I’ve always preferred my books to focus on the lighter side of life, more comedies and happy endings. I have to admit that reading a book that focuses on femicide in mexico would not fit with my other reads. The part that strikes me more is that this is a current issue, in may this year there was a call for action to stop these crimes being dismissed and neglected .It scares me to think that as a woman you could at any moment be taken away from all you love, never to be seen again and never to be searched for by the police in a place that you call home.
The book The Dead Women of Juarez by Sam Hawken is a very interesting read, it tackles not only the devastating impact of these crimes, but paints a picture of the culture that surrounds it. It is not heavy on description in some of the more graphic sections, yet there is no need for heavy descriptions when the act/crime/murder is being committed. Sam Hawken manages to strike nerves with only a few sentences and leaves you with no comfort that it turns out okay. The book highlights the issue that without help, it is a never-ending cycle of crime without punishment. Loss without the ability to truly mourn. The story follows Kelly, an american boxer and Sevilla, a detective trying to gain control in a situation that is constantly trying to crush them. There is no happy ending, there is quite a lot of pain for all the characters. It will be a while until I pick up this book again, mainly due to still feeling unsure of how to read the beginning once you know the ending. I have however been recommending it to everyone!
I am soon to start Tequila Sunset which is also about crime near the mexico/texas border. I would like to know of more books, both fact or fiction about femicide as even though it churns my stomach, I feel it is important to understand the dangers faced by women around the world and how it is has been written about.
Amy J Burton 