Historical Fiction
Released April, 2014
353 Pages
Bottom Line: Read it.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Source: Purchased

Plot Summary of Monday, Monday:

Three fictional survivors of the real-life 1966 massacre at the University of Texas (the first “campus shooting” of its kind in the United States), Shelly, Wyatt, and Jack, struggle to handle the implications of their bond formed during the massacre.

My Thoughts on Monday, Monday:

Ever since I read and loved Ariel Lawhon’s The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress, I’ve been drawn to “fiction based on true crime” novels. Though I didn’t love this one as much as The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress, I thought it was a fascinating look at how fate can change the course of someone’s life and the ripple effects of one event on so many people.

On a blisteringly hot, August day after murdering his wife and mother, UT student and ex-Marine Charles Whitman took up a sniper position in the UT clock tower and began picking off passing students (check out this article for a quick overview of the actual event). Shelly’s (a fictional survivor of the attack) perspective of these events make up the first chapter of Monday, Monday and it was the most emotionally intense (“24”-style emotionally intense!) first chapter of any book I’ve ever read. Following that first chapter, the feel of the book dramatically changes…becoming much more quiet and introspective.

While I was reading it, I was initially a bit disappointed that the book took an unexpected course. But, looking back on it now, Monday, Monday still has me thinking and appreciating the course it did take. It doesn’t focus on the actual crime as much beyond that first chapter (although there are some chilling details about Charles Whitman and his pre-shooting actions sprinkled throughout the book). Rather, it handles life after the shooting and the emotions and life choices of three survivors. It deals with the power of a shared traumatic experience and the victim/savior dynamic. It also explores the ripple effects of the shooting on Shelly, Jack, and Wyatt’s lives. If the three of them hadn’t been caught up in this horrible event together, so much would have turned out differently for each of them.

They were drawn to each other, imprinted on each other. They had survived Charles Whitman, and the intensity of the experience had lingered in […] them.

I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t more focus on the actual shooting and the motivations of Charles Whitman, but still very much enjoyed the story. It made me think about fate and how certain events in life can fully redirect someone’s previous course. I liked the characters and think their emotions were handled honestly and realistically.

Maybe he had chosen her on nothing more than a random impulse. That was probably the case. But the older she became, the more she wanted to feel that she’d had a hand in the matter – that some action of her own had determined the outcome, that she had plotted her own misguided course. It seemed better than being a luckless victim of fate.

Though Monday, Monday ended up being a different book than I expected, it raises many thoughtful questions and would make an excellent book club selection.

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The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon