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The Death Of Donna Whalen
When Donna Whalen is stabbed thirty-one times in her home on Empire Avenue in St. John’s, her friends, family, and neighbours believe the culprit to be her abusive boyfriend, Sheldon Troke. But the evidence is circumstantial, the testimonies tainted by personal bias and attempts at deception. Police and prosecutors face a daunting challenge, and the course of justice, with all its intricacies and failings, takes many unpredictable turns before the truth is finally revealed. In this extraordinary novel, Michael Winter has mined the records of Sheldon’s trial—thousands of pages of court transcripts, police wiretaps, newspaper reports, private letters and diary entries—and distilled their raw, naked truth into a mesmerizing work of documentary fiction that captures the myriad voices of the people involved.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 31, 2010
2 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
About the author
Michael Winter
8 books69 followersAuthor of five books: The Architects Are Here, The Big Why, This All Happened, One Last Good Look, Creaking in their Skins. His novel, The Death of Donna Whalen, is slated for publication in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 1, 2011
A brief synopsis of "The Death of Donna Whalen" would seem simple on the surface, and would also seem to separate swiftly those who would read such a story from those who would not. Based on a true case, the story is about a spirited but troubled young woman who meets a premature and very violent end. Her troubles prior to her death included dealing in behaviours and with people who were truly or reputed to be dangerous. It would seem clear who was responsible for her death. End of a cautionary tale, grimly told ...?
Not at all. Drawing on a daunting array of records from the real-life trial of the suspected murderer - court transcripts, police wiretaps, police and news reports, letters, diary excerpts and more - author Michael Winter has distilled them into a singular account of a murder case and its attendant tragedy that is not at all what it seems. Its transcendent approach to capturing this story should and will also draw in readers to the book who might normally eschew "true crime" fare.
Winter's innovation is that he has created an unlikely Greek chorus out of the voices that emerge from the towering stack of material that apparently lived at the back of his closet for a number of the years during which he grappled with how to tell the story. Further, out of the cacophony of confused, fearful and duplicitous voices telling their versions of Donna Whalen's story and fate, Winter forges a distinct voice of his own. The alchemy is that he takes first person accounts, compresses them, and sensitively and acutely converts them to the third person, while still retaining accents, inflections and resonances that create an unforgettable collective voice that haunted this reader in her dreams. The result is simultaneously intimate, distancing and authentic, making the story that much more compelling. The final effect also likely replicates the maddening conundrum that law enforcement, investigators and ultimately justice faced and struggled with in arriving at their flawed conclusions.
Many of the relationships between voices and figures in the story are not explained until the end of the book. While this creates some confusion, it also adds to the effect of there not seeming to be a single, reliable voice telling Donna's story. The reader struggles with her own trust and skepticism - which can change in waves from character to character, and from moment to moment with given characters - that is almost visceral, and therefore that much more intensely engaging.
Winter himself, as well as reviewers, have cited Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" as a point of reference and comparison for "The Death of Donna Whalen." While "Donna" is equally groundbreaking in form, the book is really closer in spirit, form and voice to Kenneth J. Harvey's "Inside". "Donna"'s collective voice is as pervasive, haunting and mercurial as "Inside"'s beleagured Myrden.
Winter as author and narrative voice is often charmingly, gregariously present in his previous books, such as This All Happened and The Architects Are Here. His presence in "The Death of Donna Whalen" is deceptively influential, but also respectfully circumspect. It will be interesting to see what "Donna" does or does not do with his voice in future works. Even if "Donna" stands alone in his oeuvre ... well, it truly stands alone, in every good sense of the phrase.
Not at all. Drawing on a daunting array of records from the real-life trial of the suspected murderer - court transcripts, police wiretaps, police and news reports, letters, diary excerpts and more - author Michael Winter has distilled them into a singular account of a murder case and its attendant tragedy that is not at all what it seems. Its transcendent approach to capturing this story should and will also draw in readers to the book who might normally eschew "true crime" fare.
Winter's innovation is that he has created an unlikely Greek chorus out of the voices that emerge from the towering stack of material that apparently lived at the back of his closet for a number of the years during which he grappled with how to tell the story. Further, out of the cacophony of confused, fearful and duplicitous voices telling their versions of Donna Whalen's story and fate, Winter forges a distinct voice of his own. The alchemy is that he takes first person accounts, compresses them, and sensitively and acutely converts them to the third person, while still retaining accents, inflections and resonances that create an unforgettable collective voice that haunted this reader in her dreams. The result is simultaneously intimate, distancing and authentic, making the story that much more compelling. The final effect also likely replicates the maddening conundrum that law enforcement, investigators and ultimately justice faced and struggled with in arriving at their flawed conclusions.
Many of the relationships between voices and figures in the story are not explained until the end of the book. While this creates some confusion, it also adds to the effect of there not seeming to be a single, reliable voice telling Donna's story. The reader struggles with her own trust and skepticism - which can change in waves from character to character, and from moment to moment with given characters - that is almost visceral, and therefore that much more intensely engaging.
Winter himself, as well as reviewers, have cited Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" as a point of reference and comparison for "The Death of Donna Whalen." While "Donna" is equally groundbreaking in form, the book is really closer in spirit, form and voice to Kenneth J. Harvey's "Inside". "Donna"'s collective voice is as pervasive, haunting and mercurial as "Inside"'s beleagured Myrden.
Winter as author and narrative voice is often charmingly, gregariously present in his previous books, such as This All Happened and The Architects Are Here. His presence in "The Death of Donna Whalen" is deceptively influential, but also respectfully circumspect. It will be interesting to see what "Donna" does or does not do with his voice in future works. Even if "Donna" stands alone in his oeuvre ... well, it truly stands alone, in every good sense of the phrase.
July 17, 2024
This book is very tough to rate… I honestly really enjoyed reading it because it felt like I was reading through only the juicy parts of a court file in the right order (which never happens) so kudos to Mr Winter for that, but at the same time, it did feel like I was reading through a court file (with the testimonies somewhat awkwardly rephrased to the third person) rather than a novel. This is a tragic and fascinating real life example of police corruption and incompetence which is important to read, and reading it 2 blocks away from where the murder happened was super eerie. I think this book is probably a 3.5⭐️ but I will give it 4 because of the ambiance of reading it in St. John’s….
December 25, 2010
It used to make me cringe whenever I’d see the expression ‘nonfiction novel’ used. It’s a contradictory term: novels, by definition, are fictitious, even if they’re ‘based on a true story’. But Canadian author Michael Winter has convinced me that there can indeed be such a beast.
In the summer of 1993, a single mother named Brenda Young was found on the floor of her Empire Avenue apartment in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She had been stabbed thirty-one times and her underwear was so tightly wrapped around her neck that the investigators initially assumed that it had been knotted in place. Her on-again /off-again boyfriend, Randy Druken, was convicted of murder and spent six years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence. In 2000 Druken received $2.1-million in compensation and a government apology.
Michael Winter intended to write a nonfiction account of Brenda’s murder and its aftermath, but felt uneasy about exploiting the death of a woman whom he later described as being “alive, really alive”. He was also concerned about the effect such a book might have on her survivors and the other people who were drawn unwillingly into the messy investigation and court proceedings. For awhile he shelved the project, but the story stayed with him, its allure becoming stronger with time. Finally Winter yielded- partly. Instead of a true crime book, he wrote The Death of Donna Whalen, a work of what he calls “documentary fiction.”
This novel takes its content and storyline from the public record, and anyone familiar with the case will recognize the real participants’ fictional counterparts. (Brenda Young is Donna Whalen, while Randy Druken becomes Sheldon Troke.) But what keeps the book from being invasive is its presentation as a fictionalized version of a real case.
The narrative unfolds primarily through the direct words of the characters, which are grouped and structured to resemble trial testimony and police witness statements. Liberal use of Newfoundland slang gives a more powerful sense of setting than any description of downtown St. John’s or the harbor. The entire presentation resonates deeply with me personally because I‘m originally from Eastern Canada, but you don’t have to be a Maritimer to enjoy this dark and compelling drama.
