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A review by savaging
Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore
4.0
This book is written by the little brother of Gary Gilmore. It's about the background and aftermath of Gary's double homicide and his execution by firing squad in the 70s. But it is the opposite of a 'true-crime' book.
This is a slow and soulful book. It's about abuse, and how parents can mutilate the minds of their children. But it's also about the shadow-side of all those good-decent families in Happy Valley, Utah. The book goes deep, without wrapping anything up into reassuring answers.
One of the most powerful features of this book is how it honors their oldest brother, Frank. Frank lives through the worst and remains decent and caring, dedicating his life to care for the family members who continue to be cruel to him. Mikal redirects some of our attention away from the spectacular evil of Gary and toward the unappreciated goodness of Frank.
Gary turned his awful history into senseless violence. Somehow Mikal Gilmore turned it into words -- words that are often beautiful and powerful. Both of them challenge my ideas of human nature, our capacity and our limits.
This is a slow and soulful book. It's about abuse, and how parents can mutilate the minds of their children. But it's also about the shadow-side of all those good-decent families in Happy Valley, Utah. The book goes deep, without wrapping anything up into reassuring answers.
One of the most powerful features of this book is how it honors their oldest brother, Frank. Frank lives through the worst and remains decent and caring, dedicating his life to care for the family members who continue to be cruel to him. Mikal redirects some of our attention away from the spectacular evil of Gary and toward the unappreciated goodness of Frank.
Gary turned his awful history into senseless violence. Somehow Mikal Gilmore turned it into words -- words that are often beautiful and powerful. Both of them challenge my ideas of human nature, our capacity and our limits.