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So Many Fragile Things: Historical True Crime
Here's a strange mixture of religion and fanaticism...Love and murder...
In 1994, Amy was working as a genealogist, researching a family's history. While paging through volumes of Amish, Mennonite & Apostolic Christian relatives, she came to the story of a mother and her three young children who had all died on the same day—March 13, 1900. Was it an accident? An illness of some kind? Amy soon learned that the husband and father of this young family had murdered them after being excommunicated from the Amish church.
The sensational trial would demand answers of the church itself.
In 1994, Amy was working as a genealogist, researching a family's history. While paging through volumes of Amish, Mennonite & Apostolic Christian relatives, she came to the story of a mother and her three young children who had all died on the same day—March 13, 1900. Was it an accident? An illness of some kind? Amy soon learned that the husband and father of this young family had murdered them after being excommunicated from the Amish church.
The sensational trial would demand answers of the church itself.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 5, 2024
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24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 19, 2024
A second time read for me. I enjoyed Amy's style of writing - straight forward, detailed, clear, easy to follow. I also enjoyed how she gave equal time to both perspectives - Moser & the Church. I didn't expect that, as the book started off with Moser's confession. I thought it was a done deal. And the more I read about both sides, I had to keep reading to see how the jury decided the outcome of the trial. I appreciate all the research done for this book, especially having to find sources from 100+ years ago. I feel that the last chapter explained Amy's viewpoint for the book & she stayed true to it.
I really liked how she began each chapter with a contemporary quote from a wide variety of sources - books, music, etc. - clever! It was dismaying to note that not much has changed in courtrooms and with newspapers - you expect the truth & it might be in there somewhere. However, don't count on it.
I will say, I liked the visual layout of the 1st edition by the different printer more than this edition. In that 1st edition, there were more changes in typeface, more photos, graphs (especially the one that explained the time line of Protestanism - fascinating!), which broke up the tedium of the long trial transcripts.
Overall, I give this edition 4.5/5 stars. Bravo to Amy for a story well told.
I really liked how she began each chapter with a contemporary quote from a wide variety of sources - books, music, etc. - clever! It was dismaying to note that not much has changed in courtrooms and with newspapers - you expect the truth & it might be in there somewhere. However, don't count on it.
I will say, I liked the visual layout of the 1st edition by the different printer more than this edition. In that 1st edition, there were more changes in typeface, more photos, graphs (especially the one that explained the time line of Protestanism - fascinating!), which broke up the tedium of the long trial transcripts.
Overall, I give this edition 4.5/5 stars. Bravo to Amy for a story well told.
March 17, 2024
Riveting. Compelling. Sobering
These are just a few of the feelings I have upon finishing this book. It’s definitely not something I typically read, but the authors short description on a social media post piqued my curiosity.
I empathized with Sam Moser in so many ways, having seen many of the atrocities visited on this man with my own eyes nearly 100 years later, I couldn’t help but feel his pain as it echoed my own. I can’t condone his actions, they were horrific, but I do understand him in a way most of you cannot. Not everyone’s experience with religion and family is pleasant, and I’m just grateful to have cut ties with all of it, and not lost my self and soul like Sam.
These are just a few of the feelings I have upon finishing this book. It’s definitely not something I typically read, but the authors short description on a social media post piqued my curiosity.
I empathized with Sam Moser in so many ways, having seen many of the atrocities visited on this man with my own eyes nearly 100 years later, I couldn’t help but feel his pain as it echoed my own. I can’t condone his actions, they were horrific, but I do understand him in a way most of you cannot. Not everyone’s experience with religion and family is pleasant, and I’m just grateful to have cut ties with all of it, and not lost my self and soul like Sam.
March 26, 2024
Ok...So...
I hate to do this to an author, ANY author but this meticulous play by play that details all irrelevant minutae as well as relevant was well nigh unreadable to me. I understand about being thorough and being neutral, but this book lacks Life...that spark that makes you long to read the next page.
I hate to do this to an author, ANY author but this meticulous play by play that details all irrelevant minutae as well as relevant was well nigh unreadable to me. I understand about being thorough and being neutral, but this book lacks Life...that spark that makes you long to read the next page.
May 9, 2024
Torn between ⭐️⭐️ and ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Overall a good story, but I skimmed HUGE parts of the trial because there were entirely too many insignificant details. The play-by-play writing was tedious, and would have benefited from a more ruthless editor.
June 30, 2024
Read again to check over the audiobook! So excited for it to come out.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews