When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold

by Alia Trabucco Zerán

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"When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold analyzes four homicides carried out by Chilean women over the course of the twentieth century. Drawing on her training as a lawyer, Alia Trabucco Zera?n offers a nuanced close reading of their lives and crimes, foregoing sensationalism in favor of dissecting how all four were perpetrators of grievous violent acts at the same time as being victims of another, more insidious kind of violence. This radical retelling challenges the archetype of the woman show more murderer and reveals another narrative, one as disturbing and provocative as the transgressions themselves: what causes women to lash out against the restraints of gendered domesticity, and how do we-readers, viewers, the media, the art world, the political establishment-treat them once they do? Expertly intertwining true crime, critical essay, and research diary, International Booker Prize finalist Alia Trabucco Zera?n (The Remainder), in a translation by Sophie Hughes (Hurricane Season), brings an overdue feminist perspective to the study of deviant women"-- show less

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2 reviews
This is much like a long-form essay examining how the government, press, & the public portrayed four female murderers during the 20th century in Chile, looking at these cases through a lens of 21st century feminism. How do these groups (gov't, press, public) "explain" murder in order to assure the public that there is no need for worry or general panic? Throughout history, the idea of women being dangerous is an idea that has been squelched. It is also a bit of musing on how women's voices are silenced through history, their records often erased, as well as the painstaking work to even find old records to research for this book. I'd call this one true-crime-adjacent (because it's not really an examination of the actual crimes or trials) show more with interesting angles & commentary to ponder in relation to the lens of how these crimes were "marketed" for the court of public opinion. A compelling book. show less

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Author Information

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5+ Works 493 Members

Awards and Honors

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold
Original title
Las Homicidas
Original publication date
2019
People/Characters
Corina Rojas; Rosa Faúndez; Carolina Geel; Teresa Alfaro
Epigraph
As far as they're concerned, a woman is wild if she has a mind of her own. - Crista Wolf
First words
"Women who kill" I reply, time and again, when people ask me what my book is about.
Original language
Spanish

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, History
DDC/MDS
364.152Society, government, & cultureSocial problems and social servicesCrimeCriminal offensesOffenses against the personHomicide
LCC
HV6535 .C63Social sciencesSocial pathology. Social and public welfare. CriminologySocial pathology. Social and public welfare.CriminologyCrimes and offenses
BISAC

Statistics

Members
98
Popularity
329,762
Reviews
1
Rating
(3.75)
Languages
5 — English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
10
ASINs
4