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Loading... Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans (edition 2009)by Ethan Brown
Work detailsShake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans by Ethan Brown
None. Drug use, PTSD in soldier, broken families. This is an introduction to all kinds of sorrow around the Katrina Hurricane 1   ammurphy | Aug 26, 2010 |   This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.The horrifying details of the crime (the murder of Addie Hall and the suicide of Zackery Bowen in post-Katrina New Orleans) takes center stage through most of the book. I was intrigued by the stories that associate with Zack's tragic life: his rocky relationship with his (ex) wife (and a turbulent one with Addie), his troubled history of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) stemming from serving difficult tours of duty to Kosovo and Iraq that lead to drug and alcohol problems. It's a shame that the author didn't provide as much of an extensive back history of Addie as there was of Zack (even though the author did interview friends and acquaintances who knew her intimately). The only thing that I found disappointing is that the book veers away from the true crime element in the last two chapters and more into a diatribe against the local and federal government (for not doing enough to help New Orleans get back on its feet), the police department (for not alleviating the crime that plagues the city) and the military (for not helping its veterans in adjusting to civilian life after serving in a war zone). While I understand why the author uses these issues as a means to validate the tragic nature of this murder-suicide story, it doesn't need to warrant two chapters involving such issues to be covered if it is already done so in the book. (  )1 saint_kat | May 17, 2010 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. )1 Colie025 | Feb 12, 2010 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. )1 Jax450 | Dec 13, 2009 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.i did not enjoy this book but my wife did. after 3 chapters, i was wishing i had never started it. being a true crime buff, i thought this would be up my alley, but really couldnt get into it. my wife however, clearly liked this. it is not one that she would have picked up on her own. she stated that it should be read for the story, but if no other reason exists, to raise awareness of how our troops are mistreated and psychologically damaged/misdiagnosed upon their return to home after wartime. personally, i think i can get the same perspective from a book about the reagan era and an afternoon watching Rambo films. perhaps in a year, i will be able to finish this book. my 1 star and her 4 star equates 2.5 rating listed here. - FNORDinc.com (  )1 fnordinc | Nov 22, 2009 |
 Ultimately, the value of this provocative, if imperfect, book lies in its careful examination of a tragic crime; the author has also made a significant contribution to the literature about the Iraq war. “Shake the Devil Off” can best be read as a follow-up to Dexter Filkins’s perfect book, “The Forever War.” If Filkins taught us about the war over there, Brown has brought the war home, and for that he deserves much credit.  “Shake the Devil Off” is... a bottom-feeding account of boozy, mindless cruelty despite Mr. Brown’s strenuous efforts to give it the moral heft of a war story and to paint Zack as a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is not to say that Zack didn’t suffer, or that his suffering was not in some way emblematic of other veterans’ experiences. It’s to say that Mr. Brown, who reports this story with a heavy hand, tin ear and salacious eye, doesn’t make it matter.
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 Google Books — Loading...RatingAverage: (3.23)
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