The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevick is both a memoir of the author’s childhood and a true crime story. The author spent time as a student lawyer in New Orleans working with a group who opposed the death penalty and represented people accused of murder and that experience is reflected in this book.
The person whose case she works on is Ricky Langley, a young man who murdered a six year old boy. She explores Ricky’s life but also that of the child who is the victim. It becomes obvious to her that, although the killer committed the crime, there are lots of other factors involved, including his difficult childhood and the actions of the family of the dead boy. It isn’t as straightforward as she thinks and the death of this boy has affected the families involved as well as the community in which they all lived.
What the preparation of the case also does is to bring back to the author some difficult memories from her own childhood and to show her what her family, which on the surface appears very different from those she is investigating, has in common with the families of the victim and the killer.
There are times when the content of this book makes it hard to read – if you have issues with reading about neglect, poverty and child abuse then this might not be the book for you. On the other hand, however, the narrative is beautifully written and the author manages to convey real emotion in her prose. Don’t expect an exact description of everything that happened in the murder case or in the author’s own life as there is a lot undiscovered and unresolved. The object of the author is to face the reader with the question of what exactly guilt is and who is responsible for crimes – she certainly raises a lot of issues which the reader needs to consider.
This is a book that will make you think and maybe question how you feel about some things. I thought that it was well worth reading.
Anne Is Reading 