GORGE by Katherine Carlson

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  Amazon browse, downloaded on Kindle Unlimited.  Couldn't decide if the cover/title combo was inspired or ghastly, but it intrigued me enough to see what it was about, so it did its job!

In A Nutshell: Unhappy, overweight woman survives near death in the Montana wilderness; thriller, with dark humour.

Enjoyed this a lot, an unusual story indeed.  Southern girl Marty Clawson is morbidly obese and unhappily married to a man who has lost interest in her.  She is desperate to beat her cravings for food, and comes up with the idea of being stranded alone in the state park, with no access to fast food joints and cake shops.  When her marriage falls apart and she gets in touch with an old friend in Montana, she has no idea that her survival fantasies will become real—and a matter of life and death.

Most of the first half of the book is taken up with Marty's depressing life, in which she is trapped inside her mounds of excess flesh and inability to stop comfort-eating; we later find out why and when it began.  This part of the story is tragic but funny, and Marty is most likeable.  When she sets off for Montana, neither she nor the reader has any idea about the danger that awaits her.  

Without giving the plot away (because you really should read it yourself!), the nine days of Marty's ordeal are frightening, realistic (in that she doesn't suddenly become a survival expert), tragic, though still darkly humourous in places; it's a real page turner.

The only negative element about the book was that the author has used 'en' dashes instead of 'em' dashes throughout: instead of—this to set off a clause or add emphasis—, she has used this–without a space at either side, which I kept–mistaking–for–a hyphen.  Many times I had to go back and read the sentence twice, because I thought I'd read a hyphenated word.  But aside from this irritant, it's great.  I'm glad I clicked on that strange bright green cover that stood out in the list of of 'also boughts' on Amazon.  I shall seek out another book by her, some time.

 

If anyone is not sure of the difference between the en dash and the em dash and when each of them should be used, I have found this article which explains it clearly and concisely

 

MISSOULA: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

5 out of 5 stars

Non-fiction; legal; acquaintance rape

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

"Women don't get raped because they were drinking or took drugs.  

Women do not get raped because they weren't careful enough.  

Women get raped because someone raped them."  

Jessica Valenti ~ The Purity Myth

I'm always aware when reviewing a non-fiction book that I'm supposed to be reviewing the book, not the subject matter, but in this case it's quite hard!  In Missoula, Jon Krakauer has brought to our notice the shocking lack of credibility given to acquaintance rape, or non-consensual sex, with reference to a spate of such crimes that occurred at the University of Montana.

Of course, the occurrences make for gruelling reading.  In all instances, the alleged assailants were members of university football team the Grizzlies, which is a source of much pride within the town.  Few of the assaults were properly handled by either the university or the local authorities.  The case I found the most disturbing was that of Kelsey Belnap, who was gang-raped by several members of the team.  Her girlfriend, sympathetic at first, turned against her when she said she was going to report them; I was shocked at the attitude of many of the women I read about.
 

Sadly....

"The adoration of the Griz football team created a pernicious atmosphere of entitlement.  Coaches reinforced the team's sense of perogative by failing to report athletes accused of sexual assault or other crimes to university officials."

This book is a product of extensive research and interviews, and I feel the subject has been treated with great care and insight, and without prejudice.  I was most interested to read a small piece near the end about what made the author want to write this book, which, for me, underlined his sincerity.  

As in the other works of his that I've read, Mr Krakauer dips in and out of various cases, selecting examples to best illustrate pertinent aspects of a particular point.  Whereas I am in awe of the the razor sharp way he does this (so subtle, too ~ journalism at its best!), in this book I found it a little confusing as there were so many circumstances and names to remember, not helped by the similarity of some: Kelly as surname for one, first name for another, Kerry, Kelsey, Kaitlynn.  However, it only took a bit of concentration/recap to deal with.

Beau Donaldson ~ the trusted childhood friend of one of his victims

The author stresses, near the end, that the prosecutors of such cases are often lacking in their knowledge of, for instance, why rape victims might not necessarily react in a way that jurors might expect, during and after such an incident; as an example, one victim actually drove her assailant home afterwards.  She was in shock; she'd been conditioned to think that it might be her fault ~ had she led him on?  Because of this lack of preparation, prosecutors can be unable to make a valid case.  The discussion of the perceived myths about acquaintance rape made me see an event of many years ago in a different light, too ~ I think this book should be read by anyone who has had first-hand experience of anything similar, or ever found themselves thinking that a woman has 'asked for it'.  And keep remembering the quote from Jessica Valenti.

Mr Krakauer deserves many rounds of applause for writing this book.   I hope this review will bring it to the notice of someone it might help.

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN reviewed HERE

INTO THIN AIR reviewed HERE

INTO THE THE WILD reviewed HERE

EIGER DREAMS reviewed HERE