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Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason
In Journal , Kristine Atkinson and Joyce Atkinson conjure the voyeuristic appeal of finding a stranger's diary, then becoming transfixed with the secrets contained within. These pages belong to artist, wife, and mother Amy Zoe Mason, whose riveting storytelling relies equally on visual and verbal clues.
Using an old book as her canvas, Amy layers words, collages, newspaper clippings, and emails into a personal narrative that at first feels familiar, until the sense of alarm begins to build. Readers will find themselves scouring the pages for missed hints and important evidence , compelled to interpret the signs.
Using an old book as her canvas, Amy layers words, collages, newspaper clippings, and emails into a personal narrative that at first feels familiar, until the sense of alarm begins to build. Readers will find themselves scouring the pages for missed hints and important evidence , compelled to interpret the signs.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published August 15, 2006
314 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
January 5, 2009
The blurb on this mystery book says "Readers will find themselves scouring the pages of missed hints and important evidence, compelled to interpret the signs." I certainly did. This mystery is written as a feigned altered book made into a journal/scrapbook style by a Houston housewife, who is dealing with her mother’s death and a move to Boston where her husband a heart Doctor has gained a prestigious position, but she’s dealing with a lot more as she and the reader soon find out. The story is set in Houston where I live so that appealed to me but that wasn’t' the only thing I liked. I absolutely love this book. The style of it makes it an incredibly intriguing read and I highly recommend it.
September 4, 2023
Wow, this was interesting and actually got dark that I didn't expected it to be!
May 26, 2012
Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason is a clever concept executed by sisters Kristine and Joyce Atkinson. The conceit is that the authors (er, I mean the women who "found" the journal) purchased a piece of furniture at a resale shop and, when preparing to refinish it, discovered this journal hidden under one of its drawers.
The "Journal" itself (wink, wink) is part art project/part psychiatric homework/part confessional executed by a young married mother of two who is in the process of packing up her recently-deceased mother's possessions and preparing to sell the house so that she and her two children can join her cardiologist husband who has just assumed a prestigious position in Boston. Through snippets of family photos, e-mails, postcards, and Amy's own caligraphied and later sloppily handwritten notes to herself, readers witness the dissolution of Amy's perfect world.
At first blush, the story called to mind such projects as Bantok's Griffin & Sabine series, Leanne Shapton's oh-so-clever spoof catalog titled Important Artifacts and Personal Property of the Collection of Lenore Dooland & Harold Morris through which one pieces together the beginning, middle and financial termination of that relationship, or even Stephanie Meyer's journalesque The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Heck, I even kinda enjoyed Lynch & Peters' Secret Life of Laura Palmer back in the day--so this form of story is an easy sell for me. That said, it's hard not to compare this work with the first two of those just-named projects--in which case this one falls a bit short as the artwork of this "altered book" doesn't enjoy the inseparable fit between story and artwork that those other works achieve. This, coupled with the fact that it's pretty clear what led to and who is responsible for Amy's untimely demise--oh, and the fact that you never really care about any of the characters in the book--are what make it fall short of those other efforts.
It's a really clever concept and I think that if Amy's death had been a little less obvious, the authors might have succeeded in getting us to wonder "what if...?" every time we read the Society pages or descriptions of some big philanthropy "do" planned, hosted and attended by the Beautiful People. Instead, because it wasn't, the reader is never unsettled beyond the pages of this book--which I had sincerely wished it had been able to accomplish. But don't take my word for it. This really is a clever idea and a super fast read (seriously, two hours will do you), so check it out yourself.
The "Journal" itself (wink, wink) is part art project/part psychiatric homework/part confessional executed by a young married mother of two who is in the process of packing up her recently-deceased mother's possessions and preparing to sell the house so that she and her two children can join her cardiologist husband who has just assumed a prestigious position in Boston. Through snippets of family photos, e-mails, postcards, and Amy's own caligraphied and later sloppily handwritten notes to herself, readers witness the dissolution of Amy's perfect world.
