Book Review: On The Farm

RATING:

3 cookies out of 5

What's it about?

On the Farm by Stevie Cameron is a true crime novel about the Robert “Willie” Pickton murder case, investigation, and trial. It covers his childhood, youth, adulthood, and murder spree, as well as his family life, the actions of those close to him, personal accounts from friends and neighbours, and, now that the publication ban has been lifted, every detail you could ever want about the investigation.

Who would enjoy it?

Probably anyone who lives in Canada and followed the case of Robert Pickton. Even those who didn’t would still find it a worthy read. It is disturbing, frightening, and highlights the enormous flaws that existed in the Vancouver Police Department at the time, as well as the perspective British Columbians have towards prostitutes.

What I liked:

What I liked about this book was how thorough it was. I didn’t read it with any hope for lovely prose or great quotes, but rather to gain a better understanding of what took place to close to my home, and it provided that abundantly. The novel didn’t focus as much on making Pickton famous as it did the victims, and it bravely pointed out the enormous and frequent terrible errors the VPD made for years as women were disappearing. This book did the case and the murdered women justice, and shows how in many ways the law did not, and I found that to be one of the most compelling and upsetting parts of the novel.

What I didn’t like:

Obviously as someone who really appreciates beautiful writing, I didn’t find this novel very inspiring or stimulating, but of course it’s not meant to be. Inevitably though I struggled with the sometimes almost juvenile way the book was written, errors that should have been corrected in editing, and unnecessary repetitions that came along as though the author didn’t have a very organized grasp on what had been told already and what hadn’t. Reading it sort-of made me feel like I was watching something on television, and I had to alternate this book with another one in order to feel like I was actually working out my brain.

Overall:
In my opinion, a must-read for almost every Canadian. Good prose or bad, it is a page-turner, and the interviews with Pickton, as well as what the police found during the investigation of his farm are unfortunately as fascinating as they are upsetting. It is a necessary read so we all are able to understand why and how a tragedy this epic was able to take place, and prevent it from ever happening again.