{"id":15426,"date":"2022-01-07T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=15426"},"modified":"2022-01-03T17:05:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T22:05:25","slug":"review-burner-robert-ford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-burner-robert-ford\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Burner by Robert Ford"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"15427\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-burner-robert-ford\/burner\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/burner.jpg?fit=332%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"332,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"burner\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/burner.jpg?fit=332%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-15427\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/burner.jpg?resize=232%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cover of Burner by Robert Ford\" width=\"232\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/burner.jpg?resize=232%2C350&amp;ssl=1 232w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/burner.jpg?w=332&amp;ssl=1 332w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 85vw, 232px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Burner-Robert-Ford\/dp\/B08NRXFS7L\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1617551726&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Burner<\/em> by Robert Ford<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Blurred Images Press (November 2020)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>230 pages; $12.99 paperback; $.99 e-book<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Reviewed by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SadieHartmann\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sadie &#8220;Mother Horror&#8221; Hartmann<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In B<em>urner<\/em> by Robert Ford, readers are introduced to two characters, Iris and Audrey. We follow their story through \u201cthen\u201d and \u201cnow\u201d timelines told in short, bingeable chapters that switch back and forth between the two women.<\/p>\n<p>If you read the preface, you will know that <em>Burner<\/em> deals with a heavy subject and has the potential to cause emotional trauma, so I recommend reading the preface. Bob Ford does a great job setting early expectations.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>There are two epigraphs that signal to the reader what is in store. One is on human cruelty; monsters. The other is a sort of calling to the reader,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You can choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.<br \/>\n-William Wilberforce<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s a great quote for this story.<\/p>\n<p>The two women in this book each go through their own personal nightmare that no woman would ever want to experience and yet, via Ford\u2019s fictional story, we do experience it.<\/p>\n<p>Readers will go on a brutally painful journey right alongside Iris and Audrey as they live it. Chapter by chapter. Then and Now.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the nature of the subject matter, I felt like there was much potential for this to be over-the-top or exploitative, but I think Ford expertly manages to walk an elegant line between too much detail or not enough to land the punches.<\/p>\n<p>And the punches do land.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the highly compelling storytelling, short chapters and a sense of urgency to know what the fate of the characters will be-there were times when I felt like I just couldn\u2019t keep reading.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it was the knot in my throat as I fought back tears.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes my blood was boiling in anger.<\/p>\n<p>Other times, I was just overwhelmed by feelings of disgust or despair. Is this really the world that we live in? Are people truly capable of this kind of violence? But the questions are hypothetical because we already know the answers.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, yes, and then some.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s awful. But what are our options? To ignore the truth? Real life news or true crime could be too much for people and that\u2019s why I enjoy stories like <em>Burner<\/em> because it allows my heart and my mind to wrestle with real-life horror in a safe and interactive way without exposing myself to the harsh realities of truth. This is the purpose of horror fiction, actually. It\u2019s why I love it so much.<\/p>\n<p>There were a few things I felt were missing from the story; for instance, more exposition on the perpetrators in the story. But I also get a sense that the missing details are intentional. Perhaps the author didn\u2019t want to give a voice to the men\/monsters. There\u2019s enough there for readers to piece together the \u201cwho,\u201d the \u201cwhy\u201d and the \u201cwhat\u201d to be satisfied, but it does leave questions. I also had a hard time with some of the choices that Iris and Audrey made in their present timelines, but again &#8212; I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s just because I was seeking moral immunity from these women, or what? So I\u2019m happy with the way things are. My desire for everything to be a little less messy does not detract from the way the author wanted these characters to react to their circumstances. It\u2019s totally valid.<\/p>\n<p><em>Burner<\/em> is an excellent example in the ways that an author can explore fears and frustrations through the craft of writing and readers can enjoy it in the same way as they receive it. I highly recommend it if you\u2019re able.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Burner by Robert Ford Blurred Images Press (November 2020) 230 pages; $12.99 paperback; $.99 e-book Reviewed by\u00a0Sadie &#8220;Mother Horror&#8221; Hartmann In Burner by Robert Ford, readers are introduced to two characters, Iris and Audrey. We follow their story through \u201cthen\u201d and \u201cnow\u201d timelines told in short, bingeable chapters that switch back and forth between the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-burner-robert-ford\/\" class=\"more-link button bg-gold white\">Continue Reading!<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review: Burner by Robert Ford&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80],"tags":[2314,2313,1572,79,840,1545],"class_list":["post-15426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-blurred-images-press","tag-burner","tag-mother-horror","tag-reviews","tag-robert-ford","tag-sadie-hartmann"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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