At first blush, the story called to mind such projects as Bantok's Griffin & Sabine series, Leanne Shapton's oh-so-clever spoof catalog titled Important Artifacts and Personal Property of the Collection of Lenore Dooland & Harold Morris through which one pieces together the beginning, middle and financial termination of that relationship, or even Stephanie Meyer's journalesque The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Heck, I even kinda enjoyed Lynch & Peters' Secret Life of Laura Palmer back in the day--so this form of story is an easy sell for me. That said, it's hard not to compare this work with the first two of those just-named projects--in which case this one falls a bit short as the artwork of this "altered book" doesn't enjoy the inseparable fit between story and artwork that those other works achieve. This, coupled with the fact that it's pretty clear what led to and who is responsible for Amy's untimely demise--oh, and the fact that you never really care about any of the characters in the book--are what make it fall short of those other efforts.
It's a really clever concept and I think that if Amy's death had been a little less obvious, the authors might have succeeded in getting us to wonder "what if...?" every time we read the Society pages or descriptions of some big philanthropy "do" planned, hosted and attended by the Beautiful People. Instead, because it wasn't, the reader is never unsettled beyond the pages of this book--which I had sincerely wished it had been able to accomplish. But don't take my word for it. This really is a clever idea and a super fast read (seriously, two hours will do you), so check it out yourself.
July 30, 2011
I have to say, I was quite disappointed in this book. It is a beautiful book -- a quick flip through the pages promises a fun mystery with tons of places to hide a variety of clues. Unfortunately, the pages don't actually deliver on these promises and once I finished, I couldn't help wishing I could ask for my time back. On the plus side, it only took a couple of hours to go through and, as I mentioned before, the pages are quite lovely. I feel like the Atkinson sisters had a great idea with this book but were unable to follow through to tie-in the story and the technique.
I glanced at the user rating for this book on Amazon.com and was quite surprised to see that it has been given 4 out of 5 stars with 38 reviews. I'm going to have to go flip through the reviews now to see if perhaps I've missed something monumental...
I glanced at the user rating for this book on Amazon.com and was quite surprised to see that it has been given 4 out of 5 stars with 38 reviews. I'm going to have to go flip through the reviews now to see if perhaps I've missed something monumental...
February 9, 2020
This is a short read and the story is not particularly unique or well developed - the characters are all stereotypes without much depth, even the main character who writes the journal - you would expect that in a book structured like this you would get to know that character very well but it is all pretty superficial.
That said, I give it 3 stars for taking a creative approach and style to story telling that made the book more interesting and something different than the usual.
That said, I give it 3 stars for taking a creative approach and style to story telling that made the book more interesting and something different than the usual.
April 19, 2019
I loved this Journal, the idea is so beautiful to tell a story through the eyes of a housewife who lost everything she cared about, through scraping until she is killed. I hated the ending but I can't remove this book from my mind. It's extremely beautiful and well executed.
November 9, 2019
I found myself endlessly searching for all the clues to piece everything together. I really enjoyed the story and all the creative pages. I knew what was coming the more intense and erratic her typing became.
March 18, 2024
This is why I love ergodic literature!
The Atkinsons have created such a compelling story, specially for someone like me who is in a married relationship. The doubts, fears, mistrust, and at the end apparent betrayal. It might be open ended, but it is satisfying nonetheless.
The Atkinsons have created such a compelling story, specially for someone like me who is in a married relationship. The doubts, fears, mistrust, and at the end apparent betrayal. It might be open ended, but it is satisfying nonetheless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2012
Have to give the Atkinson sisters credit for creativity here. They've taken a well-used plot--woman can't decide whether she's going crazy or whether her husband and other people around her are conspiring against her--and given it a whole new twist. Think of this as if Rod Serling decided to do Twilight Zone as a scrapbooker. Using a jumble of typewritten sections, old pictures, new clippings of receipts, newspaper articles, and emails we see Amy go from a happily married woman trying to deal with the recent death of her mother and an upcoming move to Boston where her husband has taken a very high-profile job to someone questioning everything. The real estate agent helping to sell their home in Houston is very friendly. Why is she so friendly? Her husband loves her. Doesn't he? The plot builds nicely and you often find yourself looking back through previous pages to make sure you didn't miss something. Unfortunately the book failed for me for two reasons. The author's use emails between Amy and her husband, Bob, to further the story. No couple would write to each other is complete sentences saying how nice it was to see them the previous weekend and reviewing all that they did or didn't do. It rings so false it bothered me. The other thing is that Amy writes her journal entries on an old typewriter. When she starts out, they're neat without no errors. As the story progresses the entries have words X-ed out or typed over, and Amy mentions that her typing ability is affected by her emotions. That would be OK but as the entries go on and Amy becomes more upset the typewritten letters are no longer spaced the way they were before. Some letters are higher or lower than others. It's clearly intended to show Amy's emotional deterioration, but typewriters just don't do that. But, as I said at the beginning, definite points for creativity.
