Sunday, August 25, 2019

Podcast/Book Review: Nobody's Property

Nobody's Property, Living on the Remains of a Life in California by Emily Kathleen Cooke


When I started listening to this book, I thought it was a series on a podcast -- a story told consecutively as research is done. Turns out it was a book presented via podcast. It can also be purchased (free, I think?) as an e-book or an audio book from Scribl dot com.

The author's aunt died when the author was two. The author grew up living in the shadow of the deceased aunt. Who was she? How, exactly, did she die? How can I keep myself safe so that the same fate does not befall me?

The aunt, Jenny, age 18, had moved to Germany in the fall of 1971 to attend a small college. In November she decided to take a weekend break and hitch hike to other locations. She went missing; six months later her body was discovered in a wooded area. They were never able to determine a cause of death because of (a) decomposition of the body and (b) it was in 1972, so DNA and other technologies were not available to help solve mysteries.

I found the storyline interesting; the author comes to some interesting conclusions about how the family story of Aunt Jenny affected her own life. However, I am sorry to say that I found this book to be boring. Instead of reading her research verbatim, I felt that it would have been more interesting had she rewritten it in story form. It was interesting enough to keep me occupied while doing some sewing, but as a book it left me dissatisfied. To warrant more than two stars out of five, this book would need some major editing.







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