Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Jul 28, 2011

Mariel rated it:

Mikal Gilmore was the "saved" son. Born after the restless years in the ditches of the back roads of America, running only to beat out another day, like stretching a junk yard car past empty to see how long it'll still go. Saved and kicked out of the family for his own good, because he could be too good, if he was lucky. It doesn't really feel good, or lucky. Second son Gary became famous for wishing his execution to be carried out (coughs as famously written about in Norman Mailer's b More...

30 comments like (22 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2008

Andy rated it:

You think you have a messed up family? Well, you probably do, but I can pretty much guarantee it's not as messed up as Mikal Gilmore's family. This book describes what it was like to grow up as the younger brother of Gary Gilmore.

This book was really good, and I think Mikal Gilmore is an awesome author. The only reason that I gave it three stars instead of four was that it was pretty heavy on the psychoanalysis of the Gilmore family dynamic. Sometimes it just got to be too much. More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Heather rated it:

Gary Gilmore was the first person executed in the U.S. (Utah) after the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 (this book was written by Gilmore's brother). While this was an interesting read about Gilmore's life, throughout the book it was reiterated that the Mormon religion was somewhat to blame for Gilmore's outcome. Now, I'll be the first to say that I don't know much about the Mormon religion (I've been exposed to and have read about it, but that's the extent of my involvement), but t More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2009

Stephen rated it:

There are many dysfunctional families (just slightly short of "all"), but the family described in this is dysfunctional with a capital DYS! Mikal Gilmore is the talented younger brother of Gary Gilmore, the first man executed in the United States after a ten-year U.S. moratorium on executions. Yes, Gary Gilmore was shot in the heart in 1977 in Utah, which maintained this form of execution until fairly recently so that murderers could atone for their terrible sin by shedding their own More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2012

Karo rated it:

I've approached writing this review with some hesitation -- I'm not quite sure what to say after having completed Shot in the Heart. I suppose that I should start off by saying that Gary Gilmore was put to death before I was born, and I've never read or seen The Executioner's Song, so this was a completely new topic to me. I picked the books up at a used book store because I'm a big fan of the memoir. Now that I've finished, I'm a little stunned. The life that Mikal describes as his childhood an More...

0 comments like

Aug 29, 2011

Diann rated it:

If I had a “ten-best” list of memoirs, near the top would surely be Mikal Gilmore’s SHOT IN THE HEART, his searing account of growing up as Gary Gilmore’s brother. The two siblings lived parallel existences in the “blood-atonement” culture of the Mormon west, raised by two violent and abusive parents who seemed to hate not only each other, but at times, their own children. Gary Gilmore went on to gain notoriety as the first man to be executed after the reinstatement of the death penalty in this More...

0 comments like

Apr 19, 2009

Melissa rated it:

This was such an interesting look at the family life of Gary Gilmore as told by his brother, Mikal. His look into what may have made Gary do the things he did was so honest, well researched and well written that I had a hard time putting it down. One thing that does disturb me, though, is that it seems that this book and society as a whole try to justify a person's actions based on others, rather than accepting personal responsibility for their own choices. It really made me think.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 11, 2010

Talulah rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

May 20, 2009

Katie rated it:

I was on my way to Panera to have some lunch and read, when a man stopped me and could not believe I was reading this book. He told me that anyone writing about Gary Gilmore's life and execution was just looking for money and that the story couldn't possibly be accurate.

Ok.. FIRST: Mikal is a professional writer. He has an obvious talent and clearly uses writing as a release.

SECOND: Wow, this poor, poor family.

I read Shot In the Heart right after finishing The More...

0 comments like

Jun 29, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

Fairly gripping family history of Gary Gilmore, the first man executed in the U.S. after the moratorium on executions was lifted in the 70s. Gilmore's youngest brother, who lived in Portland most of his life before moving to SF and LA to write for Rolling Stone, writes of a past marked by abuse, violence, family myths and secrets and ghost stories. Gilmore killed and was executed in Utah. His mother was a Mormon and his father a drifter and con-man. Gives interesting account of some history More...

