Book Review : As If

Book Review: As If
As If by Blake Morrison, is a book based on the murder of a two- year-old boy committed by two ten-year-old boys in 1993 in Liverpool, England. In this book, the author describesthe trial in detail and tries to answer why these two boys decided to kill the child. To do so, he reviews his own childhood and adds some anecdotes from his children. What is more, he analyzes whatis to be a parent, his own experience as a father, and his fears of rising up his children. In addition to this, he poses some debatable questions such as “Can death have the same meaning for them asit has for adults? What is right for children to read? Do mad, bad stories inspire mad, bad feelings?” Moreover, in one of the chapters, he talks about sexual abuse on children, the sexual feelingsthat children have and those that adults have towards them.
From my point of view, the book is quite interesting and easy to understand because the author is very clear and convincing when he presentshis arguments. I agree with Morrison when he says that these two children were innocent despite their crime. I think that they were too young to understand and that there were many factors that mighthave influenced these boys to behave in such a way. Firstly, I consider that childhood innocence is an adult construction rather than a natural part of it. I believe that children cannot distinguishbetween right and wrong. This is what the author supports very well with his own anecdotes and the ones of his children. In chapter 5 “Experts” he ironically proposes to let children be jurors if theyknow the difference between correct and incorrect (1998:100). Secondly, I also agree with Morrison when he claims that these children were affected by certain factors such as films and their ownfamilies to commit the crime. I believe that children’s behavior depends on the environment they are in or the people they live with. As Morrison perfectly states in chapter 8 “Weekend” “… children are...