People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate Of Lucie Blackman (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I had never read a true-crime novel before and I can totally understand now why this genre is so popular; although I think this book goes beyond the calling of a normal crime novel. That's why I don't hesitate to recommend this one: it's not a serial tradeback read-and-throw-away novel, it's an deep delve into the culture behind what happened to Lucie Blackman.Every few pages I found myself thinking, and sometimes even saying out loud, "huh, I never knew that!" Parry found a way to make a case that was interesting, yet very slow-moving, pace quickly throughout his book so that you never wanted to put it down. With the style of a very experienced journalistic writer he gave you details but never made them boring, taught you something about a culture that's every nuance of the word 'foreign' to me, and kept me guessing at where this true story was headed.Although the crimes were extremely violent and sadistic, Parry handled well the delicate balance of giving the true and accurate story of brutal atrocities without neither sugarcoating nor exploiting. I don't know how he did it, but now I'm worried that when I look for my next true-crime book it's going to leave me sorely disappointed after PEOPLE WHO EAT DARKNESS. This was not quite as interesting as I wanted it to be. It's a well-written true crime book about a young woman's disappearance in Tokyo, and as much as I hate to say it, it's a pretty straightforward story. Girl gets mixed up with the wrong guy and ends up dead. The guy is a weirdo, for sure, but he is actually the least interesting part of the story. I guess I just wanted there to be a little more to it. I did learn a lot about Tokyo though, and I enjoyed that element of it a lot. Also, the chapter about the trial was way too long. Considering the trial went on for 6+ years, there's a lot to cover. But there is some interesting stuff in there about the young woman's family, and the differing process of grief for individuals, which I also very much enjoyed reading and found fascinating.
What do You think about People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate Of Lucie Blackman (2011)?
Not a very exciting book but very interesting and worth reading
—fjdksla
