Amanda Knox’s Memoir: Waiting To Be Heard – A Review from Andrew Cattanach

The Amanda Knox story remains one of the most curious events in recent legal history, appearing to come straight from the pages of the most ambitious thriller. Booktopia’s Andrew Cattanach reviews Amanda Knox’s memoir Waiting To Be Heard.

Here was Amanda Knox. A young, attractive American studying in Italy who had been found guilty of murdering her flatmate, Meredith Kercher. Her boyfriend and her employer, a local bar owner, her accomplices. Quite a story.

Needless to say, the press lapped it up. The prosecution got in on the mayhem too, argued many reasons for the violent crime ranging from a falling out over a cleaning roster to a sex game gone wrong.

Unlike many average-person-turned-infamous memoirs, Waiting to be Heard is incredibly interesting for two reasons.

One, she is a talented writer. Those in the know say she insisted on writing it herself, and probably save for a few standard edits the words are hers, and the book is all the better for it. It’s clear she knows the speed with which to tell a story, even if the cliffhanger passages that wrap up chapters seem a little dramatic. She’s currently studying creative writing and no doubt has a novel in the works.

The other reason Waiting to be Heard is so interesting is, for even those who proclaimed her innocence, there have always been moments of “What were are you thinking?”

Like…..

When first found at the crime scene she was filmed passionately kissing her boyfriend.
What were you thinking?

When she was innocently questioned by police about her use of marijuana (which she later admitted was daily) and she said she’d done drugs before.
What were you thinking?

When, knowing the police were following her hours after the attack, she and her boyfriend went lingerie shopping.
What were you thinking?

When she started performing cartwheels and splits to various members of the police during questioning.
What were you thinking?

When she was wearing protective clothing to inspect the crime scene and started doing funny poses, laughing for the cameras.
What were you thinking?

When she accused her boss of murdering her friend, despite then writing a note hours later saying she lied.

Seriously, Amanda. What were you thinking?!

And thankfully these questions get answered, albeit with the excuse of a naïveté I doubt she possesses. I found myself constantly wondering throughout the book whether these strange actions were brain snaps, or if Knox was simply a playfully eccentric young woman who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have no doubt in my mind of her innocence, but there are still many that doubt her story. Either by chance or design, and while answering the questions we ask, Knox never really convinces you of the key points in her story. After reading the book, I found it created as many questions as it answered.

The arrest, trial, and retrial of Amanda Knox remains a moment that enthralled the world. And in Waiting To Be Heard, we have a book that matches the drama and tension of the event itself, which is no small feat.

Click here to buy Waiting To Be Heard from Booktopia,
Australia’s Local Bookstore

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Andrew Cattanach is a contributor to The Booktopia Blog and was shortlisted for The Age Short Story Prize. He enjoys complaining about the weather and wants more novels to involve crime-fighting chimpanzees.

You can read his other posts here, and follow his ramblings on twitter at @andrew__cat.

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About the Contributor

Andrew Cattanach

Andrew Cattanach is a regular contributor to The Booktopia Blog. He has been shortlisted for The Age Short Story Prize and was named a finalist for the 2015 Young Bookseller of the Year Award. He enjoys reading, writing and sleeping, though finds it difficult to do them all at once.

Follow Andrew: Twitter