The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir

This is a grimly fascinating, empathic, and provocative examination of the killing of six year old Jeremy Guillory by Ricky Langley, a troubled paedophile who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Marzano-Lesnevich dives into Langley's past, exploring his upbringing and the possible motivations behind Jeremy's murder, whilst also reflecting on and discovering parallels with her own childhood, which was wracked with sexual abuse by her grandfather. She details how her family dealt with this revelation when she finally worked up the courage to tell them, and perhaps the most poignant part of the book recalls Marzano-Lesnevich returning to her family home after some time away to find that every photo of her grandfather had been removed, plucked from every frame and album and destroyed, even from her parents wedding photos.

“I found love letters between my parents, and fighting letters, reminders that we are all mysteries to one another.”

This one resonated with me on so many levels. I've struggled with my mixed emotions of the man that was my step-grandfather, the man who abused me the way so many in this book were abused. Alex felt like she was speaking both to me and for me, my own thoughts often articulated on the pages. I will cherish this book for the rest of my life. It has made me feel seen and like I'm not alone. One of the most powerful stories I have ever read. ❤️

Un livre atypique, qui mélange habilement deux genres : l'histoire d'un crime et d'un procès, celui du meurtre d'un garçon de six ans par un voisin pédophile ; l'histoire de l'autrice, elle-même abusée sexuellement par son grand-père quand elle était enfant. Les deux récits s'entrecroisent et interrogent sur la culpabilité et la justice. Ce sont aussi des histoires de familles brisées ou en tout cas cabossées.

C'est un livre étrange, souvent sombre, pas toujours aisé à lire, mais qui ne laisse pas indifférent. J'ai parfois eu du mal à avancer dans ce livre, mais je sais que cela restera une lecture marquante.

Marzano-Lesnevich does some interesting things with exposing the scaffolding of nonfiction in general and true crime in particular which I loved. I have a hard time with this genre in general because ughhh so much death and abuse and you get a double dose here but I have to respect how this was written.

Wow. This was such a heavy read. It's beautifully written – I'm glad the author found her voice and the strength to tell her story.

I appreciate her wrestling with the complex questions of who's responsible and where does causality begin? I also found it interesting to consider how those questions can be answered in different ways, especially when a courtroom is involved.

I'd recommend the book, but it covers very sensitive topics (child abuse, molestation, murder) that might trigger some folks. Read it only if you're in a good frame of mind to start with.

What a heavy read. It was a constant question of “What would I do?” during this read.

The best parts of the book are the passages that connect the writer's life with the killer's. Taken alone, the two stories are interesting, but it's her finding meaning in the parallels between them that is truly compelling.

On a stylistic note, I wasn't a fan of everything in present tense. For a narrative that jumps around in time so much, it's hard to grasp a frame of reference if everything feels like it's happening all at once. I understand that the effect could be intentional, but it jarred me every time she used the will future tense, e.g. “five years from now, I will do so-and-so.” But it's obviously all in the past.

Wow, it's a tough read based on the content. But the descriptions the author makes on this case linking it with her life is just excellent.

Just awful.

Thankfully, I listened to “The Fact of a Body” as opposed to reading do I could make it through the entire thing. However, the narrator had a whiny delivery that didn't help things.

Why do I think this critically-acclaimed book is so awful? For one, the book claims to be about a murder and a memoir. What we actually get is a disjointed mash-up that tries very hard to force two stories together and fails at both.

Do I feel sorry that the author was abused by her Grandfather as a child and that she witnessed her sister be abused? Of course! That is truly awful. But, the entire book is about the author expecting others, including Ricky Langley, to pay for how she was abused. And about not really presenting any information, even when the author meets Ricky at the end of the book. She spends a bunch of time overdramatizing his approach, but then says nothing about their conversation. Much of the murder story is based on her imagination of what someone was thinking.

So, don't get sucked in by the hype. There are better ways to spend one's time.

An incredible and remarkable work. Full of empathy, family pain, and the messiness of human life. Highly recommend for those who like memoir and dabble in true crime. This is one that sticks with you.