August 13, 2012
It was around either 2009 or early 2010 and I found this lost on the Sale table at National Bookstore in SM Southmall. I found out that it wasn't part of the "sale", I got rigged alright. It costs 719pesos! But the book itself seemed so interesting. It was an art and a mystery at the same time, so I bought it anyways.
As the book emphasizes so on the cover, it is indeed a Journal. This is the diary of Amy Zoe Mason. With this beautifully Altered Book(it's suppose to be an old book with torn yellow pages so someone altered it to be a journal and sold it), she writes the happenings of her life. From her kids Susan and Alex to her very attractive husband Bob, she makes an art out of it.
She releases the artist in her by scrap-booking and attaching email print-outs and self-confessions.
But wait!
Who is this Vanessa Garamond?
Why is she suddenly in their lives?
Why does Amy feel so vigilant about her?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love this book, to be really honest. It might lack some out-of-this-world-oh-my-goodness-I-never-saw-it-coming flair but it's STILL very engaging.
A vintage and sophisticated book. The art inside is so beautiful. Your eyes are fed well with every page. With Amy's fortune cookie messages and other quotes inside, I fell for it immediately and decided that the money was worth it. My copy of this book is very much mint conditioned!
I love how she tries to erase the words she typed on the typewriter by overlapping it with x's. You can still read it if you look closely, her cussing is so human.
Vanessa with Auburn red hair at the end: Hilarity!
This is my first re-read and reminiscing with this one is still quite a pleasure!
As the book emphasizes so on the cover, it is indeed a Journal. This is the diary of Amy Zoe Mason. With this beautifully Altered Book(it's suppose to be an old book with torn yellow pages so someone altered it to be a journal and sold it), she writes the happenings of her life. From her kids Susan and Alex to her very attractive husband Bob, she makes an art out of it.
She releases the artist in her by scrap-booking and attaching email print-outs and self-confessions.
But wait!
Who is this Vanessa Garamond?
Why is she suddenly in their lives?
Why does Amy feel so vigilant about her?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love this book, to be really honest. It might lack some out-of-this-world-oh-my-goodness-I-never-saw-it-coming flair but it's STILL very engaging.
A vintage and sophisticated book. The art inside is so beautiful. Your eyes are fed well with every page. With Amy's fortune cookie messages and other quotes inside, I fell for it immediately and decided that the money was worth it. My copy of this book is very much mint conditioned!
I love how she tries to erase the words she typed on the typewriter by overlapping it with x's. You can still read it if you look closely, her cussing is so human.
Vanessa with Auburn red hair at the end: Hilarity!
This is my first re-read and reminiscing with this one is still quite a pleasure!
August 9, 2014
Normally, I wouldn't pick out this type of book, but I was at a book sale and they were about to close up shop. I guess they were trying to sell out their inventory as much as possible so they offered a deal of all the books one could manage to put into a box for $5. I picked this one out because it was so pretty and had such a comfy feel (the cover was padded) to it so I figured what have I got to lose. It wasn't bad. I was able to read it in one day. The story centers around a woman whose mother has just died, she is about to move out of state with her cardiologist husband who's been offered a presitgious position, and she has to stay behind with her two children until they sell their house. In order to deal with the stress, she buys this journal to help her deal with what she's going through. She chooses a real estate agent who begins to befriend Amy, the main character. This woman begins to slowly take over Amy's life.
The story is quite cliche, You can see what's coming a mile away, but it is so beautifully presented in the form of an "altered book". It makes one feel a bit voyeuristic reading through it, but I must say I felt for the main character and was quite angry at this woman who is trying to usurp her.
I would probably give this 2.5 stars if it were posible because it really is no brain work to read this book, but since I can't do half stars I'll go with the three only because I had fun reading it and found it hard to put down until I finished it.
