have always been very interested in the Madeleine McCann case and followed events in detail over the lastyears so, not surprisingly, when reading this I didn't learn a lot of new information.
What was interesting though, was seeing things from Kate's view but I found the excuses she makes for leaving the children alone each night, even after they had been upset and cried the previous night, pathetic and upsetting.
Kate is clearly distraught and angry and the book, although very interesting and detailed forms harrowing reading, but it does show the great lengths they went to to "leave no stone unturned" even if, very sadly, it does all seem to me too much, too late a true case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Kate McCann's very personal account of those torturous years, A testament to the human spirit in the face of unbelievable adversity,
After reading this book, I gave more credibility to the notion that my case may well have affected theirs, and not just the other way around, such is the detail in the timeline.
I thought the account of their negative treatment by the police and the media was balanced given the utter frustration at the impact it was having on their search prospects.
Most people would probably have expected several pages worth of expletives, but as the book supports the ongoing search, they rose above that to maximise its worth for that goal.
I have followed the story intensely in the media since it tragically burst onto the world stage in, But it was quite absorbing to get the McCanns' perspective even though I knew the general story,
They really should receive everyone's unreserved support, They are human beings after all, suffered every parents worst nightmare and are still missing their daughter,
I wanted to
read this book to see if it changed my opinion on kate mccann, . . it hasn't! all it has done is show a cold hearted woman who accepts no responsibilty for whatever happened to madeleine.
I hoped to be able to read the book and find something that made me think that all the bad press was just that but unfortunately all I found was myself becoming irritated by quotes and actions of a seemingly carefree 'mother'.
I couldnt actually finish the book and stoppedchapters from the end as the writing and lack of any emotion angered and bored me.
As a social worker and mother to four young children, this book was beyond excruciating to read, I cannot get past the fact that Madeleine's parents justify having left her and her twin siblings alone forevenings in a ground floor apartment with an unlocked door.
This was not, as she calls it "an error in judgement ", This was repeated neglect, willfully carried out night after night, What if there was a fire What if your child was choking Or left through the open door
On the night of the abduction, Kate admits they spent the evening not on the restaurant patio, but enjoying "liqueurs" inside the restaurant itself as it was too chilly outside.
Unbelievable.
Aside from that, a frankly inexcusable and repeated example of child neglect and abandonment, they only saw their children at meals, preferring to stick them in the resort daycare at every opportunity.
Despite struggling with infertility, Kate appears to take her children for granted, judging by her account, A very disturbing read. I can't give this book a rating because it's purpose isn't to entertain but to educate, It was very factual, and as mentioned, I didn't connect with Kate McCann, but perhaps that wasn't her intention, This book breathed new energy into the search for Madeleine, when it had all but stalled, so in that respect it was a good move.
I'm not sure why I'm reading this, . . I'm not a true crime reader at all usually, I work in a library and when someone returned this book, I flicked it open and read Kate McCann's message in the front of the dust jacket.
. . she has basically written this book as a means of making more money to fund the family's own investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine, because there is no law enforcement agency anywhere still actively searching for her.
It's just heartbreaking and I felt that to put this book aside and ignore it because it's unpleasant would just be a big cop out on my part.
This family is suffering and have been suffering for four years, The least I can do is read the book and acknowledge that, I found this very difficult to read and only read it really to base facts and create my own opinion of what happened.
I found Kate Mcann very selfish and even on the front of the book couldn't be bothered to write Madaline with a capital letter at the front.
They talked about leaving the children a lot, which to me why would you have children take them on holiday and leave them.
This book met my expectations because I didn't expect anything more than to dislike it,
I knew only the basic facts of the case concerning Madeleine's disappearance, I knew that her parents had copped a lot of flak in the media and I knew that she still hasn't been found, so I settled in to read Kate McCann's book with a great deal of interest.
And interesting it was, I read it in two sittings and was absolutely emotionally exhausted by the time I'd finished,
It's well written and an easy read for the most part, although keeping track of all the people involved in this story was a struggle at times.
There have been a couple of other books published about this case that I'd like to read at some point, just for the different perspective.
A truly heart breaking story,
Eine Wertung für so eine Art Buch abzugeben ist natürlich sehr schwer, Besonders, da ich diese Art Bücher sehr selten lese, Doch der Fall der angeblichen Entführung von Madeleine McCann hat mich schon immer sehr beschäftigt und leider gab mir dieses Buch nur sehr bedingt das, was ich wollte.
Viel zu viel Gelaber über den Madeleine Fund und die vielen Reisen nach dem Vorfall, viel zu wenig Infos und Emotionen der Mutter gegenüber dem Abend des Verbrechens.
Eigentlich Schade. When the McCann family of five left England with friends for a holiday in the Algarves, little did they dream that only four of them would be returning.
Just shy of her fourth birthday, their daughter Madeleine would be snatched from her bed by a stranger, This book is their story,
While the subject matter is difficult, the story is important to read, For one thing, it accomplishes its objective, which is to keep Madeleine's name, face, and the event of her abduction, in the public memory, with the hope that someone, somewhere, sometime, will see her, recognize her, and aid in returning her to her family.
