The Red Parts: A Memoir | 
pickIn 1969, Maggie Nelson‘s aunt, Jane Mixer was killed. Over 30 years later Nelson is about to publish a book of poetry about Jane when they hear that Jane‘s murder case has been reopened. There is DNA evidence now that has led police to her killer and there will be a trial. This book considers how Jane‘s death, and now this trial, have affected their family. It‘s fascinating. Now I plan to read Nelson‘s book about Jane.
so-soThe Author describes in beautiful detail how the death of an Aunt the never knew was a shadow over her childhood and family. Who gets to tell the tale when someone is murdered? How much can they possibly know about the interior lives of those they have lost? When does the death of a person become more important than the life they were refused. Nelson delves deep and is frank..sometimes to an uncomfortable degree.
pickMy first foray into Maggie Nelson. This is a memoir of Nelson‘s life during which her aunt‘s alleged murderer was brought to trial 40 years after the crime. Nelson never knew her aunt, but this is also about Nelson‘s childhood and how her mother was affected by the crime and passed that on to her own children; about her father and his early death, about appropriating the lives of others for the sake of art… Very interesting and thoughtful.
pickVery different from other true crime books, so much so I don‘t know if it even counts as true crime. A close family member of a victim of a famous murder writes very painfully and poetically about the aftermath and the trial. It‘s so rare to get this perspective on a famous murder, harrowing but very valuable.
#scarathlon2021 #teamslaughter @Clwojick +16
so-soWow. What a read. Beautifully written but at times difficult to read. I was reminded quite a bit of WE KEEP THE DEAD CLOSE. I wonder if she was inspired by this book.
⚖️⚖️ ½
Got my brunch on with a new read this afternoon! Gotta make the most of it. 😎
#currentlyreading
pickMaggie Nelson‘s aunt Jane was murdered as a young woman before Maggie was born. Over 20 years later, DNA evidence found her killer. Here, she details the family learning of the new developments in the case on through the trial. Because of her personal involvement, this is much more a memoir of her experience than typical true crime reportage. I thought it was quite good.
so-soMaggie Nelson says “ ....I‘m grateful, once again, to send in this report from the field “ ...
I liked this idea , the field of grief & of murder , of nightmare.
“In all desire to know there is already a drop of cruelty “ - Nietzsche
A thought provoking quote. A thought provoking book
A good book ... it started off promising ... but she lost me again ( .... but this time I read on & did finish. I‘m glad I did.
I started this one before.... I couldn‘t get into it at that time. I took it down today & Im in ... 🤷🏼♀️. I‘m interested in what happens .. why now ? I think I‘ll just enjoy it & lose the questions 😁🍷📚Sunday evening only happens once a week ❤️
I‘ve only read the tagged book by Maggie Nelson and loved her prose style - so might need to check this out.....
https://ew.com/books/author-interviews/maggie-nelson-on-freedom-first-look/
pickA riveting and impactful read exploring the aftermath of the murder of Nelson's aunt Jane (that might sound familiar to those of you who have read Jane). Years later, after the case had been put on hold, new evidence surfaced targetting a new suspect. I was expecting more reflection on murder and the causes and consequences of violence against women, but this is more about Nelson's family and the memories surrounding this event's effect on them.
Thanks for the tag @rachaich
Too many at the moment!
I was very tearful with the tagged book - which caught me unprepared with some things. And I‘m pleased to say this one made me cry tears of joy - The House In The Cerulean Sea. #fridayfeelings
pickA hard book to read - it's at once vague and precise, softened and terrifyingly graphic. It's personal and also trying to be universal - all wrapped up in honesty, memory, procedure and cultural fascinations. A deeply disturbing book to read, but beautifully written and carefully pieced together with a lightness of touch that sits in opposition to the heaviness of the subject matter. #nfn2020
I‘ve had this on my shelf a little while - it gets lots of #Litsylove - and it‘s just shy of 200pages which will help me with my #feastmode goals!
pickI waited to get this, thinking surely her books can't all be brilliant. But this one was too. Of course.
This book carefully excavates true crime tropes, exposing them to the light.
How does one measure the loss of eight young women? asked the Courant. There is no way to know what they would have done with their lives-....
... How does one measure the loss of anyone? Is measurement a necessary part of grief? Is a life less grievable if its prospects for the future.. .don't appear bright?
pickThis book is so well written that I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to attempt a review. I was completely engrossed in Maggie Nelson's memoir in which she deftly weaves threads of personal and familial trauma and grief amidst a harrowing murder trial. It's an uneasy read as she grapples with the wider cultural obsession over violence against women in its various forms. A 5⭐ read, but content warning for graphic descriptions and suicidal ideation.
"Some dark crescent of land, a place where suffering is essentially meaningless, where the present collapses into the past without warning, where we cannot escape the fates we fear the most, where heavy rains come and wash bodies up and out of their graves, where grief lasts forever and its force never fades." (p. 122)
pickI'm not usually a true crime fan, but I think this one is different than most. For one thing, Nelson already wrote a book about her aunt's cold case murder -- now having an arrest and trial made Nelson look back on her time working on the first book. She describes having 'murder mind': the effects of constant attention to the details of a violent crime and contrasts that experience with seeing the grisly details of the case in court 👇
pickVisceral. Harrowing. Poetic. Lyrical. Generational grief. Shared blood. Agony. “Aura of dread, fear”. Anticipation of violence. “Bred in the bones”. Numbing, alcohol, drugs. Courtroom. Justice. “face of evil”. “Elmer Fudd”. Red parts. Autopsy. Dried brown blood. Blue scarf. Ladybugs.”Open murder”. Stories”. “Incoherence”. Suffering. Misogyny. Voyeurism. Ethical dilemmas. Devastating loss. Hole. Heart. Riveting. Reverberating. Dark. Murky. Mud.