By dressing up an actual murder case as a fictional story, Winter helps outsiders better understand Donna Whalen / Brenda Young, Sheldon Troke / Randy Druken, and their world, which can be incomprehensible: Donna feared for her life, but let the man who slapped her around look after her two children whenever she wanted a night out. Donna’s little girl, Sharon, knew that Sheldon pushed her mother around yet still regarded him as a parent figure, going to him for advice when she had problems with her friends. But Winter demonstrates that violence was a natural and trivialized by-product of that society, where parties could end in knife fights and a jail cell was a second home to many.
Some readers may have trouble with how Michael Winter displaces elaborate descriptions and linear plot in favor of letting the story be told via a series of participant monologues. I admit that his approach is unique. But it makes The Death of Donna Whalen “alive, really alive”, just as he wanted Brenda Young to be remembered
In the summer of 1993, a single mother named Brenda Young was found on the floor of her Empire Avenue apartment in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She had been stabbed thirty-one times and her underwear was so tightly wrapped around her neck that the investigators initially assumed that it had been knotted in place. Her on-again /off-again boyfriend, Randy Druken, was convicted of murder and spent six years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence. In 2000 Druken received $2.1-million in compensation and a government apology.
Michael Winter intended to write a nonfiction account of Brenda’s murder and its aftermath, but felt uneasy about exploiting the death of a woman whom he later described as being “alive, really alive”. He was also concerned about the effect such a book might have on her survivors and the other people who were drawn unwillingly into the messy investigation and court proceedings. For awhile he shelved the project, but the story stayed with him, its allure becoming stronger with time. Finally Winter yielded- partly. Instead of a true crime book, he wrote The Death of Donna Whalen, a work of what he calls “documentary fiction.”
This novel takes its content and storyline from the public record, and anyone familiar with the case will recognize the real participants’ fictional counterparts. (Brenda Young is Donna Whalen, while Randy Druken becomes Sheldon Troke.) But what keeps the book from being invasive is its presentation as a fictionalized version of a real case.
The narrative unfolds primarily through the direct words of the characters, which are grouped and structured to resemble trial testimony and police witness statements. Liberal use of Newfoundland slang gives a more powerful sense of setting than any description of downtown St. John’s or the harbor. The entire presentation resonates deeply with me personally because I‘m originally from Eastern Canada, but you don’t have to be a Maritimer to enjoy this dark and compelling drama.
By dressing up an actual murder case as a fictional story, Winter helps outsiders better understand Donna Whalen / Brenda Young, Sheldon Troke / Randy Druken, and their world, which can be incomprehensible: Donna feared for her life, but let the man who slapped her around look after her two children whenever she wanted a night out. Donna’s little girl, Sharon, knew that Sheldon pushed her mother around yet still regarded him as a parent figure, going to him for advice when she had problems with her friends. But Winter demonstrates that violence was a natural and trivialized by-product of that society, where parties could end in knife fights and a jail cell was a second home to many.
Some readers may have trouble with how Michael Winter displaces elaborate descriptions and linear plot in favor of letting the story be told via a series of participant monologues. I admit that his approach is unique. But it makes The Death of Donna Whalen “alive, really alive”, just as he wanted Brenda Young to be remembered
June 30, 2011
The first work of documentary-fiction that I have ever read. The introductory section indicates a little bit about that Winter means by this term, but I found listening to an interview with him on the cbc podcast 'the next chapter' more informative. Winters is calling it fiction only insofar as he changed the names of the people involved and constructed the testimony and records into something of a coherent narrative. In addition, he changed the testimony from first person to third person.
Clearly Winter does not want to lump himself in with true-crime writers - there is something more he wants to be told with the tragedy and events of this story.
And it truly is a disturbing and heart-wrenching story that reveals a lot about the not always just dynamics between the justice system and small communities. Not that there are any people involved in this story that one could point to as shining examples of good moral living. this is the underbelly of st.john's urban life - people who are living at the margins of society in an environment of drug abuse, violence, regular periods in prison, petty (and for some more serious) crimes, and a general instability that made me wonder at times, how can they go on living in these conditions. for me it would be too much to bear.
There is a difficulty with the way the narrative is constructed - without background knowledge of the places and people and time frames that people are talking about things got very muddled up in my head, to the point where I couldn't quickly discern where stories were changing (at least until the latter half of the book).
so, who would I recommend this book to? This is hard to determine - it is certainly not a book for everyone. I do think though, that Winter has succeeded in appealing to a larger audience than simply the true-crime type, as I am certainly not a true-crime aficionado.