The story is quite cliche, You can see what's coming a mile away, but it is so beautifully presented in the form of an "altered book". It makes one feel a bit voyeuristic reading through it, but I must say I felt for the main character and was quite angry at this woman who is trying to usurp her.
I would probably give this 2.5 stars if it were posible because it really is no brain work to read this book, but since I can't do half stars I'll go with the three only because I had fun reading it and found it hard to put down until I finished it.
June 5, 2008
This is a journal of clippings, pictures, e-mails, notes, etc. written by a Texan housewife named Amy Zoe Mason who becomes suspicious of a new friend's honesty. Her sudden death at the end leaves the reader to wonder if she committed suicide or if someone murdered her.
After I finished reading this, I decided that I liked it. Mainly just because I thought it was a true journal, like the "editors" played it out to be, and I found it very ominous that a woman's journal could so blatantly reveal her death was a murder and yet her murderer had gone unpunished.
Joyce and Kristine Atkinson pretend like the journal was found in an old desk they bought at an antique store. But what a scam! I had to really do some looking before I realized that it was fiction and that the "editors" were really authors. And they even went so far as to create false websites (a page made by Amy's daughter and the daughter's myspace page are created to look like the real products of a teenage girl). Because I intially thought it was interesting, I'll give it two stars instead of one, despite how upset I am with how far the authors went with this false journal.
Find more book reviews at A Quick Red Fox.
After I finished reading this, I decided that I liked it. Mainly just because I thought it was a true journal, like the "editors" played it out to be, and I found it very ominous that a woman's journal could so blatantly reveal her death was a murder and yet her murderer had gone unpunished.
Joyce and Kristine Atkinson pretend like the journal was found in an old desk they bought at an antique store. But what a scam! I had to really do some looking before I realized that it was fiction and that the "editors" were really authors. And they even went so far as to create false websites (a page made by Amy's daughter and the daughter's myspace page are created to look like the real products of a teenage girl). Because I intially thought it was interesting, I'll give it two stars instead of one, despite how upset I am with how far the authors went with this false journal.
Find more book reviews at A Quick Red Fox.
March 17, 2009
This is put together as a journal/scrapbook and the cover is slightly padded, to enhance that presentation. IT is an "adapted book", an already printed book re-used as a journal and scrapbook and sometimes bits of the text are visible. There is no narrative text, you sort of follow the clues. On every page are copies of e-mails, journal entries, business cards, photographs, etc. Remember, according to the title, she dies, and you can see possibilities popping up. She's so vunerable that you want to yell, "Be careful!". I am almost through but I won't tell anymore.
March 12, 2010
Came across at the library. I love books like this, similar to the Griffin & Sabine series. Not much of a mystery, but that doesn't matter to me. It's that the book is so visually appealing and creative.
Someone mentioned a corresponding website. I've not yet been to it, but may go to it when I need a diversion.
Someone mentioned a corresponding website. I've not yet been to it, but may go to it when I need a diversion.
July 1, 2010
Cute, and an interesting concept. At first I was relieved that it wasn't super difficult to read (in the sense that I didn't feel like there were nuances I was missing), and then I wondered why I didn't feel compelled, as the blurb said, to go back and reread looking for suspicious signs. They were all right there! A quick read.
January 18, 2011
This book was visually stunning, and the journey it took you on was amazing. You can feel her despair as the days go by, and it leaves you wondering at the end. The format of this book really inspired me, and I have already picked up an old book to start my own altered journal. Great mystery, wonderful book.
May 22, 2016
If I could give it a half star or less, I would. In one word: predictable. Insanely predictable! It's not worth the money or time! I kept thinking: it's not that simple....it is. Steer clear of this one.
April 22, 2019
A quick read. It was pretty obvious to me what happens to Amy within the first few pages, but I enjoyed the format of the book and the story being told in journal entries, newspaper clippings, and old photos and recipes and emails.
September 12, 2014
Interesting premise--actual journal form by woman who ends up dead. Short.
May 24, 2016
Beautiful book, interesting delivery, predictable plot.
June 29, 2021
What a unique way to tell a story! The cover immediately caught my eye, and when I looked inside and saw this is a "found files" type of visual mystery novel, I had to check it out!
I loved the scrapbook-style storytelling. The fluctuating quality of work based on the narrator's moods brings a nuanced layer of depth to the novel. The tone is spot-on for the story the Atkinson sisters were aiming to tell: the beginning optimism; the growing anxiety, and deteriorating mental health; the tension of the climax; each stage of the story flows seamlessly into the next.
