All about me

A really good read. The nuanced manner of telling this story touched on many topics, including domestic violence and its ongoing effects on the lives of its victims. Also, how privilege is no insurance against this, and in some circumstances, the decadence it inspires can magnify it.

I think what I found most interesting was Maja's voice. The story has been written as if it is Maja's testimony, which is fitting, as the story involves not only the actual incident and events leading up to it, but also the trial. Maja's voice was that of a victim, the minimising of the violence inflicted on her, her misplaced belief of her ability to control an horrific chain of events and her belief in her own guilt in light of her failure to exert control. I felt a lot of compassion for her and saw how events were overtaking her.

It also brought up issues around the role the media plays in such trials and how easy it is for the course of justice to be subverted by an irresponsible media. It put me in mind of what the Chamberlains went through when their daughter died at Uluru, and also some of the unfounded negative media attention given to Joanna Lees after her boyfriend went missing in Central Australia.

It was also really interesting watching the dissection of Samir's evidence and how easily it was contaminated by subsequent events. It was these events that dictacted his recall of events, which is a common issue with witness evidence. Have we really seen what we have remembered, or is it a post-event construction, an attempt to understand an inexplicable event.

So all up I really enjoyed the book and the issues it brought up. The title Quicksand is a very good metaphor for the chain of events Maja found herself immersed in. Excellent and intelligent thriller.