1 comment like

Nov 28, 2011

Denise rated it:

Though I'm a little behind the beat in getting to this, I'm so glad I did. It's one of the best-written family memoirs I've yet to read. Gilmore is one of our generation's most knowledgeable music/pop culture writers (and I'm reading another of his books next) but many may not know that his brother was Gary Gilmore, focus of "The Executioner's Song" and the first person to die in this country after capital punishment was reinstated. Gilmore's writing — and story — is achingly memorable More...

0 comments like

Nov 12, 2009

Shauna rated it:

I felt a lot about this like I did about the movie "Dead Man Walking" - at the end I still wanted the condemned man to die and thus was happy with the ending. Granted, Gary Gilmore had a horrible life, but he also had 3 other brothers who had the same horrible life and didn't kill people for the fun of it. I know Mikal Gilmore is very anti-death penalty and was trying to make you feel sympathy for his brother, which I did to some degree, but not enough. What I did find fascinating an More...

0 comments like

Dec 08, 2008

Powells.com rated it:

Mikal Gilmore's family history is a ghost that lingers long after you close the cover. His brother Gary's infamous choice to pay an eye for an eye after murdering two young Mormon men was the grain of sand in the oyster that is Norman Mailer's Executioner's Song. The story is about the entire family (four boys, their sad mother, their abusive father) and is sweet and horrific at the same time. A look at Portland, Oregon, in the 1950s and a history of blood-letting complete this intriguing and ve More...

0 comments like

Jun 30, 2011

Stuart rated it:

This is an amazing book. Mikal Gilmore was a writer for Rolling Stone when I read this. He writes the story about his brother, Gary Gilmore, who died of firing squad in the death penalty for murders he committed in Utah in the 70's. Because they were brothers, Mikal's account is extremely personal and insightful sharing the interesting and sad relationship with their parents...especially dad. It was an outstanding read if you enjoy stories about the human condition, even at its darkest momen More...

0 comments like

Feb 26, 2009

Erin rated it:

Mikal Gilmore manages to pull off the most honest story-telling he can possibly generate of his life in the Gilmore family. The first three-fourths of the account were, by far, the most engaging as he unveils many of the ghosts that haunted the lives of his parents and brothers. But he poses an interesting question: how much can we ever know of the people we love the most? How much information would we want to know?

The last quarter of the book was the weakest as Gilmore seems to str More...

0 comments like

Jun 02, 2011

Eric rated it:

This memoir is only partly about Gary Gilmore, the author's older brother, who was executed in 1977 for a notorious double murder in Utah. In fact, Mikal Gilmore states that he deliberately tried to avoid covering the same ground covered by the 1979 Norman Mailer/Lawrence Schiller collaboration, The Executioner's Song. Instead, Shot in the Heart explores what it was like growing up in the abusive Gilmore family, where the father, Frank Sr., routinely beat his wife and sons, went on long and some More...

2 comments like

Apr 22, 2009

Jessica rated it:

Before reading this, "Gary Gilmore" was just a name that was vaguely connected to an execution in Utah and one of Norman Mailer's novels. Before reading this, I had no idea that people were given the choice of a firing squad at their execution (I may have heard it, but probably never took it very seriously, if I ever thought about it at all). Before reading this, I never really thought much about the notion of suicide by execution.

Everything changed after I read this book. More...

0 comments like

Aug 09, 2008

Glenn rated it:

Amazing account of a fascinating and tragic family and its history & dynamics. Everything is amazing: the content, the writing, the research, the honesty and courage of the writer, the lack of sentimentality, and the full and vivid picture he creates of the family members, their relationships, their humanity and their pain.

The family includes Gary Gilmore, who in the late 70's was found guilty of double murder, and executed by firing squad. The author is his youngest brother. But th More...

0 comments like

Nov 04, 2009

Mia rated it:

It is eerily amazing how a book can be about the true horrors of life - abuse, neglect, discomfort, unhappiness, and even murder - and yet to thoroughly captivating. I cannot imagine what Mikal Gilmore has gone through, even though I vividly relived many of his darkest family moments alongside him. It was an eye-opener about the reality of being RELATED to someone with a dark side... the legacy that you never asked for and can never avoid. Truly heartbreaking.

