Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Song of An Innocent Bystander

The Song of An Innocent Bystander
stephanit avatar reviewed on + 8 more book reviews


ten years ago, nine year old freda unwittingly walks into the middle of a violent siege in a fast food resturant. seperated from her parents and imprisoned with a group of strangers fro seemingly endless time. freda begins to feel a partnership with the only one who shows her any kindness- the gunman.
now nineteen year old freda is still haunted by the events of the siege that culminated in tragedy, and trapped by the media's portrayal of her as an innocent victim. butth e image, supported and nutured by her activist, controlling mother, is under siege itself, from someone who knowst he truth.
told in a narrative that moves tantalizingly between the unfolding siege in the resturant and fred's life ten years later, this novel looks at how a child first copes with trauma, and than with never being allowed to forget it.