paul is human

book: paul's case
author: lynn crosbie
completion date: 15/06/10
method: borrowed (mum)

i have immense respect for lynn crosbie. i have adored her since taking a class of hers last summer. she has always struck me as a woman who has the female equivalent of balls (having strong ovaries doesn't seem to have the same feeling). she commands respect and i have always hoped i could grow up to be a woman like lynn. after reading this novel my opinion of her has solidified.
this book was terrifying. i don't know how else to put it. it lay so much on the table, and i see why crosbie came under such fierce scrutiny for it. in my experience, books about serial killers are meant to make the killers even more monstrous in the eyes of their audience than they were before. these people cannot be human beings like us decent citizens. they are living horrors who should be locked away and never considered again. crosbie seems to humanize paul in a way. humanize is the wrong word i think but she makes him into a human being. he is not sympathetic, just human and it is karla who is revealed as the real monster.
paul bernardo stares out at you from the cover. his gaze is confrontational and his lips are parted as if he is about to speak to you. the image is grainy and full of noise. as i said before whoever said 'never judge a book by its cover' never picked up a book. as soon as you pick up the novel, paul's fierce blue eyes stare at you as if to say 'i am a monster. but i am not a demon'.
at times crosbie's narrative is confusing. the voice of the letters seems to change even within each letter. however, her writing is so raw and passionate if feels as if the author is 'the woman' (for i don't know what else to call her). the subject matter of the novel is often horrifying. i hesitate to recommend this book because of some of the more graphic letters, but crosbie writes so fucking brilliantly i believe that everyone should read it. if anything for the sheer boldness and beauty of the prose.
paul bernardo has always given me chills, but after this novel the person i am most afraid of is karla. it terrifies me that anyone could do what these 2 did together, and that only one is locked away. in a few years, karla can apply to change her name and her crimes be forgotten. how long until she finds another paul? after all, misery loves company.
xo-ellebee