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Liked It “once again re kathryn harrison, wow! parricide, the killing of a family member, seems to usually have a reason. this kid killed a monster in his father. no sympathy there. |
Didn’t Like It “Okay, I admit it, I chose to read this book knowing that it would be sensational and that the author is pathalogically incapable of being impartial. That said, I still didn't like it much. Harrison tells the story of a family murdered by their teenage son - the only survivor is the youngest...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“It wasn't a favorite. I would much rather hear this story told from the point of view of Jody or Billy.”
Gayan H wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Okay, I admit it, I chose to read this book knowing that it would be sensational and that the author is pathalogically incapable of being impartial. That said, I still didn't like it much. Harrison tells the story of a family murdered by their teenage son - the only survivor is the youngest sister. The author interviewed the survivor and the murderer - but she couldn't stop talking about the parallels to her own life and her own tragedies. I found it quite distracting, and I believe it prevented her from being able to understand and communicate the motivation behind the killings and the impact it had on the sister.”
emilysk wrote this review Monday, September 14 2009. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is the first book I've read by Kathryn Harrison, I enjoyed her writing style and her use of words. I will read more of her work.”
Kimberly S wrote this review Sunday, March 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I think it would have made for a far better book if the author had spent less time on discussing her life and problems and more time on the Gilleys.”
Bookworm wrote this review Friday, October 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is the story of an eighteen-year-old boy who killed his parents and his little sister, in the name of saving himself and his other sister from repeated parental abuse. Although the killing of the littler sister was peripheral, almost accidental, she was the sibling largely excluded from the abuse. This abuse was just on the edge of being egregious – not locked up in rooms and starved, etc, but extreme psychological abuse, and over-the-top corporal punishment.
Carol C wrote this review Thursday, September 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I like to read crime stories – not sure why, and I don’t know if I want to analyze it too closely. This book is told from two points-of-view – the surviving sister, whose life was truncated, and had to be reestablished after the event, and from the point of view of the author, who had a similar life-changing event (incest as a grown woman – not sure I want to know too much more about that, though). The author slips into reveries in the book, comparing and contrasting the sister’s experience with her own. As a crime story nut, I really wasn’t too interested in these reminisces – the fact that one’s old life would be ended by such an event seems to me obvious.
Harrison hints at, but doesn’t get to the bottom of what made the young man “do it”. Yes, abuse can force someone to such an act, but there were suggestions that there was a lot more wrong with Billy than that. The question is how the “long more wrong” came about: did the abuse make him the way he was - irresponsible, wayward – in the first place? His sister had many of the same problems, but Harrison says she was able to cope by retreating into a world of books. Billy had no such retreat.
This book kind-of meanders – suggesting this or that, talking about a interview with Billy today, who remains in prison, going back through the events. I probably didn’t like the book as much as I might have because of this quality – it was more like a memoir than a crime story.
”“once again re kathryn harrison, wow! parricide, the killing of a family member, seems to usually have a reason. this kid killed a monster in his father. no sympathy there.
connie l wrote this review Tuesday, July 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
she does a great job of relaying this story.
good read!!”
“Very hard book to read because of the subject.
SouthWestZippy wrote this review Monday, June 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Lay out is a little different than I am use to in a True Crime book but it is a good book.”
“Disturbing and riveting at the same time, this true crime account aspires to be a modern day In Cold Blood. And Kathryn Harrison comes very, very close to succeeding.”
FlorenceZimmerman wrote this review Tuesday, June 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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