Helpful Score: 5
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-execution-of-noa-p-singleton.html
Noa P. Singleton is a death row inmate, convicted of capital murder. As the reader meets her, she has been on death row for many years and is now a short time away from her execution date. Enter into the picture - two attorneys - one who is young and idealistic and one who happens to be the mother of Noa's victim. Through Noa's recollections, the book brings the reader through her life, particularly the months prior to the crime.
The characters in this are not likable. Noa appears to have no interest in her own life or trying to save it. Marlene is a grieving mother, but as the book slowly reveals, her motives go beyond that grief. Noa's family includes her mother who has not reached out to her since her arrest and conviction and her father who was absent for most of her life.
The premise of the book is a strong one, dealing with issues like capitol punishment and the impact childhood has on adult life. Unfortunately, the execution of that premise is lacking for two primary reasons.
First, the author's writing style, particularly some of the descriptions, distract from the story itself. For example, papers and evidence "eviscerate, peeling into orange curls and blackened petals in the crematorium of dead documents". A beating heart is described as "the beat of those four musicians ... making their own metronome of quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes". Rather than adding to the story, these descriptions seem out of place.
Second, the first half of the book builds a storyline with Noa, her relationship with her father, and the events surrounding her crime, and her lack of interest in saving her own life. Unfortunately, the resolution and the "reveal" of Noa's motivations for her actions goes in a completely different direction. Without a spoiler, let me just say it was a disappointment.
Noa P. Singleton is a death row inmate, convicted of capital murder. As the reader meets her, she has been on death row for many years and is now a short time away from her execution date. Enter into the picture - two attorneys - one who is young and idealistic and one who happens to be the mother of Noa's victim. Through Noa's recollections, the book brings the reader through her life, particularly the months prior to the crime.
The characters in this are not likable. Noa appears to have no interest in her own life or trying to save it. Marlene is a grieving mother, but as the book slowly reveals, her motives go beyond that grief. Noa's family includes her mother who has not reached out to her since her arrest and conviction and her father who was absent for most of her life.
The premise of the book is a strong one, dealing with issues like capitol punishment and the impact childhood has on adult life. Unfortunately, the execution of that premise is lacking for two primary reasons.
First, the author's writing style, particularly some of the descriptions, distract from the story itself. For example, papers and evidence "eviscerate, peeling into orange curls and blackened petals in the crematorium of dead documents". A beating heart is described as "the beat of those four musicians ... making their own metronome of quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes". Rather than adding to the story, these descriptions seem out of place.
Second, the first half of the book builds a storyline with Noa, her relationship with her father, and the events surrounding her crime, and her lack of interest in saving her own life. Unfortunately, the resolution and the "reveal" of Noa's motivations for her actions goes in a completely different direction. Without a spoiler, let me just say it was a disappointment.
Kristin D. (kdurham2813) reviewed The Execution of Noa P. Singleton: A Novel on + 753 more book reviews
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
A morbid central plot, but presented in an interesting way with the person on death row telling the story popping in to the past and back to the present to catch the reader up on all the important details. Noa P. Singleton is awaiting her execution day and it has been set, but out of the blue comes the mother of her victim claiming to help her get clemency and this is where the real story begins.
A morbid central plot, but presented in an interesting way with the person on death row telling the story popping in to the past and back to the present to catch the reader up on all the important details. Noa P. Singleton is awaiting her execution day and it has been set, but out of the blue comes the mother of her victim claiming to help her get clemency and this is where the real story begins.
Leslie W. (kyyadifan) -
What a disappointment! Not a single character in this book was likable, the story was ridiculous, it bounced around in a chaotic manner, and ended anticlimactically. I don't even understand the point of the book. What was the purpose of the story? Noa is on death row for a murder that she may or may not have committed - which at one point I really no longer cared if she did or didn't - and is visited by the mother of the victim who is trying to gain her clemency - why?? I still don't know... On top of all that, the word choice that the author uses makes the story very hard to read. It was like she was trying to make herself seem like a better storyteller by using "big" words but unfortunately they made the story less enjoyable and the characters more dislikable.
Unreadable. Overblown, sometimes meaningless wordplay. Intriguing situation: woman awaiting execution for murder, seems uninterested in saving herself, while the mother of the murder victim campaigns for her to be spared. So there must be an intriguing story there, right? But the author seems to think that all she has to do to keep us reading is to tell us, over and over again, how intriguing it is.
