Elizabeth R. (esjro) -
Helpful Score: 1
Wow, this book was intense!
On the surface it is a true crime book about the rape and murder of a woman in Seattle. But it really tells the story of three people (two victims and the murderer/rapist/torturer), and how their lives came to intersect. Mostly this book is a condemnation of society's treatment of mental illness: how finding to help those who need it is continually decreased, ultimately to everyone's peril.
My only qualm with this book is that it failed to make me feel any sympathy for the perpetrator of the crimes it describes. The reader will come away hurting for his family and for his victims and his victims' families, but ultimately the crimes he commits are too horrid...... the author makes the case that in theory the perpetrator fell through the cracks and his crimes could have been prevented, but emotionally I could just not make the stretch. However, one of his victims has wished him peace, so my inability to do the same is my own failing.
While the City Slept is a must-read for anyone concerned with mental health issues.
On the surface it is a true crime book about the rape and murder of a woman in Seattle. But it really tells the story of three people (two victims and the murderer/rapist/torturer), and how their lives came to intersect. Mostly this book is a condemnation of society's treatment of mental illness: how finding to help those who need it is continually decreased, ultimately to everyone's peril.
My only qualm with this book is that it failed to make me feel any sympathy for the perpetrator of the crimes it describes. The reader will come away hurting for his family and for his victims and his victims' families, but ultimately the crimes he commits are too horrid...... the author makes the case that in theory the perpetrator fell through the cracks and his crimes could have been prevented, but emotionally I could just not make the stretch. However, one of his victims has wished him peace, so my inability to do the same is my own failing.
While the City Slept is a must-read for anyone concerned with mental health issues.