My one complaint is that the end is inconclusive. I mean, the book just stops. The authors, the "finders" of this journal, don't even throw in their own speculations on what became of Amy Mason. This is acceptable because it leaves the reader with an enigma to gnaw on, but I just found the abrupt ending jarring.
I loved the scrapbook-style storytelling. The fluctuating quality of work based on the narrator's moods brings a nuanced layer of depth to the novel. The tone is spot-on for the story the Atkinson sisters were aiming to tell: the beginning optimism; the growing anxiety, and deteriorating mental health; the tension of the climax; each stage of the story flows seamlessly into the next.
My one complaint is that the end is inconclusive. I mean, the book just stops. The authors, the "finders" of this journal, don't even throw in their own speculations on what became of Amy Mason. This is acceptable because it leaves the reader with an enigma to gnaw on, but I just found the abrupt ending jarring.
November 12, 2023
This is a clever little book that can be read in one sitting. Basically, it is a multigenre novel / art journal chronicling Amy Zoe Mason's family as they get ready to move from Houston to their new home in Boston because of Amy's husband's new job. Amy is left behind to sell their home, let the kids finish their school years, and all that other moving stuff while her husband travels between Boston - where a prestigious new medical center has hired him as director - and his family. The introduction of an overly-helpful Houston real estate agent begins to feel sketchy, and eventually Amy Mason dies. The authors suggest they found her art journal in the back of a desk they bought at a second-hand shop, but they also draw some conclusions as to what might have happened to Amy. Overall, it's a clever mystery told with beautiful two-page art journal spreads, all set in an old copy of Owen Meredith's long poem, Lucile, about a married man who comes into contact with his old mistress.
March 16, 2018
I'm a big fan of epistolary novels so I was excited to pick up this one which purported to be a mystery. There wasn't actually an mystery as it was obvious what was going to happen and who was responsible from the beginning. It was still interesting to see Amy blithely walking towards her doom. That sounds awful! Lol! I did feel that the visuals didn't often match up very well with the story and they felt kind of random and pointless. I didn't notice any "hidden" clues as it all seemed out in the open but maybe I'm missing something subtle. Overall I appreciated the unique format and the basic story but this is definitely not the best example of this type of book.
January 16, 2022
I would give this book 5 stars for beauty and creativity. I found it inspiring and now want to create an altered book journal myself. Unfortunately I would only give it 3 stars for execution of the plot. It needed more daily life interspersed throughout the journal entries so the ending would be less predictable, more shocking.
All in all I did enjoy it and would recommend it for a lovely quick read.
All in all I did enjoy it and would recommend it for a lovely quick read.
August 21, 2018
The Griffin and Sabine trilogy was so much better!! If you like a diary/letter format, I highly recommend you read them instead. This book was a quick read with a fun diary format, but there was a definite lack of any sort of mystery. It was very predictable and was a disappointment in the end for me.
November 28, 2020
The book is beautiful and I love style/ art. I did find that it was a fun read and kept my interest but it was not anything exceptional. There really is not anything mysterious about what is going to happen, it’s easily detectable at the beginning of the book. I wish it was more ominous and allowed the reader to fill in more of the “what if’s”.
December 2, 2025
I liked it. I thought it would be a mystery, but it’s really more of a thriller short story. Very beautiful art, and makes me excited to collage more. Not a super sophisticated story or voice; definitely reads as a project by two visual artists, not writers by trade. I enjoyed myself, but it was certainly a shallow experience. I consider this more a piece of art than a work of literature.
January 29, 2021
Mostly, I was intrigued by the format. I kept wondering if the poem over which Amy's articles were pasted was important -- and tried to read little bits of it. I have no idea where I came across this book, but it was a quick and fun read.
December 5, 2021
A fun idea, and a great twist on a mystery! I have to admit (perhaps because I read so many mysteries) I did see the end coming, but I enjoyed the creative way we got to the finale and the way the authors wrapped things up!
January 9, 2022
I enjoyed the concept of reading a "found" journal along with articles at the end put in by the Atkinson sisters who found it. The attention to detail was spectacular especially with the background imagery and notes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews