WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? The Fall Girl by Marcia Clark. I was so impressed by Marcia Clark's true crime book (see below) that I decided to give her fiction a try. There's an awful lot going on here. Chicago DA Lauren Clayborne has to leave town in a hurry. She assumes a new identity and moves to a new city, Santa Cruz. There she crosses paths with Erika Lorman, the office superstar. Erika is prosecuting a high-profile murder case, with a popular celebrity chef as defendant. I'm not sure where this is going, but I'm going to stick with it. I like Clark's style, even if right now I'm not in love with her pacing.

 
2. What did you recently finish reading? Trial by Ambush by Marcia Clark. In the 1970s, when my feminism was awakening, Barbara Graham was important to me. In 1953 she was just the third woman ever put to death in California, and there were serious questions about her guilt and her treatment by the press and justice system. I remember thinking at the time, "She was executed for being a slut."

This book introduced me to all the nuances of the law and the trial, but yeah, Barbara Graham was executed for being a slut. 

I hadn't before realized that one of the people who helped bury Barbara -- figuratively and literally -- was another inmate. Donna Prow seduced Barbara into a sexual relationship and got her to incriminate herself. Barbara's love letters were read to the jury to inflame their anti-LGBTQ prejudice. What the jury never knew was that Donna had been enlisted by the State of California and was released early in exchange for her efforts. Kind of an "I was a lesbian for justice" situation. It was appalling. Especially when you consider that Donna was in prison for vehicular homicide, a crime she never denied. Donna, who undoubtedly killed someone, walked free while Barbara, who may not have, got the gas chamber. Have a nice day.

Barbara's story is told by Marcia Clark of OJ Simpson fame. She brings a prosecutor's sensibility to the case and even she was disgusted by the way the State of California behaved. One interesting aspect: Graham was prosecuted by J. Miller Levy. A long-time and highly successful DA in Southern California, he had been one of Clark's heroes ... until she researched the Graham trial. Hearing her come to grips with the clay feet of her idol was sad and compelling.

This one will stay with me for a while.

3. What will you read next? I don't know.