0 comments like

Nov 15, 2011

Nnedi rated it:

Chilling, disturbing, and very well-told. Executioner's Song was over a thousand pages and a wonderful book. Nevertheless, it somehow managed to tell less than half the story. I'm really glad I read this right after. Now I get it. Now I see. Gary Gilmore wasn't just some crazy man (which makes his violence that much more horrifying and sick). What he did was practically inevitable. It could have been so much worse. He is a prime example of the failure of America's prison and Capital Punishment s More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 06, 2009

Craig rated it:

One of the most heart-wrenching dysfunctional tales you'll ever read, this memoir by the younger brother of Gary Gilmore, the first person executed in the U.S. after the 1970s repeal of the death penalty, captures the family travails that can lead some to the dark side and others wonder how to avoid it better than any book I've read.

Mikal Gilmore is a talented music writer and while I've never read any of his other books, this one has stayed with me for years.

0 comments like

Jul 19, 2011

J.C. added it

After 120 pages I decided that I could care less where Gary Gilmore came from, harsh I know. I'm just growing tired of the depressing f'ed up family memoir, especially one about a family this f'ed up.

If you ever need a book that is so totally depressing that you want to kill yourself after every page, go ahead and read this one.

If you are one of those people who love reading about the lives of the less fortunate in order to feel better about yourself, this is the book for

0 comments like

Aug 29, 2010

Kristi rated it:

It is so sad that the secrets in a family can cause so much pain. Gary Gilmore wanted to die in Utah. Capital punishment was his escape and victory from family and law enforcement. It is hard to imagine that this would be you "best" choice. The author gives his view point on a family that he grew up in and at times realized that he didn't even know. You will appreciate your own family after reading this book. If you are from Portland, you may remember or recognize many of the pla More...

0 comments like

Oct 01, 2011

Erika rated it:

Mikal Gilmore is the brother of Gary Gilmore, the last man to be executed by firing squad in Oregon. Mikal writes his own story of growing up in a tough, not always conventional family, and the legacy of dysfunction it left to its every member. Moving account of a life gone badly wrong, of survival in a place where it surely would be easier to succumb.

0 comments like

Sep 12, 2009

Nick rated it:

I couldn't even finish this, The first chapter was full of the authors poor attempts at being poetic about his hatred and love for his family. The next chapter was full of gross distortions of the Mormon faith. It acted as though a tragedy invlving the church in the 1800's was to blame for his family's reprehensible conduct in the mid t late 1950's.

0 comments like

Feb 12, 2008

Nancy rated it:

If you have read "The Executioner's Song," then Shot in the Heart is a great follow up. I'm one of those people who has this undying curiousity regarding what makes people (especially "abnormal" people) tick and what makes criminals act the way they do. Mikal Gilmore is the brother of executed killer Gary Gilmore (the subject of the Executioner's Song) and he bares all in this honest and shocking story about his family life and the background of Gary Gilmore.

I wou More...

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2009

Amber rated it:

What's it like to grow up with someone who would later commit some of the most infamous murders in American history? I trend toward dark nonfiction, but this is among the darkest books I've ever read. Mikal Gilmore writes with amazing clarity and honesty about his toxic, brutal family of origin.

0 comments like

Mar 26, 2010

Eli rated it:

I've read this in the Norwegian translated version and it's a heart breaking, spine chilling description of Gary's childhood, adult life and execution. I've seen the documentary as well. Although his deeds were horrific and selfdestructive, I can't help but feel sympathy for him.

0 comments like

Mar 31, 2009

Tara rated it:

breath-taking heart breaker by the brother of gary gilmore, who was "voluntarily" executed after the short period in the 70s when death penalty briefly found to be unconstitutional. writing is tremendous, and portrait of a family that produces a killer profound. holy crap.

0 comments like

Mar 03, 2009

Jan rated it:

I read this many years ago, but it left a lasting impression. Mikal is the serial killer Gary Gilmore's brother. It is extremely well-written and haunting. You feel the sadness of this family throughout the book. insights on the Mormon church were revelatory to me.

0 comments like

reviews