Gail Griffin

From Amazon:

On a Sunday night during Homecoming weekend in 1999, Neenef Odah lured his ex-girlfriend, Maggie Wardle, to his dorm room at Kalamazoo College and killed her at close range with a shotgun before killing himself. In the wake of this tragedy, the community of the small, idyllic liberal arts college struggled to characterize the incident, which was even called "the events of October" in a campus memo. In this engaging and intimate examination of Maggie and Neenef's deaths, author and Kalamazoo College professor Gail Griffin attempts to answer the lingering question of "how could this happen?" to two seemingly normal students on such a close-knit campus.

My Thoughts:

I had heard about this crime in 1999 when it made national news. I imagined how hard this would be for the friends and family of Maggie Wardle. What I couldn't imagine was how it would affect the small Midwestern college, the students, both past, present, and future, as well as the staff.

Gail Griffin guides us to the event of this October 15 years ago through interviews, records from instant message, and her narration. And even though I knew the nature of the story, I found myself thinking, "dear God Maggie, don't go to his room...." But of course, Maggie was the kind of woman who would go to a friend in need.

The details of this crime were gruesome...very gruesome.... and seemed a stark contrast to the victim herself who brought friendship, hope, and love to those around her. Through this story you can distinctly feel the absence of Maggie and all that she would have been. How can there ever be a return to normalcy after something like this? Ultimately it leaves us with as many questions as it does answers.

… (plus d'informations)

I live in Michigan, yet had never heard of this case. Once I picked up this book, though, I could not put it down.
It's the true story of a troubled student who murders his former girlfriend, then kills himself at Kalamazoo College.
Much of this book is brilliantly researched and written, giving readers profound insight into the mind of the killer, the crime and the victim.
But then the author pontificates, at length, about the greater meaning of this single incident and ugh - constantly inserts herself into the text (I just hate that. I am not interested in the author's impression and analysis; I just wanted the facts).… (plus d'informations)