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wilder's review
dark
slow-paced
1.5
1.5 / 5
I'm deliberately rounding down so that this book doesn't fall into someone's hands that isn't actively seeking it out to begin with.
I should preface this by saying that my rating does not encompass this entire book. My rating is ONLY for the forewords done by Colin Wilson and Sondra London, respectively. I will not be rating the tales of brutality and sadism written by Schaefer, as I (and many others) interpret those as confessions to at least a handful of his actual killings. I read them, they were obviously distasteful, curiosity and the cat, etc. etc. etc.
Again, this review is only for the first ~150 pages, before any writings by Schaefer begin, and the various inserts by London sprinkled throughout.
Firstly, to put it as nicely as I can, Colin Wilson is a creep. His foreword was frankly pointless and seemed pandering, and it only succeeded in making himself look bad (he's nowhere NEAR as bad as Schaefer, obviously, because the only underage girl Wilson has been with seduced him. Sarcasm.) 'Nuff said.
To find any sort of silver lining in this thing: Sondra London does include some interesting notes about Schaefer's time in a Florida prison, most notably when he was buddy buddy with a handful of nightmares like Ted Bundy. It was certainly a perspective I had yet to see, and I found their casual musings of methods and fantasies to be disturbing yet morbidly fascinating.
And yet. Sondra London is like one of those true crime "fans" that we all sort of side eye at work, who gush about murders as if they're the newest episode of an HBO show. I'm no stranger to deep diving into cases myself on a frequent basis (I mean... I'm reading this book) but it's the way they get excited to be around these people, they revel in the brutality and tragedy of it all. Y'all are weird.
I see this reflected heavily in her writings throughout this book, how she on one hand had NO idea that Schaefer would turn into this monster (she dated him in high school), but then she suddenly connects the dots all these years later after he's convicted of these crimes and becomes infamous across the nation. 20/20 hindsight and all that. Except she literally says that while they were dating, Schaefer would ramble about wanting to kill his female neighbor, and how dare she be scantily clad while she sunbathes in her own yard. Didn't see any red flags, Ms. London? M'kay.
And the part that actually made me scoff: London drew the line at the racist remarks by Schaefer, and made sure we knew that. It wasn't the homophobia, it wasn't the sexism, it wasn't the god complex. It wasn't the BRUTAL MURDERS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS. The NECROPHILIA. No, it was the racism. What made her cut off her meetings with Schaefer after a few years of hugging on him and spending time with him in prison, it was his racist remarks that she simply couldn't stomach. Clap on the back for you, Sondra, you absolute paragon of social justice.
I'm deliberately rounding down so that this book doesn't fall into someone's hands that isn't actively seeking it out to begin with.
I should preface this by saying that my rating does not encompass this entire book. My rating is ONLY for the forewords done by Colin Wilson and Sondra London, respectively. I will not be rating the tales of brutality and sadism written by Schaefer, as I (and many others) interpret those as confessions to at least a handful of his actual killings. I read them, they were obviously distasteful, curiosity and the cat, etc. etc. etc.
Again, this review is only for the first ~150 pages, before any writings by Schaefer begin, and the various inserts by London sprinkled throughout.
Firstly, to put it as nicely as I can, Colin Wilson is a creep. His foreword was frankly pointless and seemed pandering, and it only succeeded in making himself look bad (he's nowhere NEAR as bad as Schaefer, obviously, because the only underage girl Wilson has been with seduced him. Sarcasm.) 'Nuff said.
To find any sort of silver lining in this thing: Sondra London does include some interesting notes about Schaefer's time in a Florida prison, most notably when he was buddy buddy with a handful of nightmares like Ted Bundy. It was certainly a perspective I had yet to see, and I found their casual musings of methods and fantasies to be disturbing yet morbidly fascinating.
And yet. Sondra London is like one of those true crime "fans" that we all sort of side eye at work, who gush about murders as if they're the newest episode of an HBO show. I'm no stranger to deep diving into cases myself on a frequent basis (I mean... I'm reading this book) but it's the way they get excited to be around these people, they revel in the brutality and tragedy of it all. Y'all are weird.
I see this reflected heavily in her writings throughout this book, how she on one hand had NO idea that Schaefer would turn into this monster (she dated him in high school), but then she suddenly connects the dots all these years later after he's convicted of these crimes and becomes infamous across the nation. 20/20 hindsight and all that. Except she literally says that while they were dating, Schaefer would ramble about wanting to kill his female neighbor, and how dare she be scantily clad while she sunbathes in her own yard. Didn't see any red flags, Ms. London? M'kay.
And the part that actually made me scoff: London drew the line at the racist remarks by Schaefer, and made sure we knew that. It wasn't the homophobia, it wasn't the sexism, it wasn't the god complex. It wasn't the BRUTAL MURDERS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS. The NECROPHILIA. No, it was the racism. What made her cut off her meetings with Schaefer after a few years of hugging on him and spending time with him in prison, it was his racist remarks that she simply couldn't stomach. Clap on the back for you, Sondra, you absolute paragon of social justice.