The Shoemaker

The Shoemaker : The Anatomy of a Psychotic I first read about this book in the US fanzine SLEAZOID EXPRESS. The writer there said that you couldn't open the book without wanting to take a shower afterwards, I tend to agree, but who ever said that reading true crime should be EASY?! Jospeh Kallinger (who died in jail some years ago) was one sick puppy. Whether it was his castration fantasies, sexual hang-ups, paranoia,having sex with holes in walls, making of shoes for hamsters (you had to be there) or full blown psychosis he was a well rounded NUTJOB. Author Schreiber does a good job of tracing his madness all the way back to his MONSTEROUS adopted parents (what I would give to see pics of these two freaks)..it's up to the reader to decide if the abuse and torture he went through MADE him crazy or just added to a pre-existing condition and he would have been psychotic anyway. Either way, his "parents" certainly didn't help matters. The book isn't fun reading, isn't a light read, but is challenging, depressing and confronting. All the things a good true crime book should be.

I also read this book about 20 years ago, whenI had time to read. I couldn't put it down. It was amazing in how the author was able to get inside the killers mind. What amazed me the most was how parents actions can totally effect a childs thinking and whole life and perspective on life. All the sad events that took place that caused him to be the person he became are quite insightful and informing. Out of the many books I have read, I too must say this has left a very lasting impression on me and also how I speak to my kids and deal with them.

I, too, read this book long ago - in my early 20's - and have never been able to forget it. Unfortunately i judge other books weak in comparison. I still wonder if this guy is locked up, and what happened to his poor kid? He is now an adult - and a good cause for worry. It should be deemed a classic in this genre, and kept on the shelves.

I also read this book years ago in my early teens. As an adult, this book has left a large impression on my mind. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in psychology or serial killers.

THE SHOEMAKER is a rarity amongst books that deal with killers, in that it's not tabloidish or sensational. Additionally, Flora Schreiber does what no genre book has done, truly get behind the mind of her subject. The psychotic killer, Joe Kallinger, is the subject that Schreiber (who penned SYBIL..that many know of from the Sissy Spacek movie) so thoroughly and convincingly covers. At points you feel as if you're reading an autobiography; so in depth this book is. The portrayals of Kallinger's "visions," his lapses into the surreal and unreal, are so vivid, so real, that the reader themselves will feel as if they were in a trance or on a mind-altering narcotic. While Schreiber certainly feels for her subject, she doesn't lose sight of the fact that this man, despite his mental shortcoming that were bred from an odd childhood, did take the lives of others, including that of his own seed. Tough to find, you can't go wrong with seeking it out.