See What I Have Done - Sarah Schmidt

See What I Have Done– Sarah Schmidt

(Source: Purchased)

Summary:

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Lizzie Borden calls out to her maid: Someone’s killed Father. The brutal ax-murder of Andrew and Abby Borden in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts, leaves little evidence and many unanswered questions. While neighbors struggle to understand why anyone would want to harm the respected Bordens, those close to the family have a different tale to tell—of a father with an explosive temper; a spiteful stepmother; and two spinster sisters, with a bond even stronger than blood, desperate for their independence.

As the police search for clues, Emma comforts an increasingly distraught Lizzie whose memories of that morning flash in scattered fragments. Had she been in the barn or the pear arbor to escape the stifling heat of the house? When did she last speak to her stepmother? Were they really gone and would everything be better now? Shifting among the perspectives of the unreliable Lizzie, her older sister Emma, the housemaid Bridget, and the enigmatic stranger Benjamin, the events of that fateful day are slowly revealed through a high-wire feat of storytelling.

Summary and Photo from goodreads.com

My Review:

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt…hmmm….this by far was the most difficult book for me to get through. Because I read a myriad of books, of varied genres, back to back, it usually takes me a good 50 to 100 pages to get engrossed in the next story after completing the previous. I have to, in a sense, get it out of my system. This particular book, however, took me all 328 pages and even then I never was fully invested in any of the characters.

A year ago I found it difficult to finish any book that I started. Mostly because I would read two or three books simultaneously. I decided that writing reviews of the books I read might help with this dilemma, and it definitely has. In this case, I relied solely on my commitment to write this review to help me get through this thing! It was horrible. What many may not know, is that the story of the murder of Andrew and Abby Borden, Lizzy and Emma’s father and step-mother, is a true one. This really is one of the few things about this book that I found interesting.

Now, what I love most about reading is the story-telling aspect of it. I enjoy the development of a character and witnessing the unfolding of that character’s story. I love the movement. The progression. The existence of a beginning, middle, and ending. And while this story had movement, it had very little development of character and the story progression was annoyingly slow.

The story is told from the perspective of four different characters; Lizzy, Emma, Bridget the housekeeper, and Benjamin, some random guy. As each character tells of the events from their points of view, it is evident immediately that all four have potential motive to murder the Bordens. Lizzie, being the youngest was a brat. Spoiled and self-serving, there were quite a few instances where Lizzie could have developed a hate for her parents, including the fact that her father killed her pets as a means to punish her.

Emma, the eldest, was deprived of enjoying her own life to care for little Lizzie. The elimination of her parents would serve as a catalyst for her to begin living life on her own terms. Bridget was routinely abused by the Bordens and was even held hostage as her travel savings had been stolen and hidden away by Abby. Benjamin was a potential hit man, sent to teach Andrew “a lesson” as punishment for his abuse of his daughters. In the beginning, I found this all very interesting.

What made the book intolerable was the way the reader was forced to re-live each period in the story four separate times. In one chapter we would make progress as Lizzy told us the details of the day she found her parents lying dead. Then, instead of being able to move on, we were forced to retreat right back to the start of the day, only this time, told by Emma. Next, right back to the beginning as the same 8 hours is chronicled by Bridget. And again, right back to the beginning, yet again, as the SAME 8 hours is recounted by this murder-for-hire character Benjamin. And this is how the book goes. I felt like a hamster on a wheel…a very boring one. Not to mention that, after 368 pages of boredom, we never, ever, find out who actually murdered Andrew and Abby Borden. I was unbelievably disappointed but happy to report that I now understand why each book cover design shows a pigeon and a pear!