People Kill People
The first words in this book captured the essence of this novel, “Guns don’t kill people, People kill people.” Following this conception, which I agree with, Ellen draws us into the lives of six individuals whose lives were affected by violence.
Although this novel is not written in Ellen’s typical style, it’s not written in long narrative form either but a form that’s somewhere down the middle. As Ellen introduced the characters, I saw how each of their lives were different yet somehow guns and/or violence entered into their life. I had a feeling as the story progressed that things were going to get much worse before they got better as their situations were becoming tense and for some of them, it felt as if the characters were looking for this type of excitement.
It’s the reality of Ellen’s characters and the accuracy of their lives that make this novel hit home. It’s a tough subject, a topic that we all know too well yet it’s one we can’t shut our eyes to. We want to be informed but where will that lead us?
As I turn on the TV at night, this loss of life seems to be a nightly occurrence. I don’t want to watch it but I know it’s all around me and I can’t shut it out. Why some individuals take aim at others and at themselves, sometimes over trivial things, I just don’t understand. It doesn’t have to be a gun that causes the fatality. It could be a variety of other means that causes this life to end, guns are just sometimes easier to obtain. For a killing is a killing, a death is a death.
Ellen shows us life, without blinders. She shows us why.
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