Review: The Love Of A Bad Man

The Blurb:

 "A schoolgirl catches the eye of the future leader of Nazi Germany. An aspiring playwright writes to a convicted serial killer, seeking inspiration. A pair of childhood sweethearts reunite to commit rape and murder. A devoted Mormon wife follows her husband into the wilderness after he declares himself a prophet.  The twelve stories in The Love of a Bad Man imagine the lives of real women, all of whom were the lovers, wives, or mistresses of various ‘bad’ men in history. Beautifully observed, fascinating, and at times horrifying, the stories interrogate power, the nature of obsession, and the lengths some women will go to for the men they love."

By Laura Elizabeth Woollett. Published By Scribe.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Book

The book is a collection of 12 short stories about women who loved 'bad' men. It delivers what is promises — all of the male love interests are 'bad', but written from the perspective of the women, we get to see what makes these women love them. It sits somewhere between fiction, true crime and historical fiction, and it is fantastic at getting under your skin. 

The Thoughts

I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer at the Melbourne Writers Festival this year, and during one of my shifts, I heard the author read out a section. I instantly fell in love, picked it up that week, and devoured it in two days between work and uni. It was one of the best buys of the year so far.

Some of the women are more familiar, but some of them were more obscure. Of course, the more obscure stories featured men that I had read about and known about, but never in the stories or newspaper articles had I been prompted to consider their lovers, the women who accompanied them. And that's exactly what this collection did — and scarily well. There were times where I was uncomfortable: as a reader I had to balance the knowledge I had of these men and their crimes, knowing what the women were ignoring or the actions of the men they were loving. I had to acknowledge that these women were there and they did exist on some level.

The reader was drawn in so completely so that they were feeling what the characters were feeling, to the point that at times you would have to withdraw and feel disgusted with yourself for a moment; they were all, whether directly involved in the crimes or painfully ignoring them, relatable. It was painful and beautiful and although it was confronting, it was a well crafted and well researched piece of work.

The Verdict 

An easy recommendation. Of course some people like crime/historical fiction more than others, but even an unseasoned reader would find something to love about this collection. Woollett does a fantastic job of setting up the scene of each story, so even if you don't know much about the crime, you'll be as engaged by the story as if you did. 

• Next Review: The Flywheel (with spoilers!)
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