Grove Atlantic, August 1, 2017.
Four Stars
The ax murder of Lizzie Borden’s parents is one of
the most fascinating and famous historical crimes of all time. Here it is
retold in the intimate tone of a domestic thriller – it is the story of a woman
raised in a violent, abusive home who yearns for freedom, and the dysfunctional
family that surrounds her.
On August 4th, 1892, the Borden house is
shaken by Lizzie’s screams – she has just discovered the bloody body of her
deceased father Andrew. As the police arrive and Lizzie is comforted by her
sister Emma and their maid Bridget, they soon discover another body upstairs.
It belongs to Lizzie’s stepmother Abby, and everyone is shocked that this
respected married couple with no known enemies should be brutally murdered. From
the outside, the Borden family had seemed perfect, but the reality is very different
– an angry father, a cruel stepmother, and the spinster sisters Emma and Lizzie
who are desperate to leave home and gain independence, at any cost.
Lizzie’s memories of the morning in question are
scattered and unclear, and Emma tries to help her get her story straight. We
revisit the crime scene through Lizzie’s troubled eyes, and her balancing act
on the edge of madness adds to the unsettling tone of the novel. The events
leading up to the double murder are slowly revealed by multiple narrators,
including Emma, Bridget, and a mysterious stranger named Benjamin who has
unusual insights into the Borden family.
This novel is well-structured and exciting as it
exposes the secrets behind the unlikeable Borden family, and it somehow lends
sympathy to Lizzie even though she isn’t particularly likeable either. All of the
characters are strongly developed, not just Lizzie, which adds to the realism
of the story. There is also a solid sense of setting, with sensual descriptions
of the sights, smells and (especially) foods that make up the background.
Although Lizzie was tried for the murder of her
parents, she was eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence – however, she
was convicted by public opinion. See What
I Have Done is a true crime story, fictionalized through dreamlike emotion
and the saturation of the senses. The missing hours before the discovery of the
dead bodies are handled especially well, and the emotions of the survivors are
convincing, lending themselves to the haunting atmosphere of this compelling novel.
I received this book from Grove Atlantic and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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