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A review by youreawizardjerry
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
How gentle, this world. How tender, this mercy.
I was invested from page 1, genuinely, but while reading I did quickly note why others might not dig this book. Particularly because of the patience/trust you need to have in the author to weave the divisive nuances in first and then rein in the bigger picture sensitively. I think she does this. But if you aren’t a reader that likes living in that gray area for a while I wouldn't recommend it. Things happen that you won’t like, phrases you don’t agree with, expoundings that make your eyes roll, but it's part of the ride. I was cringed out at some of the opinions I had throughout whenever I learned new information that made me change my tune. I enjoyed those uncomfortable moments though. They challenged me and I appreciated that.
I'm still thinking about this days later. I enjoyed the pacing, prose (actually loved the style, easily one of my favorites), and depth added to the characters through the simplest details. Ex. The twins and their privileges as the vehicle for their willingness or their naïveté with others made so much sense.
Some people say this is a sins of the father/mother story, I felt exactly the opposite. A murder is the fault of a killer, and thats the book lol the end. We do explore these hard but necessary ideas about missed intervention, trauma, a complicated culpability. You are left with this ripple effect where the fault can be made up of many things, not equally by any means but those factors loom nonetheless. It's a story all about that space where the rippling water circles of onus intersect BUT equally if not more importantly, no shitty manifesto or "theory"🙄 or clinical breakdown will rectify the greatest evils irregardless of the why someone committed them. And thats how the people affected come through in this.
The radical love it takes us to keep going is hard, to bear witness to the ripplings around us is hard, to continually attempt to be more than the pain we've felt is hard but we do it. How do we reckon with such cruelty? vs such kindness?
We do.
I was invested from page 1, genuinely, but while reading I did quickly note why others might not dig this book. Particularly because of the patience/trust you need to have in the author to weave the divisive nuances in first and then rein in the bigger picture sensitively. I think she does this. But if you aren’t a reader that likes living in that gray area for a while I wouldn't recommend it. Things happen that you won’t like, phrases you don’t agree with, expoundings that make your eyes roll, but it's part of the ride. I was cringed out at some of the opinions I had throughout whenever I learned new information that made me change my tune. I enjoyed those uncomfortable moments though. They challenged me and I appreciated that.
I'm still thinking about this days later. I enjoyed the pacing, prose (actually loved the style, easily one of my favorites), and depth added to the characters through the simplest details. Ex. The twins and their privileges as the vehicle for their willingness or their naïveté with others made so much sense.
Some people say this is a sins of the father/mother story, I felt exactly the opposite. A murder is the fault of a killer, and thats the book lol the end. We do explore these hard but necessary ideas about missed intervention, trauma, a complicated culpability. You are left with this ripple effect where the fault can be made up of many things, not equally by any means but those factors loom nonetheless. It's a story all about that space where the rippling water circles of onus intersect BUT equally if not more importantly, no shitty manifesto or "theory"🙄 or clinical breakdown will rectify the greatest evils irregardless of the why someone committed them. And thats how the people affected come through in this.
The radical love it takes us to keep going is hard, to bear witness to the ripplings around us is hard, to continually attempt to be more than the pain we've felt is hard but we do it. How do we reckon with such cruelty? vs such kindness?
We do.
It's not perfect, the last 4th of the book dragged a bit for me and there are a lot of cliches, but I was captivated for most of it and enjoyed the journey. Excellent 🌟 5.