Notes on an execution by Danya Kukafka

Name of Book: Notes on an Execution

Author: Danya Kukafka

ISBN: 978-0-06-305273-4

Publisher: William Morrow

Type of book: countdown, prison, 1973- 2019, vignettes, women, serial killers, lives unlived, second person, chances, aches, determination, friendship, loyalty, abuse, control, choices, keepsakes, Vermont? 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

In the tradition of Long Bright River and The Mars Room, a gripping and atmospheric work of literary suspense that deconstructs the story of a serial killer on death row, told primarily through the eyes of the women in his life—from the bestselling author of Girl in Snow.

Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. He hoped it wouldn’t end like this, not for him.

Through a kaleidoscope of women—a mother, a sister, a homicide detective—we learn the story of Ansel’s life. We meet his mother, Lavender, a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation; Hazel, twin sister to Ansel’s wife, inseparable since birth, forced to watch helplessly as her sister’s relationship threatens to devour them all; and finally, Saffy, the homicide detective hot on his trail, who has devoted herself to bringing bad men to justice but struggles to see her own life clearly. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake.

Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes on an Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it simultaneously unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer, interrogating our system of justice and our cultural obsession with crime stories, asking readers to consider the false promise of looking for meaning in the psyches of violent men.

Characters:

Main characters include Ansel Packard, a serial killer who murdered four women for complex reasons of his own. Highly intelligent, Ansel is a bit of a tortured soul who has been through abuse, control as well as foster care. He is also highly logical. Saffron is a detective in present time who knew Ansel when they were children. She is single, has never been married nor had any children and is loyal to her friends. At times she strikes me as angry yet determined. Lavender is Ansels mother who has been manipulated into an abusive relationship and who has made a lot of bad decisions in her life, although she has been trying to do better. She lives in California on a commune. Hazel is Ansels sister in law who was a talented dancer but was always jealous of her twin sister. She is encouraging and uncertain of herself.  

Theme:

There is more to victims than just murder

Plot:

The story is told both in second person and third person points of view, and while it begins in prison, with Ansel Packer narrating his life, it goes back to beginning in 1970s when we meet Ansels mother Lavender who has recently had a baby and has to survive in an abusive relationship. In there the reader sees baby Ansel as he also tries grow up among abuse and control. Between each viginette we come back to Ansel in prison as time marches on. Later we meet Ansel in a foster care who is living with Saffron, a half American half Indian girl who has a crush on Ansel and way later on Hazel, Ansels wife's twin sister also discusses Ansel and the impact he had on her sister. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Danya Kukafka is the authors of the novels NOTES ON AN EXECUTION and GIRL IN SNOW. She is a graduate of New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She works as a literary agent.

Opinion:

Oh boy, where do I start? Reading it has been an emotional experience for me. At the same time, if the reader seeks to know the violence that was done to the women, then this is the wrong book. However, if one is looking for emotional impact done to survivors or those who knew the victims in some way, then one is in a right place. A lot of parts of the novel are best described as heartbreaking, but when I was reading it, I didn't realize that violence wouldn't enter into the story. ( I am really used to having violence being part of victims stories that it took me aback not seeing it here.) It's definitely literary and in some ways is reminiscent of Han Kangs Human Acts because it's asking the readers to think and to ignore the violent aspect of the women's murder.  

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)