A review by speedreadstagram
The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson

5.0

The Barn was a rather interesting book. It’s one of those books I went into based on the blurb but got so much more from it. I expected this book to solely focus on the case of Emmett Till, but as I mentioned, I got so much more. Through the history of The Barn, I learned of other egregious crimes that have occurred in this location over the years as well as educating me on the surrounding area. I am from the North, and oftentimes feel like the south is a totally different place. During the time period covered in this book, the south was almost unrecognizable from the south it is today. I enjoyed learning about the history though I did feel that the author got lost in himself at times, the sentences seemed to carry on and on. However, this wasn’t a huge issue overall and I really did get into this story. It was easy to become immersed in these pages, as the author did a fantastic job transporting me to the area and time and making me feel apart of the story. It was uncomfortable, and the story wasn’t a heartwarming story, but it is an important story, and one that I think played out more than we like to think about, so it is good to read books like this to learn. I think that the author did a fantastic job telling the story and presenting the facts in a palatable way so that I was engaged and wanted to stay reading.

I listened to this one thanks to PRHAudio and it is read by the author. I think that it was a nice treat having it done that way because it added an extra something special and he knew exactly where to add extra emphasis.

Thank you to @penguinpress @prhaudio and the author @wrightthompsonbooks for the audiobook copy. All thoughts are my own.