Clearly Winter does not want to lump himself in with true-crime writers - there is something more he wants to be told with the tragedy and events of this story.
And it truly is a disturbing and heart-wrenching story that reveals a lot about the not always just dynamics between the justice system and small communities. Not that there are any people involved in this story that one could point to as shining examples of good moral living. this is the underbelly of st.john's urban life - people who are living at the margins of society in an environment of drug abuse, violence, regular periods in prison, petty (and for some more serious) crimes, and a general instability that made me wonder at times, how can they go on living in these conditions. for me it would be too much to bear.
There is a difficulty with the way the narrative is constructed - without background knowledge of the places and people and time frames that people are talking about things got very muddled up in my head, to the point where I couldn't quickly discern where stories were changing (at least until the latter half of the book).
so, who would I recommend this book to? This is hard to determine - it is certainly not a book for everyone. I do think though, that Winter has succeeded in appealing to a larger audience than simply the true-crime type, as I am certainly not a true-crime aficionado.
September 16, 2010
This is an absolutely amazing work of "documentary fiction" that kept me completely captivated. Based on an actual murder that took place in St.John's Newfoundland, Michael Winter has taken court testimonies and transcripts and written a novel that vividly shows the tragedy, hopelessness, and despair surrounding the death of Donna Whalen.
It's easy to Google the real murder that took place in 1993...and you'll be compelled to...but because Winter took such care to keep the identity of these people as private as he could, it almost seems wrong to really take a look at what happened. And then again, you don't really need to know the names of these people because Winter does such a perfect job of providing you with accurate information throughout the book.
The tone that the author writes with is at first a bit disconcerting...sentences written in blatant phrasing to make you think and take you into the lives of these people who so often seem as though they have given up on life. But those sentences, those words, are the voice and the heart of this book.
Speechless over this one.
It's easy to Google the real murder that took place in 1993...and you'll be compelled to...but because Winter took such care to keep the identity of these people as private as he could, it almost seems wrong to really take a look at what happened. And then again, you don't really need to know the names of these people because Winter does such a perfect job of providing you with accurate information throughout the book.
The tone that the author writes with is at first a bit disconcerting...sentences written in blatant phrasing to make you think and take you into the lives of these people who so often seem as though they have given up on life. But those sentences, those words, are the voice and the heart of this book.
Speechless over this one.
October 22, 2011
I liked this book. I liked the tone and the pacing and I actually really liked the interesting way it was punctuated. It was strange to read it in this sort of chatting at the pub or the Tim Hortons kind of way though. Last year I was studying Canadian miscarriages of justice and all the things that can go wrong in investigations. My readings included the Lamer Report
http://www.justice.gov.nl.ca/just/pub...
It just seemed sort of surreal to now read this account of one of these miscarriages of justice and have it become so much more human and real than a rather cold and detached government report. I think this is why I never read true crime books.
http://www.justice.gov.nl.ca/just/pub...
It just seemed sort of surreal to now read this account of one of these miscarriages of justice and have it become so much more human and real than a rather cold and detached government report. I think this is why I never read true crime books.
October 31, 2011
This story is written in 'documentary fiction' style as it goes into detail from different points of view on the events and persons involved with the death of Donna Whalen (based on true events) that happened in Atlantic Canada through interviews, court documents, wiretaps and newpaper articles. It is an interesting approach to present the story and issues, while the speech and grammar was a little hard to grasp (which I am sure it is local linguistics at work in written format). Also glad there was an epilogue to give us more insight to the story.
Read
August 18, 2014I actually couldn't finish. I don't know why, because the story totally intrigues me, especially since it's based on a true event. Maybe the style? I'm not quite sure. I tried three times. Maybe I'm just not ready.
August 19, 2023
Michael Winter, The Death of Donna Whalen. Hamish Hamilton, 2010.
I have liked very much the other three novels that I’ve read by Michael Winter–This All Happened, The Big Why, and Minister without Portfolio–but not this one. Winter is very good at ensemble fiction: that is, fiction that, while focalized through a character, explores the larger community of which the character is a part. Those communities are never idyllic–the friends in This All Happened, friends and the outport Renews in Minister without Portfolio, the outport of Brigus in The Big Why–but are full of conflicts, disputes, tensions, and histories along with love, happiness, and content. For Winter, the value of these communities is the glue of belonging, connection, even entanglement. Whatever the drawbacks, that glue is something to which Winter’s characters aspire.
But in The Death of Donna Whalen,Winter is not as successful. The book might have also been called Down and Out in St. John’s, because the community here seems to be down and outers. The story is based on an actual murder in St. John’s, and Winter had access to the trial transcripts and witness interviews. Besides the Orwellian resonance (Down and Out in Paris and London, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood also resonates here. The novel could be called, perhaps, a police procedural.
The basic problem is that the characters are not interesting: they are dull, desperate, and insular. Because of their insularity, they don’t seem very aware of the place where they live. In Winter’s other books, the characters are very aware of the world around them, which, given Winter’s eye for detail, enriches the settings of those novels. In The Death of Donna Whalen, the setting is barren, because perhaps Winter has straight-jacketed himself with his characters. I also wonder if he has straight-jacketed himself because he is using trial transcripts and witness interviews. Usually, Winter’s writing is lively because of his keen eye for details as well as characters who are thoughtful and perceptive. Here, the writing if often dull perhaps because the characters through which he focalizes are dull or, to be a little kinder, they are not used to articulating their experiences.
Nonetheless, I’ve read the first 100 pages–the first chapter, “Friends and Neighbors” and 15 pages of the second, “The Murder”--and I am stopping, because I have lost interest in what I’m reading and can’t concentrate. The words on the page don’t tell me anything, water under a bridge. I try to finish books I start, but sometimes I just can’t.
I have liked very much the other three novels that I’ve read by Michael Winter–This All Happened, The Big Why, and Minister without Portfolio–but not this one. Winter is very good at ensemble fiction: that is, fiction that, while focalized through a character, explores the larger community of which the character is a part. Those communities are never idyllic–the friends in This All Happened, friends and the outport Renews in Minister without Portfolio, the outport of Brigus in The Big Why–but are full of conflicts, disputes, tensions, and histories along with love, happiness, and content. For Winter, the value of these communities is the glue of belonging, connection, even entanglement. Whatever the drawbacks, that glue is something to which Winter’s characters aspire.
But in The Death of Donna Whalen,Winter is not as successful. The book might have also been called Down and Out in St. John’s, because the community here seems to be down and outers. The story is based on an actual murder in St. John’s, and Winter had access to the trial transcripts and witness interviews. Besides the Orwellian resonance (Down and Out in Paris and London, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood also resonates here. The novel could be called, perhaps, a police procedural.
The basic problem is that the characters are not interesting: they are dull, desperate, and insular. Because of their insularity, they don’t seem very aware of the place where they live. In Winter’s other books, the characters are very aware of the world around them, which, given Winter’s eye for detail, enriches the settings of those novels. In The Death of Donna Whalen, the setting is barren, because perhaps Winter has straight-jacketed himself with his characters. I also wonder if he has straight-jacketed himself because he is using trial transcripts and witness interviews. Usually, Winter’s writing is lively because of his keen eye for details as well as characters who are thoughtful and perceptive. Here, the writing if often dull perhaps because the characters through which he focalizes are dull or, to be a little kinder, they are not used to articulating their experiences.
Nonetheless, I’ve read the first 100 pages–the first chapter, “Friends and Neighbors” and 15 pages of the second, “The Murder”--and I am stopping, because I have lost interest in what I’m reading and can’t concentrate. The words on the page don’t tell me anything, water under a bridge. I try to finish books I start, but sometimes I just can’t.
January 1, 2018
I'm conflicted on this book.
On the one hand, it fascinated me and I really loved the ride. I felt like I was part of the jury, listening and processing the evidence that came in. I read the testimony of witnesses and tried to figure out exactly what happened. Just to understand the flow of the trial made the book worth the read.
On the other hand, it was hard to read. The characters dialogue was real but it was clunky. A lot of the testimony also felt repetitive and made me weary as I tried to process it. As a result, I found myself reading the book very slowly.
The sad thing reading the book is that it fit with many of the stories I have read today about how trials seem so easily influenced. The police aggressively pushed their narrative, making the evidence fit their suspicions, rather than forming their suspicions around the evidence. The witnesses also heavily interacted with one another, which I had never thought about the likelihood and impact this could have on a trial.
Overall, the book is a very interesting read, one I think is well worth it for anyone interested in the criminal justice process. Unfortunately, it's just not always a page turner.
On the one hand, it fascinated me and I really loved the ride. I felt like I was part of the jury, listening and processing the evidence that came in. I read the testimony of witnesses and tried to figure out exactly what happened. Just to understand the flow of the trial made the book worth the read.
On the other hand, it was hard to read. The characters dialogue was real but it was clunky. A lot of the testimony also felt repetitive and made me weary as I tried to process it. As a result, I found myself reading the book very slowly.
The sad thing reading the book is that it fit with many of the stories I have read today about how trials seem so easily influenced. The police aggressively pushed their narrative, making the evidence fit their suspicions, rather than forming their suspicions around the evidence. The witnesses also heavily interacted with one another, which I had never thought about the likelihood and impact this could have on a trial.
Overall, the book is a very interesting read, one I think is well worth it for anyone interested in the criminal justice process. Unfortunately, it's just not always a page turner.
February 2, 2020
This "documentary fiction" is based on the true story of a brutal murder that took place in Newfoundland in 1993. The story itself is interesting enough however the author's decision to change all the court records and testimonies from the first person to the third person made for awkward reading.
April 11, 2020
Difficult to follow. Unusual style. Dark subject matter.
July 10, 2025
i had to force myself to finish this. so many characters and all over the place, it was hard to follow
December 28, 2016
excellent read, told in the vernacular, i felt i was right there in StJohns !
October 29, 2011
Well I wouldn't pick this book up if you're expecting an easy thrilling read. Filled with countless snippets, statements and accounts from both sides of the actual event, it reads like a bog of information that it surely was when they were trying to sort through it to find the murderer. Top that off with the fact that it's all done with 'Newfoundland speak' , it sometimes becomes hard to understand. (I don't have anything against Newfoundlanders - my sister in law loved living there and she loved how they would put things. But if you're not versed in how they twist their words, it's sometimes hard to follow. I was glad that I'd had a versing from her at least, when I started to read some of the statements).
Despite that fact, it was an interesting insight to reality. How and what has to be sorted through in order to find the guilty person isn't as easy as it's portrayed on TV. It certainly can't be sorted out in a convenient one hour package that we're all so used to. Nor do the clues just jump out and are so wonderfully obvious either. Nor is the staff all so competent or caring. It makes for quite a muddled finale. And truly it - at least for me - it doesn't really sort itself out. Despite some telling information, there's an incredible amount of grey area. It's very difficult to say what information is true or not or which has been planted or influenced or not. Unfortunately it didn't get any clearer as the book progressed. I was just glad the author sort of summed it up at the end.
I think the real tragedy in the story, apart from the murder itself, was the fact that her two children were the ones that found her the next morning. I can't imagine their horror of it. Nor of the continual horror that they will no doubt have to relive on a daily basis as they try to sort out their lives. Kids get such a raw deal in life sometimes and it's always forgotten that they'll grow up to be adults one day. How it's expected that they'll be able to function normally, as it if never happened, is beyond me. Ask any 'survivor' of any trauma and they'll tell you - it's not so easy. Even more so if you're a child. My heart ached for them.
I would like to read another book by Michael Winter. I don't think this was representational of his writing. I do think it was something that was close to his heart though and weighed heavily so he had to give it some form of life to release it.
Despite that fact, it was an interesting insight to reality. How and what has to be sorted through in order to find the guilty person isn't as easy as it's portrayed on TV. It certainly can't be sorted out in a convenient one hour package that we're all so used to. Nor do the clues just jump out and are so wonderfully obvious either. Nor is the staff all so competent or caring. It makes for quite a muddled finale. And truly it - at least for me - it doesn't really sort itself out. Despite some telling information, there's an incredible amount of grey area. It's very difficult to say what information is true or not or which has been planted or influenced or not. Unfortunately it didn't get any clearer as the book progressed. I was just glad the author sort of summed it up at the end.
I think the real tragedy in the story, apart from the murder itself, was the fact that her two children were the ones that found her the next morning. I can't imagine their horror of it. Nor of the continual horror that they will no doubt have to relive on a daily basis as they try to sort out their lives. Kids get such a raw deal in life sometimes and it's always forgotten that they'll grow up to be adults one day. How it's expected that they'll be able to function normally, as it if never happened, is beyond me. Ask any 'survivor' of any trauma and they'll tell you - it's not so easy. Even more so if you're a child. My heart ached for them.
I would like to read another book by Michael Winter. I don't think this was representational of his writing. I do think it was something that was close to his heart though and weighed heavily so he had to give it some form of life to release it.
May 23, 2015
Michael Winter has deliberately blurred the line between fiction and non-fiction in this book, making use of transcripts and testimonies to build a narrative that examines the circumstances surrounding a notorious murder that occurred in St. John's, Nfld, and the subsequent conviction of the man police were convinced committed the crime. The Death of Donna Whalen is described in the publicity blurb as a "work of documentary fiction," and the narrative consists of third-person accounts from the point of view of the various players in this sorry drama. There is no doubt that Winter effectively draws the reader into an unsavoury world filled with criminals, addicts, drunks and liars. But does it make a good novel? Strangely, for a book about a murder, it is often tedious. The reader will find it tough going, trying to locate a coherent story in these sometimes contradictory, occasionally misleading accounts. And because none of the characters--including the victim--attract the reader's sympathy, the book remains emotionally inert. Michael Winter has attempted something different in this book and perhaps can be lauded for sheer audacity. But it's possible readers will be disappointed by the result. Short listed for the 2010 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
January 17, 2022
This book was so creepy, I couldn't sleep.
August 25, 2011
Yet another clear example of the truth being stranger than fiction. Nothing good comes of the sad story of the murder of a young mother of two in St. John's. Her live in boyfriend is ultimately convicted of the crime; a judicial enquiry concludes years later that the police investigation had tunnel vision, and that the accused should never have been charged, let alone convicted. Ultimately the boyfriend, Sheldon Troke in the novel, is released from jail after serving 6 years once DNA evidence finally clears him of involvement in the gruesome killing. Michael Winter lets the witnesses tell Donna Whalen's tale, and it is beyond disturbing. Witnesses' versions of events are confused, and are heavily influenced by what they hear from others (and from the police about their investigation). This is not an easy read, but it is fascinating and a painful look at our justice system.
February 9, 2011
The story is interesting. A real-crime 'fiction' tale taken from actual transcripts of the trial and the events that lead up before and after the crime. I'm not sure how much is 'fiction' and how much is non-fiction though. The author states himself he has changed the names around. Maybe that is all that was changed? It took awhile to get used to the syntax of the prose, like the slang and the lack of punctuation. The story runs together also. I eventually got used to it but I thought it took such a long time to get into the structure of the novel so I might have lost something along the way. I found the syntax was distracting. Apart from that, the story was great and I might have given it another star if it didn't take me so long to get into the rhythm.
December 31, 2015
I would give this 2.5 stars if I could, only because I really started to enjoy myself about 3/4 of the way through.
I'll admit that this was a tough one for me. The documentary-style was difficult to become accustomed to, and by the time I finally felt comfortable the novel was over. However, there were brief passages that I found particularly moving: the ear-piercing scene between Sheldon and Sharon in particular. These brief flashes of humanity amongst so much deceit and corruption are the defining attribute of this work. Rather than remaining a cold, poorly-run investigation, the entire affair comes to life.
Unfortunately the flopping back and forth between tenses, characters, and events didn't really appeal to me. An excellent read for some, a "meh" for me.
I'll admit that this was a tough one for me. The documentary-style was difficult to become accustomed to, and by the time I finally felt comfortable the novel was over. However, there were brief passages that I found particularly moving: the ear-piercing scene between Sheldon and Sharon in particular. These brief flashes of humanity amongst so much deceit and corruption are the defining attribute of this work. Rather than remaining a cold, poorly-run investigation, the entire affair comes to life.
Unfortunately the flopping back and forth between tenses, characters, and events didn't really appeal to me. An excellent read for some, a "meh" for me.
September 6, 2016
I know a lot of people rave about this book on GoodReads, and I'd have given it 2.5 stars if that were an option.
