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Waiting to Be Heard: A memoir by Amanda Knox – review Waiting to Be Heard: A memoir by Amanda Knox – review
(5 months later)
Amanda Knox was an aspiring writer when she arrived in Perugia in 2007, as shown by an early, stumbling short story about rape which was quickly seized on to show her violent tendencies when she was arrested for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher.Amanda Knox was an aspiring writer when she arrived in Perugia in 2007, as shown by an early, stumbling short story about rape which was quickly seized on to show her violent tendencies when she was arrested for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher.
Seven years on, after her dramatic acquittal on appeal, she has written a book about that murder, but this time her notoriety has bagged her a reported $4m (£2.6m) advance.Seven years on, after her dramatic acquittal on appeal, she has written a book about that murder, but this time her notoriety has bagged her a reported $4m (£2.6m) advance.
Yet Waiting to Be Heard is better than just required reading for the warring and often obsessive factions that continue to fight over her guilt or innocence in online forums and blogs.Yet Waiting to Be Heard is better than just required reading for the warring and often obsessive factions that continue to fight over her guilt or innocence in online forums and blogs.
The student from Seattle has had time to buff up her prose and the result is an intriguing and often compelling account of the trauma of spending the best years of one's life in an Italian provincial jail, at the whim of what she claims are bumbling, spiteful investigators.The student from Seattle has had time to buff up her prose and the result is an intriguing and often compelling account of the trauma of spending the best years of one's life in an Italian provincial jail, at the whim of what she claims are bumbling, spiteful investigators.
Parts of the story have quickly made tabloid headlines, such as the prison official who told her, "Don't worry. I'd still have sex with you right now", after she was falsely diagnosed as HIV positive, or how she pondered the neatest way to kill herself (bag over the head and a gas canister).Parts of the story have quickly made tabloid headlines, such as the prison official who told her, "Don't worry. I'd still have sex with you right now", after she was falsely diagnosed as HIV positive, or how she pondered the neatest way to kill herself (bag over the head and a gas canister).
But Knox is also good on details, on how nutmeg was considered a narcotic if taken in large quantities and banned from the jail, and how stamps were torn off letters for fear drugs could be glued on their underside, while her deft descriptions of her cellmates are even better, from a bisexual cleanliness fanatic to the "kind and uneducated" sisters Pica and Falda.But Knox is also good on details, on how nutmeg was considered a narcotic if taken in large quantities and banned from the jail, and how stamps were torn off letters for fear drugs could be glued on their underside, while her deft descriptions of her cellmates are even better, from a bisexual cleanliness fanatic to the "kind and uneducated" sisters Pica and Falda.
"When I tried to explain that Seattle was on the other side of the globe, they didn't know what I was talking about. Finally, I realised they didn't know the Earth was round.""When I tried to explain that Seattle was on the other side of the globe, they didn't know what I was talking about. Finally, I realised they didn't know the Earth was round."
Knox learns to trust no one and assumes hidden microphones are everywhere after a transcript of a conversation she had with her mother during a visit turns up in a local paper.Knox learns to trust no one and assumes hidden microphones are everywhere after a transcript of a conversation she had with her mother during a visit turns up in a local paper.
Her stark account fills in the gaps behind the fleeting glimpses the world caught of her during her court appearances, when her stress-driven hair loss, fast-improving Italian and even her choice of T-shirt spawned countless articles.Her stark account fills in the gaps behind the fleeting glimpses the world caught of her during her court appearances, when her stress-driven hair loss, fast-improving Italian and even her choice of T-shirt spawned countless articles.
During my months in Perugia covering the case, local magistrate Giuliano Mignini – Knox's chief accuser – told me wistfully he was convinced he had come extremely close to squeezing a confession out of Knox during one tense interrogation session in jail, only for her lawyers to jump in and stop the questioning.During my months in Perugia covering the case, local magistrate Giuliano Mignini – Knox's chief accuser – told me wistfully he was convinced he had come extremely close to squeezing a confession out of Knox during one tense interrogation session in jail, only for her lawyers to jump in and stop the questioning.
Now Knox gives her side of the story, accusing the magistrate of bullying her into making one slip-up after hours of aggressive questioning while she was trying to convince him of her innocence.Now Knox gives her side of the story, accusing the magistrate of bullying her into making one slip-up after hours of aggressive questioning while she was trying to convince him of her innocence.
"In Mignini's hands, everything was distorted and bent to seem like more evidence of my guilt, and I was devastated," she writes."In Mignini's hands, everything was distorted and bent to seem like more evidence of my guilt, and I was devastated," she writes.
Accused by investigators of craving sexual kicks, Knox candidly admits she was "on a campaign to have casual sex" when she moved to Perugia, but just as quickly realising it left her cold.Accused by investigators of craving sexual kicks, Knox candidly admits she was "on a campaign to have casual sex" when she moved to Perugia, but just as quickly realising it left her cold.
Turning to the famous footage of her kissing her then boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito as police inspected the crime scene, she claims, "Watching a clip of it now, my stomach seizes. I'm gripped by the same awful feelings I had that afternoon. I can only see myself as I was: young and scared, in need of comfort."Turning to the famous footage of her kissing her then boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito as police inspected the crime scene, she claims, "Watching a clip of it now, my stomach seizes. I'm gripped by the same awful feelings I had that afternoon. I can only see myself as I was: young and scared, in need of comfort."
Older and wiser, Knox now faces a retrial after Italy's supreme court overturned her acquittal in March, and Perugia's law enforcers will no doubt be licking their lips after seeing themselves described as vindictive liars. But after reading her account, I cannot imagine Knox will willingly choose to return to Italy to face them again in court.Older and wiser, Knox now faces a retrial after Italy's supreme court overturned her acquittal in March, and Perugia's law enforcers will no doubt be licking their lips after seeing themselves described as vindictive liars. But after reading her account, I cannot imagine Knox will willingly choose to return to Italy to face them again in court.
Waiting to Be Heard is published in America and available onlineWaiting to Be Heard is published in America and available online
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