Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason (Hardcover)

~ Joyce Atkinson (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This tantalizing "found" journal of a troubled young wife and mother combines the diary of Amy Mason, correspondence, clippings from newspaper accounts and remnants of the 19th-century novel Amy used instead of a blank notebook to frame the story of her disintegrating marriage. Amy's husband, Robert, moves to Boston to head a new cardiology institute, but Amy and her two small children remain behind in Houston, planning to follow later. As the relocation process drags on, Robert throws himself into his new responsibilities and Amy fights a deepening depression. She finds a new friend in her Houston real estate agent, Vanessa Garamond, but the beautiful Vanessa provokes Amy's suspicions with an unannounced trip to Boston. Sisters Kristine and Joyce Atkinson only hint at the occurrence of a crime, and readers will have to draw their own conclusions from the open-ended assemblage of visual and textual clues. Traditional mystery readers may want a more definitive story, but amateur scrapbookers will find inspiration in this collage.
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Product Description

In Journal, Kristine Atkinson and Joyce Atkinson conjure the voyeuristic appeal of finding a stranger's diary, then becoming transfixed with the secrets contained within. These pages belong to artist, wife, and mother Amy Zoe Mason, whose riveting storytelling relies equally on visual and verbal clues.

Using an old book as her canvas, Amy layers words, collages, newspaper clippings, and emails into a personal narrative that at first feels familiar, until the sense of alarm begins to build. Readers will find themselves scouring the pages for missed hints and important evidence , compelled to interpret the signs.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743290380
• ISBN-13: 978-0743290388
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #397,731 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure inside!, September 14, 2006

By	Katie C. Nelson "Katie the Scrapbook Lady" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished this book for the second time last night. It is unlike any other book I have ever read - or seen. Yes, you have to "see" this book because it is a work of art! It is presented as an altered book journal created by Amy Zoe Mason and you can see from that little note on the cover that things don't turn out too well for Amy in the end.

The first time through the book I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Then I had to read it again to look for all the clues I might have missed and just to enjoy the artwork. It truly is like reading through someone's scrapbook/journal. In fact I really had to remind myself after that it was just a work of fiction, because I really felt like I had read someone's diary! - LOL!

It was fun to read something like this just for myself. It also made me want to alter a book! I've always felt funny about doing that because books are so special to me, but it would be fun to find an old book and give it new life with my own art.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars delicious, August 24, 2006

By	Kimberley Wilson (VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

First, let's get one thing clear. Relax, this is fiction. It's fantastic, thrilling fiction but it is fiction. This book looks like a real decoupaged jouranal. Everything about the design from the newspaper clippings to the photos, to the drawings are perfect. It is the story of Amy Mason, a sweet, shy young mother who's husband Bob, has taken a job in Boston. He's been gone for months coming home only for a quick weekend. Amy and the children will join him in the Spring once their Texas home is sold. At first Amy is upbeat about the whole thing but gradually she begins to feel differently. Bob's e-mails notes are passionate at first and then he abruptly starts writing short, workmanlike rather cold notes that leave Amy confused. And he's not answering his cell phone like he used to. On top of this the real estate agent who is selling the house is sophisticated, beautiful and travels back and forth to Boston.

Is something going on between Bob and the real estate agent? Is Amy being paranoid or is she really in danger? And why does it feel like the real estate agent is slowly taking over her life?

Each page of the book advances an increasingly nervewraacking story. The things that Amy doesn't say in her journal are hinted at by her "choice" of artwork-- there is a picture of two card players cheating a victim, and scraps of a tragic poem are scattered throughout the book. Other artwork includes a drawing of woman clinging to a man who appears to be pulling away and a photograph of a turn of the century couple with the woman's face cut out.

Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason is a lot of fun and the ending is disturbing in a Blair Witch/Twin Peaks kind of way. I loved it.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every page a work of art, August 5, 2006

By	Ellen Momsen (Coos Bay, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is unlike any I have read before. It is the journal of Amy Mason, a very gifted artist and mother. She keeps her diary on an old book, so you are sometimes able to read the background story. It's amazing! The story in the old book somehow seems to parallel Amys story. I still have to explore this! I have spent hours looking at each page. Amy was such a gifted artist - she has taken journaling/scrapbooking to a whole new level. I know that this is supposed to be fiction, but Amy seems so real, I'm not sure...I feel like I know her, and wish I could help. It is so interesting to see how her relationship with her husband changes, and to see how her depression affects her art. I haven't been able to get Amy off my mind. There are no easy answers or conclusions at the end of this book, just like in real life.