It’s a cultural obsession I’m still trying to understand, as I both participate in and attempt to defy it. What are some of the ways that perpetrator- and violence-focused narratives might perpetuate harm? Was there a particular story or cultural touchpoint that influenced your thinking on this? We love serial killers. “There are so many movies and podcasts and documentaries out there that focus solely on perpetrator, the evil madman and his depraved psychology-the longer we look at him, the more interesting he seems to become.” I began to wonder about the human nuances running beneath these stories, the darker and more pervasive questions about good and evil, justice and truth, which the well-worn plot arc tends to skim over. These shows generally offer a fairly reductive (if addictive!) narrative structure: the body is found, the detectives catch the killer, justice is served. I consumed so much of this content over so many years, the larger questions of this novel began to percolate very naturally. What were some of the cultural influences behind Notes on an Execution ? Did you want to counter the many serial killer narratives we see in true crime and crime fiction? I grew up watching network crime television- Criminal Minds, CSI Miami, and Law & Order SVU are still some of my favorites. Kukafka told us about the haunting themes and dark questions that shaped the novel. Told in the second person and read in alternating sections by performers Mozhan Marnò and Jim Meskim, the novel’s structure succeeds in fleshing out the true toll of the murders while capturing the humanity of those at its center. Though it opens on death row in a Texas prison, where serial killer Ansel Packer awaits his fate, the story quickly unfolds to dwell on the inner lives of others in the crime's orbit, from the killer’s mother to the determined police investigator intent on justice for the victims. Novelist Danya Kukafka, whose first book Girl in Snow explored the intricate effects of a girl’s mysterious death on her community, is digging even deeper with her newest thriller, Notes on an Execution.
Over the past few years, more crime writers are pushing back on this tradition. In crime stories, both real and fictional, the perpetrators of violence receive outsize attention, while victims are more regularly relegated to the background, playing a supporting role in what's often treated as the killer’s story.
0 kommentar(er)
