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A review by maketeaa
Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences by Catherine Pelonero
dark
informative
slow-paced
4.5
an incredibly holistic look at the tragic murder of kitty genovese, stripping back the mainstream glamours pasted over the crime and giving an analytical, x-rayed depiction of the horrific details from the entire timeline of the case. pelonero begins by describing the murder as a shocking summation of details, the way in which we can imagine everyone glancing at a newspaper new of the crime. but then she takes us deeper, allows us to meet kitty genovese as everyone in her life did, see the smile she was well known for, feel the warmth of her kindness. subsequently, we learn of winston moseley and his upbringing, and, in particular, his unexpectedly reserved, quiet demeanour for someone capable of his crimes. we return to the crime, and, most importantly, the fallout of it -- how can 38 witnesses have heard what happened and not called the police? this question ties together the theme of the whole case account. explanations ranged from 'i thought they were teenagers messing around outside' to 'i didn't want to get involved' to, most concerningly and prevalently, 'i thought it was a lovers' quarrel.' important points are made about sexism and how underlying misogynistic sentiments hindered actual help being called for kitty genovese. what i found most poignant was that, while the author could have easily stopped here, given what the genovese case is most well known for, she also gives an incredibly moving and human voice to genovese's loved ones -- what struck me the most was her partner mary ann zielonko, who, in her police interview, was unnecessarily made to discuss her sex life with genovese.
this book was ALMOST five stars. but i really didn't like the last few pages which explored the recently risen statements that denounced the fact that 38 witnesses had ignored the murder. while i think there is some value in the way pelonero considers the believability of these statements, i feel like her argument of their falseness is diminished by the fact that her main point for not believing them is that it's based simply on people saying it 'wasn't possible' -- but is there any stronger evidence from the police reports that calls *did* come through? did the police themselves not literally just say 'there's no way calls could have come in early on and we wouldn't have heard it'? more should've been done to look at the efficacy of the police in new york at the time and comparisons with other cases where police officers may (or may not) have arrived at the scene any faster than they should have.
this book was ALMOST five stars. but i really didn't like the last few pages which explored the recently risen statements that denounced the fact that 38 witnesses had ignored the murder. while i think there is some value in the way pelonero considers the believability of these statements, i feel like her argument of their falseness is diminished by the fact that her main point for not believing them is that it's based simply on people saying it 'wasn't possible' -- but is there any stronger evidence from the police reports that calls *did* come through? did the police themselves not literally just say 'there's no way calls could have come in early on and we wouldn't have heard it'? more should've been done to look at the efficacy of the police in new york at the time and comparisons with other cases where police officers may (or may not) have arrived at the scene any faster than they should have.