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A Novel
by Suzie Miller
Book Reviewed by:Based on the Olivier and Tony Award-winning play, Suzie Miller's Prima Facie is an unforgettable story of what happens when a victim is asked to navigate a system that is not set up to accommodate the lived experience of sexual assault survivors.
Tessa Ensler loves her job. She's worked her way up to being a top criminal defense barrister against all the odds, and fights to defend those pleading not guilty. Tessa believes in the law, believes in the system. Her quick-witted cross-examinations and intelligence in the courtroom see her clocking up win after win - including securing freedom for men accused of rape and sexual assault. Innocence until proven guilty is, after all, the bedrock of a civilized society.
But when Tessa is raped by a coworker, she struggles to find the strength to bring him to justice in the face of the barriers and opposition within that same system. Determined to have her day in court, Tessa is forced to confront the stark reality that the law was not written for victims, and that she is the one on trial. She fights on, even as her evidence is manipulated to make her look like a liar, even while she is retraumatized in the stand.
CHAPTER 1
Thoroughbreds. Every single one. Primed for the race, every muscle pumped; groomed in expensive, understated, designer gray or navy suits, classic white shirts, black robes. All these top legal women have a sort of swagger, an ironic way of owning the space, a satchel flung from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Nude or red lipstick, not too much mascara. Cool earrings, and designer boots, or cheeky heels bought on a trip overseas. I study them all. Have done so for years. Copy them. I'm a good mimic, before eventually I become better at 'being a barrister' than the ones born to it. The top women do law differently than the men, subtly different, and it takes a while for me to compute the various ways they own the space. All the little details are secret code for 'we're here but we're doing it our way, not like the crusty old male barristers of the past.' And these accumulate the more confident you become, the more you own your space in court. Barrister bags in pink or blue ...
It's easy to imagine, as you devour the chapters, how the play would be magnificent. (Jodie Comer won a Tony Award for Best Actress in the Broadway production.) But what a novel can make sense of that is limited in a dramatic depiction is the protagonist's complications. Tessa is a lonely character seeking validation. Because of emotional deprivation, she often overindulges in sex and alcohol as a substitute for meaningful intimacies. Because of her background of poverty, she often thinks she is an imposter and less than those she socializes with, mostly barristers like herself: Alice, Julian, Phoebe and Adam. Tessa enjoys their company until her assault claim becomes public and sides are drawn. Work-friendships can be shallow arrangements. When work becomes complicated — one lawyer accusing another of rape — so do the friendships...continued
Full Review
(1040 words)
(Reviewed by Valerie Morales).
Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End
Heartbreakingly timeless. Written with skill, humor, despair and hope. Karin Slaughter, New York Times and #1 international bestselling author
Enthralling and sharp-witted Prima Facie takes an unflinching look inside a legal system that is more punishing to the victims of sexual assault than it is to the assailants. A scathing and true look at how the legal system can retraumatize victims. Highly recommended.Tessa Ensler wants her mother. The heroine of Suzie Miller's Prima Facie is in a panicky mess after a sexual assault, and, like many of us when things go sideways, she wants her mother's arms wrapped around her. She wants her mother's acceptance and kindness. When she confides that she "had a bad experience" and has "been to the police to report it," her mother, referred to in the story simply as Mum, doesn't hesitate. She drops everything to be at Tessa's side.
In moments of trauma, an emotional safety net is critical to recovery. People need people, as the song says. Psychologists agree. Emotional safety comes from being loved. When dealing with stress, grief, and anxiety, we need to reach out to those who love us the most. We need ...
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