The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir

Just awful.

Thankfully, I listened to “The Fact of a Body” as opposed to reading do I could make it through the entire thing. However, the narrator had a whiny delivery that didn't help things.

Why do I think this critically-acclaimed book is so awful? For one, the book claims to be about a murder and a memoir. What we actually get is a disjointed mash-up that tries very hard to force two stories together and fails at both.

Do I feel sorry that the author was abused by her Grandfather as a child and that she witnessed her sister be abused? Of course! That is truly awful. But, the entire book is about the author expecting others, including Ricky Langley, to pay for how she was abused. And about not really presenting any information, even when the author meets Ricky at the end of the book. She spends a bunch of time overdramatizing his approach, but then says nothing about their conversation. Much of the murder story is based on her imagination of what someone was thinking.

So, don't get sucked in by the hype. There are better ways to spend one's time.