What Makes a Woman Commit Violence?

The New York Times, May 19, 2023: What Makes a Woman Commit Violence?

“‘You won’t believe what women can do,’ a female prisoner named Kace says at the start of Ivy Pochoda’s latest thriller, ‘Sing Her Down’ — and the declaration could serve as the novel’s credo. This is a story about violence by women, against them and within them. It is, specifically, the tale of Florence ‘Florida’ Baum and Diana Diosmary ‘Dios’ Sandoval. From the jump, we’re told that their drama will end in a violent showdown. The novel watches as they move inexorably toward it.

“When we meet the protagonists, they’re incarcerated in neighboring cells. But the pandemic forces the Arizona Department of Corrections to reduce prison populations, and soon they’re out. Why is Florida selected for early release? ‘Background, ease of reintegration,’ an officer says, i.e., she grew up in a Los Angeles mansion with a six-car garage. Dios is a ‘scholarship girl from Queens,’ released because her crime, a single assault, suggests that she doesn’t pose a significant threat to society.

“The women are sent to a motel to quarantine. When the D.O.C. stops bothering to feed them, Florida leaves to buy food. Then she keeps going. Dios is right behind her.

“The crime for which Florida served was a seemingly nonviolent one: ‘accomplice to murder after the fact.’ But Dios knows Florida has secrets, and it enrages her that Florida believes she’s better than the other incarcerated women, including Dios. Obsessed with getting Florida to commit acts of escalating brutality, Dios pursues her from Arizona to L.A., leaving a string of grisly scenes in their wake.”

Additional reading:

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda on bookshop.org

Publishers Weekly, March 17, 2023: Ivy Pochoda Doesn’t Need Redemption

Otherppl with Brad Listi Podcast, May 21, 2023: Ivy Pochoda