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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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Diary of a Predator: A Memoir
by Amy Herdy
Disturbing
and unforgettable
Finally captured by law
officials in 2005, serial rapist Brent Brents left a long chain of
victims --- male and female, adult and child. Pleading
guilty to eighty charges, Brents received a sentence of 1,509 years,
the longest sentence in Colorado history. Brent Brents granted
Denver Post journalist Amy Herdy an exclusive interview. Though
his letters and interviews, readers hear his story through his own
words. What made Brent Brents the predator he became?
Can a man who committed such monstrous acts ever see others as
something else than someone to manipulate and dominate? Is there
an ounce of humanity left in a man who himself was victimized? IN
DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR, Amy Herdy asks these questions and more.
After an award-winning investigative series for the Denver
Post, "Betrayal in the Ranks," a series about
sexual assault in the military, news journalist Amy Herdy
turns her vision in a new direction. Instead of investigating
crime from the point of the view of the victims, she writes from the
perspective of the perpetrator. In addition, the choice of the
genre of the memoir rather than news story expands the author's vision
from a detached more objective style of writing to one that allows for
more personal insights and involvement. DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A
MEMOIR is as much about Amy Herdy's journey as it is a story about
Brent Brents and his sexual crimes. For this reason, readers
should approach this book not as just a true crime story, but a book
that makes use of different genres and writing styles to approach a
closer examination of the perpetrator and the effects that his story
has upon the journalist. While investigating the crimes, the
author's relationship to writing itself changes as she comes to see
more closely the nature of journalism today. Indeed, DIARY OF A
PREDATOR: A MEMOIR challenges the predatory nature of news. Brent
Brents speaks in his own words through letters. Amy Herdy chooses
to respect the subject rather than looking for the next sensational
headline. Because of her integrity, readers catch a closer
glimpse of Brent Brents.
Make no doubt about it: DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR is a difficult
book to read not because of the writing but because of the nature of
the crimes. Amy Herdy does not gloss over the disturbing,
horrifying reality of the crimes Brent Brents committed. Readers
should be prepared. At the same time, Amy Herdy ventures into
territory that might make other readers just as uncomfortable.
Amy Herdy goes beyond the stereotype of the monster. Even the
closeness of the author to the story, a perspective antithetical to
journalism, disquiets a reader. Is he manipulating her too?
Is she too close to the story? In the end, this reader feels that
the author's ability not to distance herself gave this story its daring
force and ability to engage readers on a deeper level. As the
story develops, the reader journeys alongside the author towards a
place of hope. This is a qualified hope, one that does not
dismiss the crimes but is there nevertheless. DIARY
OF A PREDATOR: A MEMOIR is both disturbing and unforgettable.
Weeks after finishing this book, it is as powerful as it was after
finishing the final page. DIARY OF A PREDATOR: A
MEMOIR and the story of Brent Brents challenge readers to face
themselves and their core conflicts between the uneasy and often
conflicting values of crime and humanity, justice and redemption.
However small might be the glimmer of hope, this hope challenges a
reader all the more because the crimes are not excused, the man not
glorified. Brilliant!
Publisher: Vincent
Publishing House (January 16, 2011)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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