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Alex Daniel's Reviews > Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
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All right, I'm going to be an asshole.
That's really the only way this will come off, isn't it? How can I explain that, while I believe that the subject matter is incredibly important, disturbing, and heart-wrenching, that the book itself doesn't live up to the task?
I love Jon Krakauer's work. What I love most about his writing is the way that he uses very specific narratives to talk about, and to illustrate, a much broader point. In INTO THE WILD, he wrote about one man's purposeful isolation, and how that reflects on all of our desire to similarly escape. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he wrote about two men's brutal killings, and how that reflects on fundamentalism gone dangerously awry. For MISSOULA, the objective seemed clear enough: by telling the tale of 2-3 women who were victims of sexual assault, he'd talk more broadly about how the justice system is broken.
And in some ways, Krakauer pulls this off. When he does pull back to look at society-at-large, the book works wonderfully. The information here is devastating. Krakauer is wise to pull much of his quotes from Judith Herman's excellent TRAUMA AND RECOVERY. When Krakauer talks about these issues, and how importantly they are, he does so deftly and sensitively while never losing sight of the magnitude of the problem. But I found that the individual narratives of the women were often bogged down. Most of the information about these individual stories are court proceedings, and much of our time in this book is spent with transcripts about what was said in court. I understand that this keeps the book's veracity high, but it doesn't make for great reading.
Ultimately, there is a lot to like about MISSOULA. It's scary without being sensationalist, and Krakauer's clear-eyed approach is difficult with such a sensitive topic. I hope that people read the book and are inspired to check out TRAUMA AND RECOVERY. Even if they don't, I think it'd be impossible to walk away from this without some sense of indignature towards our sexual and judicial culture.
That's really the only way this will come off, isn't it? How can I explain that, while I believe that the subject matter is incredibly important, disturbing, and heart-wrenching, that the book itself doesn't live up to the task?
I love Jon Krakauer's work. What I love most about his writing is the way that he uses very specific narratives to talk about, and to illustrate, a much broader point. In INTO THE WILD, he wrote about one man's purposeful isolation, and how that reflects on all of our desire to similarly escape. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he wrote about two men's brutal killings, and how that reflects on fundamentalism gone dangerously awry. For MISSOULA, the objective seemed clear enough: by telling the tale of 2-3 women who were victims of sexual assault, he'd talk more broadly about how the justice system is broken.
And in some ways, Krakauer pulls this off. When he does pull back to look at society-at-large, the book works wonderfully. The information here is devastating. Krakauer is wise to pull much of his quotes from Judith Herman's excellent TRAUMA AND RECOVERY. When Krakauer talks about these issues, and how importantly they are, he does so deftly and sensitively while never losing sight of the magnitude of the problem. But I found that the individual narratives of the women were often bogged down. Most of the information about these individual stories are court proceedings, and much of our time in this book is spent with transcripts about what was said in court. I understand that this keeps the book's veracity high, but it doesn't make for great reading.
Ultimately, there is a lot to like about MISSOULA. It's scary without being sensationalist, and Krakauer's clear-eyed approach is difficult with such a sensitive topic. I hope that people read the book and are inspired to check out TRAUMA AND RECOVERY. Even if they don't, I think it'd be impossible to walk away from this without some sense of indignature towards our sexual and judicial culture.
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Reading Progress
April 19, 2015
– Shelved
April 21, 2015
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Started Reading
April 30, 2015
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Finished Reading
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Ryan
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rated it 4 stars
May 03, 2015 11:58AM
Nothing asshole-y in this review. Well done.
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Agreed. Thoughtful review.
Great review.
I had exactly the same problem with this book.
Nothing assholey about your review. I don't agree with you, because I like courtroom stuff. But you certainly have a right to your opinion.
Agree it doesn't read like a novel as did Under the Banner...but, in this case (pun intended) I believe the author took the high road in using actual through boring narrative and testimony simply because the topic is far graver and the affected far greater. He's dealing with a larger, sicker segment of our population.
I think you have done a better job of encapsulating my thoughts upon completion of this work than I could. So, rather than write a review, I will simply state that I very much agree with your assessment of the book.
I liked the book, a lot, and I think it is a book many people should read, if for no other reason than it forces one to face rape myths that one may harbor themselves. But although I thought it was well-written, and you weren't crazy about it, I certainly didn't think your review was asshole-ish. At all.
I totally agree. I am a huge Krakauer fan and was a little disappointed with this book. I can see the argument that the book was written in this very blunt courtroom style to illustrate the repetition and tiresome nature of the law. Even still, it wasn't his most artful narrative...I kind of kept wanting more detail about the town and the environment but it was very bare bones. The message and the content, however, are so important and I love that this book was written. We need it.
I don't think you came off as an asshole, but I also don't agree. I found the court proceedings to be particularly enlightening as to how rape survivors are often put on trial themselves and just how easily a criminal case can devolve into name-calling and a fight over which witness seems more credible.
When you said you expected to come off as an asshole, I braced for the worst. You did not deliver the worst. I'm still fairly near to the beginning of this, so I don't know if I agree with you or not, but this was a well-written review.
Agree completely. This book is not one of Krakauer's finest.
I concur with most of the comments regarding your obvious lack of assholeness. Have you read most of the internet drivel out there? You don't remotely qualify as an asshole. Quite the opposite in fact. That being said, I take issue with what seems to be your main problem with the book...which is how it gets bogged down in legalese and testimony which "doesn't make for great reading." I think this is inherent to non-fiction, especially crime/court related NF. After reading your review I think you really should give it a 4. :)
i am still in the middle of the book and fully agree with your assessments...however, i may be the bigger a-hole because I'm finding Krakauer to be politically driven....quite dismissive of the male point of view on the subject--not to diminish these horrific crimes but he doesn't seem to get at the root of the problem--why do these college men behave so horribly? Why are the police in college towns such as Missoula so corrupt? Does football and testosterone carry the day and corrupt everyone? i hope the remaining portion of the book supplies some answers.
I felt EXACTLY the same way and said so in my own review. I hated to say it but I thought the book was boring. Important yes, but I found the book a little blah. It dragged in some parts. It just didn’t read like his other works, of which I’m a huge fan
