find anecdotes relating to her family, it feels as if it was information that she had already gathered. I did find it amazing however the luck that Kneen had in finding people that knew of or were actual blood relatives to her, and how they could expand on the mysterious family tree, but no new information about Lotty’s mysterious past was actually revealed.
I did appreciate and found interesting the forgotten history of the Aleksandrinkes, Slovenian women who had to leave their country and families to be nannies for Egyptian women, specifically in Alexandria, to send money back to their families. The history of these women are rarely talked about, and it is interesting how they were painted in a negative way by those back in their homelands as they were seen to ‘abandon’ their families, when these women were the ones supporting their families. With this in mind, we find that Kneen’s great-grandmother was an Aleksandrike, who was able to bring her children to Egypt with her. However, we never find out anything about their personal story and how Lotty Kneen spent her formative years there, and why she never wanted to return or if she had any bad encounters.
I’m disappointed because the first part of this book started out extremely strong, only to fall afterwards and never get back up. Once Kneen spreads the last few ashes of her grandmother in Egypt, she does not conclude on how this journey of self-discovery has made her feel, this being strange as this was the whole reason she went. It does not end on any reflective thoughts or changed views of her grandmother, maybe because in the end we still never really knew who Lotty Kneen was.
I would recommend this book for people who share a similar history with Kneen about trying to connect pieces of their mysterious family members, or if someone is interested in the Aleksandrinke movement. Also to note, the pacing of the book can jump from the past, present, and to some small stories and myths, but I think this was done well and was not confusing. Yet I would only recommend part one as it was the most enjoyable and beautifully written part of this book.