The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial

· Sold by Graywolf Press
3.5
2 reviews
Ebook
224
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Late in 2004, Maggie Nelson was looking forward to the publication of her book Jane: A Murder, a narrative in verse about the life and death of her aunt, who had been murdered thirty-five years before. The case remained unsolved, but Jane was assumed to have been the victim of an infamous serial killer in Michigan in 1969.

Then, one November afternoon, Nelson received a call from her mother, who announced that the case had been reopened; a new suspect would be arrested and tried on the basis of a DNA match. Over the months that followed, Nelson found herself attending the trial with her mother and reflecting anew on the aura of dread and fear that hung over her family and childhood--an aura that derived not only from the terrible facts of her aunt's murder but also from her own complicated journey through sisterhood, daughterhood, and girlhood.

The Red Parts is a memoir, an account of a trial, and a provocative essay that interrogates the American obsession with violence and missing white women, and that scrupulously explores the nature of grief, justice, and empathy.

Ratings and reviews

3.5
2 reviews
A Dowling
June 8, 2019
This book left a weird California metallic edge behind it. I know it recieved major critical acclaim but in summary it left me thinking two thoughts. California contrived was the first. Like a thin film of oil on a shallow puddle. Was the second. I guess if you are into teenage angst masquerading as deep poetical thought you might like it more. I suspect that the author may have felt the same about it....
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About the author

Maggie Nelson is a poet, a critic, and the author of several nonfiction books, including The Argonauts, The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning, Bluets, and Jane: A Murder. She teaches in the School of Critical Studies at CalArts and lives in Los Angeles, California.

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