Murderland
By Caroline Fraser
Review by Kazia
The premise of this book offered such intrigue that it fuelled a curiosity that demanded satiation; though I was honestly a bit sceptical going in. The implications to be drawn from Fraser’s interweaving narrative strike a disturbing picture. The idea that environmental degradation and interpersonal violence may be linked is not entirely new, and this book investigates the point with chilling frankness. Fraser points an accusing finger at corporate elites and does so without excusing violent individuals of their own blame.
The haunting revelations presented in this book pose an ever-relevant question: how much of the horrific violence that unfolded in this time and place was a consequence of the bloodied hands of capital? This exposition brutally highlights how the violence of capitalism breeds a much more personal type of violence, oozing into our psyches much the same way as our pollutants ooze into the environment. The result is toxicity nearly beyond comprehension, hidden in plain sight and leaving countless bodies in its wake. Fraser holds nothing back as she hammers into her readers a sharp point: to poison the land, the air, the waterways is to poison ourselves. Compelling and unsettling, this is a brilliant work of non-fiction.
For fans of true crime, ecological exposés or readers of The Forgotten Girls.
