2022 Free Range Reading
A book chosen for education, not part of any project, plan, or list. I heard the author interviewed about this book on CBC radio and couldn't resist requesting it from the library. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing, but have researched enough to know that the author teaches a university course entitled Literary Criminology and the Fiction of Detection. I hate to admit how much I would love to take that course!
I was disturbed by the author's linkage of several of paraphilias common to killers to a gravitation to the outdoors in general and to forests in particular. Forested areas are camouflage from which to observe and stalk potential victims, while having an easy excuse for being there, namely taking a walk. Having just recently heard about an unsuccessful attack on a woman in a park just a few minutes north of me, this information made my blood run cold! Hearing about that attack pretty much ended my intentions to go out birding by myself, but this cinches it. No more venturing out alone. Even before reading this, I had determined that being alone in more remote locations is asking for trouble.
One of the most interesting parts of the book for me was in the last third, where the author discusses literary criminology, the history of writing “true crime," from Charles Dickens (he had a regular column about shadowing a law enforcement friend) to the present day. He offers examples of investigative techniques invented by authors which came to be used by law enforcement (eg. Handwriting analysis). He also includes all those TV shows and podcasts (and gives the reader an objective rating of many of them). Statistics seem to suggest that many middle-class middle-aged women are the consumers of this genre. Here I must put up my hand and admit that I am guilty as charged. In fact I cancelled my cable TV because I watched too much of this stuff and was making myself excessively paranoid. ”Real violence in the real world produces stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, while watching or simulating violence produces pleasure chemicals. It's a fascinating dichotomy.” This is the first convincing explanation that I have heard for the popularity of this genre. (It also gives me insight into my undying love for violent urban fantasy fiction).
Reading this book made me itchy to be able to DO something about the issue of unsolved murders. Perhaps just realizing that I can take better care of myself out in the world will have to do the trick. Mentioned in the text was Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, which I have benefited from. I recommend it to all women and any men who have women in their lives. That book was instrumental in my life years ago when I was dealing with several creepy men who lurked on the edges of my life, and de Becker's advice kept me unscathed.
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