Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

75 reviews

oceanwriter's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Living on oil-rich land, the Osage Indians had a fortune. Unfortunately, this fortune was largely monitored and limited by the government. When members of the tribe begin dying under mysterious circumstances, it calls for investigation. 
 
I found the book to be informative and I was particularly invested in the first part of the book. Once it switched to part two, I struggled to get used to the new perspective and narration which was particularly distracting while listening to the audiobook and the narrators changed. Still, I learned a lot and my heart breaks for the Osage people, not only for their losses but also for the mistreatment and conservatorship they were subjected to. 
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matcha_cat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

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mishasmum's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

Very easy read for a fiction. Shines light on an underreported tragedy while keeping suspense and mystery.
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peterplaysguitar's review against another edition

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informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

Killers of the Flower Moon is a true crime story that almost feels like an old Hammett novel—not for the prose, but the drama of the content. There were many times while reading that my mouth fell open in quiet shock over what I was reading, and I'm still struggling to comprehend the brazen evil required of the perpetrators of the crimes. The story is told in three distinct parts (
a detective mystery, a courtroom drama, and a present-day investigation
) and each unravels more tangled knots of the Reign of Terror.

There are aspects of the story that I question the veracity of, namely the polished heroism of lead detective Tom White, whose only flaws it seems was that he was too moral and stoic. While reading, I did have a feeling that Grann might have taken some creative liberties with the minutiae of the events and actions of the people involved. But until I am able to read more about the Reign of Terror, I'll take Grann with a grain of salt and trust that he did his best to temper any dramatization with evidence and research.

Killers of the Flower Moon is thrilling and tragic, infuriating and engrossing. Highly recommended for anyone who wants (or needs) to face the sordid reality of the American spirit.
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nc_unknown_user's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.5

It often feels difficult or unfair to review books like these. The story is heartbreaking and to know real people experienced these things is terrible. Especially because this still probably doesn’t even cover half of it and there are so many stories that will left untold or forever unknown for many of those who were among those lost during these times. Unfortunately, the writing felt lacking in some ways. Not that I expected it to be some page-turner for my entertainment… it just felt disjointed in its presentation and hard to follow. I found it difficult to keep track of the information being presented and even now that I have finished the book, I feel like I only vaguely know what happened and how it took place. The story itself is interesting so I feel it was just the style of writing that takes away from it. It felt unnecessary to break the book up into three separate parts. All in all, I would be interested in doing more reading on this subject, but not by this author. 
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emmaemooney's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

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hannahbee_97's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

The narration on this was well done. I didn’t know anything about the Osage murders before reading this, it left me absolutely horrified and irate. It’s so important to remember the disgusting history of oppression that the US is built on and to take action against the ways that oppression continues to exist. The last third of the book hit me hardest.
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doreneemi's review against another edition

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dark informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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sierrah_2101's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

 
"Virtually every element of society was complicit in the murderous system." -David Grann

I read Grann's novel in tandem with watching Scorsese's film, which only intensified both works' emotional impact on me. Grann's novel, which he spent over a decade researching, focused on Tom White's investigation into the 20-year terrorization of the Osage Nation. White recognized 24 murders associated with this reign, but Grann offers a significantly higher total: 60+. Throughout the novel, Grann offers many options for motives to these murders, but he offers you the above quote: money, power, greed, stolen through a government, a culture that was not only blind to it but complicit to it.

Although passionately researched by Grann over many years, my main gripe with the novel matched the opinion of DiCaprio: Upon reading the screenplay directly adapted from Grann's novel, DiCaprio realized how focused on White, and the true crime/procedural aspects of the novel. Thus, for the film, he offered that the story focuses more on the Osage themselves, specifically on Mollie Burkhart. This, emotionally, is where Grann stumbles the most. While packed with true crime intrigue, the novel focuses the vast majority of the pages on White, his history, and his contributions to the growth and development of the FBI.

This isn't to say that it was poorly written or didn't have a clear emphasis on empathy and self-awareness (of ourselves and the privileges we receive from our culture and system of government). Grann leads us through the mystery in such an intriguing way I could not put the book down for two days straight. His writing style, while simple, was straightforward in all the ways it needed to be. There was no beating around the bush on how horrible these people were. Not to mention, Grann pressed on to meet and interview many Osage families and connect tens more murders to the original "outbreak". It felt cathartic as a reader, and I hope it was even more so for the families that had been waiting a century for closure.

"Killers of the Flower Moon", the film and the novel, are heavy, heart-wrenching works that every American should be exposed to. The sheer nakedness of greed is still occurring today, with the same amount of deeply ingrained racism. Grann's novel taps into these ideas with beauty and tact, and both his and Scorsese's work. I only wish one day these stories will be told by American Indians themselves. 

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gabbyeleene's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

3.75

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