Notes on an Execution

A man killing women – nothing new. A man killing women and paying the price – still nothing all that new. Killing women is something we are, sadly, mostly accustomed to by now. What we are not used to: Focusing on the women who either become the victims or survive the threat of violence. In this outstanding novel, Kukafka does let us into the disturbed psyche of a serial killer but mostly shows us all his glorified horrors through the lens of womanhood. Be it the mother, sister or female detective: Their intuition for unraveling men and the fear that comes with this knowledge accompanies them. As readers, we live with the women as they cry for a drop of love and a hand to hold, as they fear for their lives and those of their loved ones. Being a woman is hard. But being a woman acknowledging a violent man is much harder. I have to say: This book broke my heart in a way that still makes me angry. How dare it?! How dare it show all these tiny awful gaps between safety and freedom, only to let us fall headfirst into them? That’s how good Kukafka is: You know the man counting down to his execution is horrible and this book IS about realizing killing men are just that: killers. Nothing more, nothing exciting. Still, she makes you feel for him, and you hate it. In all honesty I still would have preferred the women to be the only narrators, but alas, Danya Kukafka served and damn me if I didn’t eat it up.

This is NOT the story of a serial killer - it is the story of the women whos lives he touched. Sometimes harsh, sometimes emotioal, Danya Kukafka talks about humanity and complex relationships - a book that pulls you in completely and wont let you go until the last word is said.