Say Her Name

Product Information

The plotline itself was a little up and down though. I didn't think that the beginning was very strong, though that may have been my skepticism tainting my judgement a little. By the middle of the book, however, I was thoroughly enthralled and eager to read more. The mystery grabbed me, and some of the stuff happening was really intense. My favourite part was probably the phantom pregnancy just because it was so unexpected and eerie. This really built over the last third of the book, and the ending was fantastic. The newspaper clipping was a perfect conclusion, and I loved that it left open for a sequel. Fingers crossed that there will be one! Bobbie had taken for granted were that she had time and choices. As it happened, she had neither. It felt so stupid and so, so childish – she’d almost seen herself as immortal. ALL THE STARS and MORE! Say Her Name! I wonder if many of you actually could say the name of one POC who has gone missing in your area in the last year. Just one. Say Her Name. I can name three white girls who have repeated made the new in Indianapolis over the last decade because I see their very pretty innocent faces in the news all of the time. I assume there are no POC who go missing here. Right? WRONG! They do. Everywhere. But newspapers and news stations don't show you those people unless they are part of the "rich and famous. THAT is what this book is about. Not really. It's a fine ghost story, very reminiscent of The Ring, but it's light on the scares and the carnage. The characters and their prep school drama gave me some eye-rolls, but I do think Bobbie is a genuinely likable character. Proust se dio a la búsqueda del tiempo perdido y a ello dedicó su obra. Joyce se afanó en el lenguaje como personaje en una etapa final y en lograr un día. Un solo día.

Sí. Necesito quitarme este peso de encima, decir lo que siento, lo que ella fue, y es, para mí. Necesito mantener vivo su recuerdo. Necesito saber cómo vivó Aura esos cuatro años conmigo, qué significaron para ella. Pero sobre todo necesito comprender, y el dolor es tan grande que es incomprensible, por eso son necesarias tantas palabras, y tan bellas, para iluminar incluso aquello que nos ha destrozado. No para ayudarnos a trascender o transformar esa pena en algo más sino primero y sobre todo para ayudarnos a verla. Anderson is far from alone. Yvette Smith was killed in her own home after the police arrived to investigate a domestic disturbance complaint between two men. Smith, a single mother of two, was shot in the head when she opened the door for the officers. The police first alleged that Smith had a gun, then retracted the claim. The former Texas police deputy who killed Smith was cleared of her murder.This paragraph describes the joy and excitement of love better than any I've read in recent years...the visual, the spiritual, the psychological, the senses, the joy: The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot.

It is not until the end of the book that we learn of the tragic death of Aura...how she actually died. Throughout the book, I wondered about it, but I thought Goldman's method was perfect since it kept me held close to the story, compelled to know the details of their relationship, drawn into his personal voyage through crisis, loss and grief to the apex of his life's worst nightmare. I respected his handling of her death. Bloody Mary has been scaring the shit out of me since my cousin's 10th birthday party. I refused to go into the bathroom with the older girls and chant. Eight year old Ellen Gail knew better. Of course, she also got all her underwear frozen for being a "scaredy cat." But it remains one of my favorite urban legends. more but I’m bored listing them all— oh yeah, the writing style itself was annoying. Also the timeline was often unclear. The ending was a typical hammy television wrap up. The only feelings I had for this book were frustration and boredom. I'm not sure if it was cathartic for Mr. Goldman to write his book or if it simply worked as a chronicle and a memorial. I found no real resolution for him except that he seems to feel he's done all in this life he can do for Aura that would matter to her (that is my sense at the end of the book). I believe in that resolution. There comes a time when that's all we who are left behind can do...that and speak their names, continue to miss them and never forget. And, with time and working through our grief as Mr. Goldman does, we come to understand our loved ones better and to accept them for who they really were. We are never the same, however.

BookBrowse Review

Ah, but then the author starts giving out descriptions about arms and evil faces emerging from reflective surfaces. I honestly screamed when I thought I saw something in my reflection (PS, it was my curly hair). Soon enough I was feeling creeped out and shaky. I had to stop for a bathroom break and had to sing Christian tunes to keep my imagination from running wild. Bobbie was an okay character, although I didn’t think that Bobbie and her friends were particularly bright. Saying ‘Bloody Mary’ five times in front of the mirror is just stupid. Even if it’s not true, why tempt fate?

Three months before she died, April 24, Aura had turned thirty. We'd been married twenty-six days shy of two years. Aura's mother and uncle accused me of being responsible for her death. It's not as if I consider myself not guilty. If I were Juanita, I know I would have wanted to put me in prison too. Though not for the reasons she and her brother gave. Piénselo, Francisco. Y disculpe la confianza, pero después de leer estas páginas, tan duras y hermosas, es como si los conociera, a Aura y a usted, de toda la vida. Debieron quererse mucho. ¿Está seguro de que desea entregar estas páginas en el juzgado?

Beyond the Book

What’s most glaring and intentional about Crenshaw and AAPF’s approach to this heartbreaking, necessary and significant contribution to history is the spotlighting of the many unsung names most of us have never heard: Denise Hawkins (killed November 11, 1975). Netta Africa (May 13, 1985). LaTanya Haggerty (June 4, 1999). Tiraneka Jenkins (July 14, 2009). April Webster (December 16, 2018). Aura's mother Juanita blamed Goldman for his wife's death. The memoir begins with the tone and register of a murder mystery with the author casting himself in the role of the confessional protagonist: "If I were Juanita, I know I would have wanted to put me in prison, too. Though not for the reasons she and her brother gave." Goldman was present, after all; he has no alibi. Aura's mother, Juanita, who made every sacrifice to have her only daughter, a PhD student in Spanish literature, educated in Texas and New York, spoke her final words to her ageing son-in-law over her Aura's dying body: "Esto es tu culpa" – "This is your fault." After the memorial service Goldman was ostracised, and Juanita and her brother tried to have him charged with responsibility for Aura's death. Though it sometimes toys with the tone of a statement for the defence, the book is never mea culpa, however, except to the extent that Goldman cannot help but see himself as in some way an accessory to the accident, an unplumbed well of "if onlys". It is always, rather, mi amor.

Once, looking for comfort in my own blinding grief, I sought solace in the book "Grief" by C. S. Lewis. I simply couldn't find any books on the market that could reach the level of agony I was experiencing, nor could I find another human being who could relate to it. "Grief" failed to comfort me with it's intellectualizing the process of grief. Grief of losing my husband had left me crying out for understanding--for some relief from the pain. Grief is emotional and physical agony...it's not something that just dissipates as the days go by like people say it does. It's something that rewires you, shatters your whole life and changes you forever. Finally, Francisco Goldman has touched the ends of that agony and is capable of sharing it with us. There is hope for those who need that comfort now...both for women and men. Needless to say, the book fulfilled it's horrific aim. I was -- and am scared. I enjoyed the story and Bobbie's spunky, shy girl personality. And that ending? Great. I recommend this to anyone who's brave enough (or at least not a scaredy cat like me). I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this novel so thank you to the publishers so glad I did. Like mentioned in Say Her Name, the Supernatural episode. That episode aired in, what? 2005. That would make me 12. The only scariest thing I'd seen up until then was the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. I also found certain actions or internal dialogue rather repetitive (which, if done well, can really add to the story) but I didn't find that here.

Book Summary

El desenlace me dejo pensando bastante, honestamente, no esperaba ese giro en las ultimas paginas, sobre todo porque ya antes habia habido algunos giros inesperados, sin embargo, me gusta, cuando un libro no te deja pensando es señal de que quizas no fue tan memorable como te lo parecio en un determinado momento.