Nafiza reviewed Man-Eater by Harold Schechter
Review of 'Man-Eater' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
The story of Alfred Packer is rather interesting and gripping. Unfortunately this piece about him is not.
Yes, true crime can be dry especially when dealing with the 19th century turn-of-phrase and style of dictation, I'll admit that. But the books layout presents a jumpy narrative which interrupts what little flow the book has going for it making it hard to get caught up in the events being discussed. Added to that is the overly plodding pace set by the author which makes it feel like a textbook rather than look inside the lives of living people.
On the good hand I have to give enough credit that the research was very well done which offered up a very nice bibliography for other sources to look up later. Schechter did try to do justice to the subject but it just didn't have the grip to make me want to finish …
The story of Alfred Packer is rather interesting and gripping. Unfortunately this piece about him is not.
Yes, true crime can be dry especially when dealing with the 19th century turn-of-phrase and style of dictation, I'll admit that. But the books layout presents a jumpy narrative which interrupts what little flow the book has going for it making it hard to get caught up in the events being discussed. Added to that is the overly plodding pace set by the author which makes it feel like a textbook rather than look inside the lives of living people.
On the good hand I have to give enough credit that the research was very well done which offered up a very nice bibliography for other sources to look up later. Schechter did try to do justice to the subject but it just didn't have the grip to make me want to finish the book for the sake of enjoyment but rather to be able to say I'd done it and never again.
