Play Book Tag discussion

See What I Have Done – Sarah Schmidt
Digital audiobook narrated by Jennifer Woodard, Erin Hunter and Garrick Hogan
2.5**

Schmidt’s debut novel takes a look at one of the most infamous crimes in American history – the 1892 axe murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts.

What an unusual book! I’m not sure I really liked the way in which Schmidt chose to tell this story. It felt very disjointed and left me with more questions than answers. But then again, the case has never been adequately solved. Lizzie Borden was tried for the murder of her parents, but there was no blood on her clothing or hands, and she was acquitted.

Schmidt gives us a tale of a family in upheaval. The Bordens were well-off, but Lizzie and her sister Emma were at odds with their father and stepmother. Schmidt chose to tell the story with multiple narrators: Lizzie, Emma, the housemaid Bridget, and a stranger, Benjamin. Each has different perspectives to offer and the author tries to make a case for which was the killer. But I’m not sure she succeeded. I never connected with any of the characters as portrayed, although I did rather like Bridget.

The author is a native Australian, and I wonder why she chose such an iconic American story as the framework for her debut.

The audiobook is read by three different narrators, and I think part of my trouble with the book was the narration. The voice the actor used for Lizzie, made me think this woman was disassociated from reality. It really turned me off. On the other hand the voice actor who brought Bridget to life did a great job.


LINK to my review