Review: See What I Have Done
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Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
3 stars. This historical fiction novel focuses on a crime we all know and love: Lizzie Borden took an ax...
In See What I Have Done, we hear directly from a confused and criminal Lizzie, her well-intentioned but misguided sister, the traumatized household maid and a nefarious stranger, flashing back and forth between the morning of the murders, the days prior and the days that followed.
This is weird in that I can see why those who loved this loved it, and also why those who hated it hated it. Promising premise, but I could smell the tryhard fumes a mile away. Halfway through I texted my sister and said, "This is unusual, but the author is obsessed with vomit and other bodily fluids. I am 50% in and every character has vomited in great detail at least once. It's like a motif with no purpose other than gross shock." She clearly tried to channel Gillian Flynn, who is excellent at peppering in grotesque details without being gross, and WAY overshot. That ball flew off the court, out of the field, and into the great beyond. There's a lot of barf.
Still, there's something so fascinating about this crime and I couldn't look away. We all can't really look away from the mystery of the Borden murders - the violence of the crime, the oddball characters, the twists and turns of the investigation. I enjoyed the different approach here and appreciated the attempt to draw a new picture. The uniquely-written perspectives bring depth to the characters we pull from history and the voices are distinct, if not a little cartoonish (again with the gross details - must EVERYONE have bad breath? Must EVERYONE have something stuck in their teeth?).
I have to say, it's an impressive debut. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting take on this case. There is always more than one side to the story, and we encounter several here. The writing is solid, with a few really stand-out moments, and the structure is unusual in a good way. It’s cool in that there are perhaps no good guys or bad guys, just troubled, troubling humans. It’s very vivid.
Open only if you have a strong stomach.