#sundaymorning #coffeeandbooks #sunshine
Cool morning, sunny, blue skies. An autumn morning.
Just started this book.
pickA shortish book that packs a lot in. It‘s true crime mixed with memoir but also so much more. Very well written. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #genrebusting #booked2019
Read some good books and some bad books this month...on track with #readharder2019 discovered some gems through #indiebuddyreads and prize lists, and rediscovered the joy of non-fiction on audio. On the whole, a success.
pickA compelling, beautifully written memoir. The Red Parts is more than just a narrative of a murder trial. Nelson intersperses this experience, with slices of everyday life, in doing so, effectively showing what it means to grow up in the shadow of such a tragedy; the extensive ripples of violent crime. Although an intensely personal, reflective story, this memoir also explores 'murder mind', and the culture of fascination around dead girls.
Just trying again to be an audio book girl. I like podcasts so I suspect non-fiction is the way into this form for me.
pickHow have I never heard of Maggie Nelson before?? This true crime (ish?) Story doesn't give you the answers you think you need but definitely picks apart what you don't even realize you're thinking.
pickThe author‘s aunt was brutally murdered before the author was born. But the death hung over the family. Nelson, as an adult, wrote a book of poems reflecting upon her aunt‘s unsolved murder. Just as her book of poems is being readied for publication, her family is contacted out of the blue by a police detective who had been (unbeknownst to them) working the aunt‘s cold case and, 36 years after her death, were ready to make an arrest. ...
#TBRTuesday
Here‘s what‘s on-deck for me this week. Not sure if I‘ll get to them all, but The Winter Of the Witch came out today and I picked it up with an audible credit and will be starting that one immediately!!
I‘m reading this book because I love memoir, true crime, and Maggie Nelson, and because I‘m leading a book club about it on Monday night. I find Nelson so intimidating. She‘s so smart. I hope we have a great discussion, and I hope I help to do her book justice.
pickI have wanted to read this book for a long time as l really admire Maggie Nelson .lts a different read for me a type of shocking true crime story wrapped up in a cold case that involves a family history as it happened then and now, as the murder goes to trial many years later .lts heartbreaking too as it highlights violence against women in society how it is portrayed
How it affects victims their relatives how its still so relevent now .
I finally joined the library in Atlanta yesterday! I made my way through all of the branches where I moved from, so I‘m excited to begin exploring the 31 branches in this county.
I‘ve been wanting to read The Red Parts for a while. It was actually in my Amazon basket when I found it at the library. I almost put it back on the shelf so I could buy my own copy. 😆
pickMaggie Nelson mixes true crime, memoir and cultural commentary to create a sad picture of the American justice system and the confusing nature of grief. This is a smart, analytical and poetic look at our obsession with death and truth.
pickMaggie Nelson‘s account of the trial of her aunt Jane‘s murderer, 36 years after the crime. She weaves in memoir of growing up in the shadow of Jane‘s death, her book of poetry in response & the challenges of facing the trial. Juxtaposes the violence of murder with everyday life & builds a picture of how society treats crime (eg films). Nelson has a great ability to observe from a distance, but is honest about how ‘murder mind‘ has affected her.
pickI‘ve never read anything quite like The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson. In late 2004, Jane: A Murder, a narrative in verse, about the author‘s aunt was published. The 35 year old case remained unsolved. But as the book came into print, the author and her family learned that the case had been reopened. The Red Parts, then, is a sequel of sorts...a memoir of the trial and the author‘s navigation of the trial.
so-soI can‘t say that I enjoyed The Red Parts though I admire Maggie Nelson‘s honesty in writing it. She does not shy away from the messes in her own life, even as she writes beautiful prose about a murder trial. I failed to connect with it emotionally, but that may have more to do with me than with the book. Still, it was worth the read.
pickThis was beautifullly written, a cross between a memoir and a true crime/courtroom drama. A quick read, too.
Currently reading Maggie Nelson‘s incredible memoir, THE RED PARTS. #truecrime #autobiography #memoir #literarynonfiction
Stumbled upon this unadvertised deal when I checked my #Amazon wishlist just now. I‘ve been waiting for this to go on sale for MONTHS! So excited! Thought I‘d share.
#KindleDeal
For the 2018 Read Harder Challenge of true Crime, I am reading Maggie Nelson‘s The Red Parts. I am strongly opposed to the sensationalism of the genre as it rarely addresses the resonate suffering of the violence inflicted. I find Maggie Nelson to be brilliant. This is the telling of her investigation into her aunt‘s murder, with the myriad of implications it has had on her family. I‘m happy that I found something that fits the challenge!
Almost done with this book. If you‘re into true crime or have a “murder mind,” check this out! The author is a poet and there are lyrical yet blunt passages in here.
Edgar Allen Poe calls the death of a beautiful woman the most poetic subject in the world, but a true crime TV producer making an episode about Jane puts it to Nelson differently: "This is prime time. No black people, no bad teeth." ⏩ NPR book review
pickA really thought-provoking and moving look at the effect of a trial on the victim's (and in the case of this memoir, the author's) family - beautifully written.
This was not what I expecting, but it was a great surprise.
