Prima Facie

Prima Facie is based on the hugely successful one-woman play by Suzie Miller, which took London and other cities by storm; I've heard rave reviews from people who have seen the film of the performance, and there is also a separate film version being planned. This novel adaptation by the same author has also received overwhelmingly positive reviews. There was a long queue of readers waiting to check it out at the library and I've had to wait a long time to get my hands on it. 

So I know I am in the minority when I say that I was disappointed. I kept waiting for the story to take off and it never really did. Apparently the play is extraordinary, and the bones of the story are compelling -- a defence barrister finds herself on the other side of the legal process as a victim of rape -- and particularly at this moment in history, after the Bruce Lehrmann case and other high profile rape cases. But it never really translates successfully into a suspenseful or even particularly moving novel. The lead up to the rape consists of a lot of slightly plodding backstory, showing Tessa as a working class girl made good, but her shock at becoming the subject of court tactics that she has used herself just isn't very convincing. Perhaps I've paid more attention to these types of cases but I just wasn't shocked at the way victims are treated, or the horribly low conviction rates for sexual assault. One thing that I found irritating was the way Miller repeatedly skipped over court testimony -- 'I made a point and the jury reacted and I sat down in triumph' -- almost literally in those words! It almost read as if she couldn't be bothered making up actual dialogue in parts.

I'm pleased that the play and now the novel have drawn attention to the way that victims of sexual assault are traumatised all over again by the legal process, but it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, and Prima Facie didn't quite work for me.