Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

Some of the writing in this book - part memoir and part a story about an unrelated murder -- is beautiful. But the author uses a device of imagining what people saw and did, which i don't find particularly trustworthy or compelling, and there were some inconsistencies and other issues I had with this work of alleged non-fiction. The author obviously feels some connection between the murder story and events in her own life, given that she was a victim of sexual abuse as a child and the murderer in this book was a pedophile, although the evidence that the murder involved sexual abuse of the child victim is not particularly strong and there is exculpatory evidence never investigated fully. I did not find the weaving together of her story and this murder story well done. A decent read, though.… (mais)

The Fact of a Body is unlike any book that I have read before; as the subtitle suggests, it is a personal account of one woman’s life that is intertwined with the story of the ghastly murder of a child. It’s so hard to talk about it without giving away any of the specifics, but it is ultimately a story about how the pain and burdens of our past can influence our present and future.

I read several reviews of this book before I picked it up and saw it described as “painful” and “difficult.” Those words are completely accurate, in fact, I’d even consider those words soft. This was truly one of the most devastating and heartbreaking books I’ve ever read, but coincidentally one of the most beautifully written. It’s evident that Marzano-Lesnevich crafted each sentence in this book with so much respect and care, especially those regarding Jeremy Guillory. I could go on and on about it, but I cannot give this book enough praise; it’s a cross-genre masterpiece.
… (mais)

This book is actualy two stories.The murder of a young boy and the man who murdered him. the author is a lawyer and defends this man in court. Also the author details the story of her sexual abuse by her grandfather. I got a llittle confused at times , as she went back and forth between her story and the death of the young boy. i think maybe if she had divided her stories into two complete sections, rather than back and forth.it would have been less confusing to me. overall though,a sad, interesting book.… (mais)