No matter what you've read or heard about the case before, here you get the whole story, no private thing hidden, in great detail.
And it will astonish you, make you angry, grieve you, and cause you to pray not only for Madeleine and her family, but for all stolen and missing children and their families.
It will also make you hold your own children a little closer and think about how you can let them experience life while providing for their safety to the best of your ability.
Please read this, Then take action for the sake of the world's most precious resource its children,
Losing a child must be the most painful thing a parent can go through, but having one disappear whilst in a foreign country and then having pretty much the whole of the UK, if not the world turn on you and suspect you are guilty of your child's disappearance must be heartbreaking every single day.
Yet, I personally believe the McCann's had something to do with Madeleine going missing, I'm not sure what I believe their involvement is, but I just don't see everything adding up, And this book doesn't help squash any of my beliefs it helps it along in some places,
Obviously this book was written with the intention of showing Kate's side of the story, Yet in doing so, I feel she casts herself in this angel like glow of doing no wrong, To me it came off as she couldn't take the blame fully, although saying she does, She explains how they'll both feel guilty for the rest of her life for leaving their children unattended in the apartment yet she says it along the lines of 'we could only have known afterwards that this was a bad idea'.
How Nobody should leave their children unattended in their own house, never mind in country you're not familiar with whilst you're having tea.
It came off to me as she was saying this as 'Most parents would think this is okay!' I best hope they wouldn't.
I'm not a mother, but I wouldn't leave three children under three alone whilst I knock next door for a cup of sugar, even if they were sleeping.
It feels like she was trying to distance herself from the blame in a way,
Couldn't they have got a meal to go and ate in the living room, with all the children in one apartment Or actually use the creche and resettle their kids down after having something to eat with friends.
Surely if they're as tired as she made them out to be they'd settle back down after a short walk back to the hotel room Hell they could have got the prams they use later to have them sleep in them next to the table but instead the both go out every night and make a habit of leaving their kids alone.
All because they were checking on them everytominutes, A child can die in that time, A child can wander off in that time, A child can be taken in that time, It just isn't a responsible thing to do,
There are two things in this book that make me uncomfortable, and that's Kate talking about her sex life with Gerry and calling Madeleine's genitals 'perfect little genitals'.
Like everyone else, I was reading this book to see how the disappearance of their daughter effected them, yet I wasn't expecting Kate to talk about how she couldn't touch her husband in a sexual manner.
Okay, a little too personal for me, I don't need to know that, it's literally none of my business and has nothing to do with Madeleine going missing.
She talks about not being able to do anything pleasurable for two years after losing Madeleine which is understandable, but any reader who is interested in your sex life clearly isn't thinking straight.
It was uncomfortable when she brought it up the first time, and even worse when she mentioned that she was able to start enjoying things again, and that she and Gerry began to work on their relationship and getting their sex life back.
Cool, good to know, never want to read or think about that again, Seriously, why was it included,
Then we have the way she talks about the possibility of Madeleine being abused, Now, I don't have the book with me so I can't double check this you can do that but I believe it's the first time she and Gerry actually talk about the possibility of something dreadful happening to Madeleine together.
And these fears would be understandable, But, I feel like you would say 'I'm afraid she's getting rped, or abused, ' Not how you pictured her "perfect little genitals being torn apart, " That's just such a weird phrasing and actually disgusted me,
I also question the actions of Kate and Gerry a lot more as a result of this book, I knew that she had shouted about Madeleine being taken as soon as she noticed she wasn't in any of the rooms, which in itself is strange.
My first reaction to someone I know not being where I left them wouldn't be kidnap it would be that they had wandered off.
Missing not taken. But the second strange thing that both of the McCanns do is leave their twins, Not only did Kate leave them alone in the apartment complex in order to raise the alarm, but they left them with friends and family whilst they travelled across Europe to raise awareness for Madeleine.
Personally, if that was me, I'd have them strapped to my chest the whole time, Just knowing that they're safe with me, and not back in the country where their sibling has gone missing from would make me a whole lot more sense.
Yet she explains this as 'travelling would be hard on them, ' Okay but your one child is missing and during the first few weeks you admitted to barely being around your two youngest.
It's strange. I'd think they'd want the comfort of knowing that two of their children are safe with them,
The whole book just comes off as a plea from Kate to not think she was a bad person.
Well she was. Any parent who leaves their child alone for a meal is not a fit parent, but to do this every single night you're on holiday It's wrong and a crime.
And the sad thing is, if this had happened to someone who was less fortunate that Kate and Gerry in the finance department, they would have been charged or arrested for child neglect.
Oh the joys of the middle class getting better treatment,
I also felt like there were more pictures of Gerry and Kate in this book than there were of Madeleine.
Maybe she doesn't want to share every picture she has with the world but it feels unbalanced, This book was a 'feel sorry for me' attempt in my personal opinion, With the small sprinkling of help find Madeleine, .
Acquire Madeleine: Our Daughters Disappearance And The Continuing Search For Her Penned By Kate McCann Edition
Kate McCann