Review: Before You Knew My Name

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A profoundly moving, heart-wrenching story that will have women nodding their heads as they ache with sadness. I felt this story in the depths of my soul.

How do I even begin to explain how brilliantly insightful this novel is?

You know the story: A girl runs away to New York and, not long after, a body turns up. The girl has been raped and murdered and now the cops have to figure out the who, and the why.

But have you ever heard the story told by the dead girl? Or by the jogger who found her? Have you ever stopped asking, 'who did it?' in favour of asking, 'who was she?'

This novel is a lament for all those who have had their futures stolen from them by violence. By getting to know the dead girl, we're forced to confront all that was lost - her hopes and dreams, the connections to others, the impact she would have made on other lives. We get to think - really think - about who she might have become.

It's a powerful exploration of all the things we generally forget to consider in favour of morbid curiosity.

There's also the feminist angle - the stark reality of women all over the world, woven into the narrative. The fragile egos we must carefully manage or risk violent retribution; the unwanted advances that can lead to spiteful words like, 'uptight' or 'tease'; saying yes because the consequence of saying no is terrifying. Walking alone, being out late, wearing specific clothing - all these things and more will have women reading this story nodding along, remembering all the times they, too, have found themselves in similar situations. Just because a situation doesn't end in violence, it doesn't become any less terrifying a situation to experience. This novel explores it all so cleverly, honestly, and with great heart.

There is certainly the mystery associated with who committed the murder and why, but this novel takes great pains to focus instead on the woman whose life was ended, and the woman whose life was altered by finding the body.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, and not only do I recommend it, I URGE people to read it. Particularly women, but men also. There is so much here that deserves our attention, and I will be recommending this one to everyone in the hopes that others will be moved as much as I was.

Many thanks to Allen & Unwin for an ARC

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