The main problem I have with the book is the many "characters" and the going back and forth between them. It's hard to keep track, and to remember what role each person plays in the "story". Also, the vernacular that is used and the lack of punctuation make reading unnecessarily difficult. I'm accustomed to "Newfie" dialect, as I've spent many summers on the Rock, but this seems particularly thick.
The "Donna Whalen" story is tragic, and I'm glad I know more about it; I just wish I could have read a true crime book, instead of this documentary fiction.
The main problem I have with the book is the many "characters" and the going back and forth between them. It's hard to keep track, and to remember what role each person plays in the "story". Also, the vernacular that is used and the lack of punctuation make reading unnecessarily difficult. I'm accustomed to "Newfie" dialect, as I've spent many summers on the Rock, but this seems particularly thick.
The "Donna Whalen" story is tragic, and I'm glad I know more about it; I just wish I could have read a true crime book, instead of this documentary fiction.
October 14, 2011
Riveting.
The patterns of speech, the devastating turns of plot. It took a few pages to sort out the rhythm and narration (and the cast of characters really should be in the front of the book, not the back), and I would like to hear the reasons for shifting from first to third person, because often the speech *seems* so obviously spilling out of the person's mouth. (Seems, because I don't honestly know how the book was constructed.) Though the omniscient, eye of the community, voice has its moments.
Even without the murder it stands up as a unique window into a culture.
The patterns of speech, the devastating turns of plot. It took a few pages to sort out the rhythm and narration (and the cast of characters really should be in the front of the book, not the back), and I would like to hear the reasons for shifting from first to third person, because often the speech *seems* so obviously spilling out of the person's mouth. (Seems, because I don't honestly know how the book was constructed.) Though the omniscient, eye of the community, voice has its moments.
Even without the murder it stands up as a unique window into a culture.
July 13, 2012
I abandoned the last Michael Winter novel I attempted very early, as his idiosyncratic use of apostrophes -- or non-use, I should say -- got on my nerves. He does the same thing in this book, but the subject and structure of this book make this style seem appropriate. It's a fast read because it's hard to put down, even if familiarity with the actual case (Winter has changed the names of the people involved, but otherwise derives much of his text directly from the evidence of a murder investigation and trial) means that you know what's going to happen right from the start.
July 11, 2012
While Winter's use of Newfoundland dialect can be difficult for a mainlander to follow at times, it adds a sense of authenticity to the text - truly "documentary fiction", as the author dubbed it. Winter does a great job of capturing the city and conveying how a community deals with the aftermath of a crime. The process of reading this novel was not the most enjoyable one, but overall it proves to be a satisfactory work.
October 19, 2011
This was such a different book, I liked the format. I am glad the author decided to write the book, though I can understand the struggle with the idea of benefitting from someone else's pain.
It hit on a lot of difficult topics and served as a reminder that there are as many versions of a story as there are storytellers.
It hit on a lot of difficult topics and served as a reminder that there are as many versions of a story as there are storytellers.
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September 28, 2013Michael Winter's ability to speak in the voices of his fellow Newfoundlanders is stunning. This book is a partial non fiction; it uses transcripts of interviews taken after the death of a real person. It's very moving but I'd like to read one of his fictions next. Really strong writer and worth reading.
August 29, 2011
I like the premise of this book - a multi-level examination of the death of woman. A real life.
I found that the dialogue was hard to follow at times - not due to regional language differences, but maybe not enough authorial intervention.
I found that the dialogue was hard to follow at times - not due to regional language differences, but maybe not enough authorial intervention.
May 18, 2014
Loved this book. Which is strange because of the terrible subject material. Winter writes with such compassion and somehow without judgement. But he doesn't gloss over the tough stuff--he holds it up for us to examen and he grieves alongside us as we fail to find resolution.
November 19, 2013
a novel not for everyone - some would probably find this boring. but I'd you have any interest in murder cases and reliability of witnesses and police investigation, it's absolutely worth the read, and an accurate portrayal of a trial and investigation (albeit a botched one).
September 27, 2010
I really don't understand what a documentary fiction is. At first I found the writing style very hard to get used to but I soon became hooked. In the end I would say I enjoyed it.
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