American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
Ratings25
Average rating3.7
Good piece of nonfiction written by a reporter about an eastern shore couple who almost burned down the county.
Nothing quite like love that burns crazy.
True crime novel based around arsonist and specifically how little we know about arsonists. Also wrapped up in this story is the dying and decaying small America life.
While good, it wasn't excellent and I had picked it up because it was on one of the best true crime lists that are floating around on the web.
Overall, it's solid and good, just not standout, recommend type of true crime.
I'm not a true crime reader, I'm not sure why. If American Fire had been fiction, I think I might be writing about how implausible I found the plot, because, dude, this story is wild. A couple goes on a spree of setting abandoned buildings on fire. I was fascinated by the whole “why” of the thing, but I also enjoyed reading about the community's response to their county being under attack. It must have been terrifying: going to bed and never knowing whose house was next. Added to that was that they knew the arsonist had to be one of their own. Shudder! I feel bad because part of me wanted to cheer this couple on. I kind of wanted them to be a Bonnie and Clyde. Maybe they were doing this to get back at a specific bank or the original landowners. Instead the story is much, much stranger.
Really interesting true crime and a story I hadn't heard about before. The ending felt a little anticlimactic and rushed - I think it lost something because one of the principals didn't participate in the book, so her perspective was missing. I found myself sympathizing a lot more with the other, probably for that reason.
A compelling true crime account of a ‘modern day Bonnie and Clyde', but more importantly a look at what it is to live in a dying area. That is an important conversation to be having now and I think has a great impact on the psyche of many. It is certainly no excuse, but it is a factor to be honestly discussed and confronted.
This started as a feature article in the Washington Post and might have been best left that way. I'm not sure there was enough interesting material to warrant a full book. A clear picture emerges of the arsonists, but the numerous sheriffs, fire investigators and criminal profilers all blurred together in my mind. In the end, the reason for the fires wasn't very surprising, and the author's attempt to link the crimes to the decline of small town America was a little far-fetched. Quick read but not truly memorable.
Charlie and Tonya set sixty-seven fires around the rural Virginia coast over a period of months until they were finally caught and tried. It's a good story, well written, but I was disappointed that I never really understood the why of the arsons.