Redemption by Lawrence Wright is not what you think it is. Sure, you are getting the story of nuns going to death row to meet with women who may one day be executed by the state of Texas. However, Wright wants to ask the big and unanswerable questions about the justice system, God, and, of course, redemption. This is not the case of a book pulling a bait and switch, so much as an author going places other people would avoid.
The setup is clear enough. A Catholic deacon visits women on death row. He has the idea to reach out to a group of contemplative nuns. For the uninitiated, contemplative nuns are basically sequestered and pray all day. They aren’t like the nuns who become teachers (and forced me to memorize the multiplication tables). This all means that they are hilariously ill-suited to meet some women on death row. Right?
Turns out, these are the exact right women to visit death row. The nuns are (voluntarily) cut off from the world and forced to spend a significant amount of time contemplating their lives. The women hit it off almost immediately, and a true bond grows. However, this is a much smaller part of the narrative than you would expect.
Another section is a rundown of the crimes which put each woman on death row. There is a mixture of women here including one who is clearly innocent. That’s not me or the author saying that; the state of Texas (which PUT HER THERE) also thinks so…now. Another inmate is the infamous Taylor Parker. For the true crime addicts, she is the focus of the recent Netflix documentary, Maternal Instinct, where she murders a woman to steal her unborn baby. Wright is careful to tell the crime stories with his own commentary but without grand pronouncements. The variety of cases allows the reader to see that not everyone is innocent, but not everyone is an irredeemable monster. (I will say, I am not sure I believe a word that comes out of Parker’s mouth.)
There is also scandal on the side of the nuns which dovetails with Wright’s own doubts on religion and how it affects people. This is not a case of the author telling you who is right. He’s not even sure what he feels anymore. Wright has gone through the wringer himself dealing with preachers who can entice anyone toward their side, but are consistently failures when it comes to living up to their own ideals.
This book is ultimately about the questions but not the answers. It is much better for it.
(This book was provided as a review copy by A. A. Knopf.)
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