Notes on an Execution

“Violence always left a fingerprint”

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book, I had seen it on display at my local wtaerstones and was intrigued. Now that I've finished, it has left me with a sort of empty feeling.

I am not a huge fan of books which jump time lines, I find it hard to keep up with and this book was the same. It wasn't until right at the end that I understood who everyone was - maybe that was intentional but it wasn't my cup of tea.

The ending was not satisfactory, but it was written not with that intention. It did fit well with the idea of the book, but that did not make it enjoyable.

read for buzzwordathon july 2022: book related words

i enjoyed the messages and themes throughout this story a lot but i don't think that literary books in this way are necessarily for me. i found the book slightly boring and that some perspectives dragged/had little relevance throughout most of the story. i still had a good time reading it and thought the messages were so interesting but i think it was better in concept than execution. 

This book was beautifully written. The characters felt so real and my heart broke with them. The middle bits felt a little slow, and my favorite perspective was definitely Lavender's. Her first entry in the book had me absolutely bawling so much I had to set the book down. I found myself speeding through the detective pov, except her first entry, it just wasn't my favorite. The very few pages also had me sobbing. It was such a wonderful choice to see what the girls Ansel killed would have been up to. This was a sad, tragic, beautiful book. 

This book is not what one would expect from the title. The execution of Ansel Parker, serial killer, does not consume the entire storyline. While it is always in the back of the reader's mind as the main anticipated event, it is not the focus of the majority of the chapters. Instead, the story of Ansel's life and crimes is revealed to us through the narratives of women who have played some role in his life or been impacted by his actions. In this manner, the book is really about people and their complicated emotions and motivations more than it is a description of an isolated execution day.

The story is told through four distinct perspectives. Throughout the book, we see Ansel Parker living his last hours before the execution, desperately hoping for escape and understanding. Through the perspective of his mother, Lavender, we learn about Ansel's childhood and abandonment. His cruelty and darkness are revealed through the narratives of Saffy, a fellow foster care child and homicide detective, and Hazel, sister of Ansel's murdered wife. Through these varied perspectives, we get a fuller picture of Ansel and his circumstances.

This book's main appeal is in the stories told be the female voices. Each woman's story adds depth to the understanding of Ansel and provokes the reader to contemplate complex topics such as nature versus nurture and the impact of the death penalty. The ideas presented lingered in my mind after finishing the book, which is a sign of successful book.

Overall, I believe this book to be well-written and highly thought-provoking. The female characters stand out and give the story its depth. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy literary fiction that explores dark topics.

Happily giving this 5 stars! Wow! So SO GOOD! The author writes persepctive so well and I think that is what kept me intrigued. She tells a story so well too, so vividly. I'm a lover a true crime so the premise was interesting for me but she also somehow made it so real sounding and hauntingly beautiful! This reminded me of a book I read in high school called Tenderness by Rober Cormier. It had touched on the main guy being a seemingly “good” guy kind of like Ansel narrative - so interesting. For me this book checks all the boxes !

This book has completely shattered me, I have NOT recovered from that ending. Even though i knew it was coming from the very start i couldn't face it, probably a true representation of what an execution is like.

The writing is punchy and an emotional rollercoaster, because it takes you through so many different facets of a killer's life. You not only get to read Ansel's POV but also the women whose lives have been ruined because of him, a detective who is solving the case and also has a personal connection to him, and his mother, who is probably the only one who has seen his true, pure form as a child. There was so much nuance to this story. 

Some parts of Saffy's story felt a bit dragged on and took me out of the story, otherwise this is a 5 star book for me.

A thousand miles away, justice is being served - but justice is supposed to feel like more. Justice is supposed to be an anchor, an answer. Justice does not feel like a compensation. It doesn't even feel like satisfaction. As Saffy takes a long breath of alpine air, she pictures the needle pressing into Ansel's arm. The blue pop of vein. How unnecessary, she thinks. How pointless. The system has failed us all.