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In Kindle County, a woman is killed in an apparent random drive-by shooting. The woman turns out to be the ex-wife of a prominent state senator and an old acquaintance of Judge Sonia Klonsky, on whose desk the case lands. As the pursuit of justice takes bizarre and unusual turns, Judge Klonsky is brought face-to-face with a host of extraordinary personalities and formidable enemies bent on her destruction.Tags
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Turow draws characters in such detail that their actions are understandable, though here I submit not common to the reader’s experience. The novel paints the events with such realism the work mimics true crime, blurring into the inexplicable realm of real life.
In ambitious fashion, Turow captures a generation. The Law of Our Fathers would be more aptly titled the sins of our fathers. In their zeal to denounce the evils of their predecessors, they destroy prior institutions without doing the hard work of building new ones. While conceding their movement failed on a micro-level, somehow Turow clings without explanation or adequate argument to the notion every macro success from the civil rights movement to the rise of Mandela is due to show more flower power.
Despite his affinity for the sixties culture, it presents as selfish, decadent, and impractical on every level. Beyond all the philosophical asides, the reader discovers a mystery crafted by one of the best. Be warned like his other novels, Turow relies on foul language and sex as tools necessary to craft his characters. show less
In ambitious fashion, Turow captures a generation. The Law of Our Fathers would be more aptly titled the sins of our fathers. In their zeal to denounce the evils of their predecessors, they destroy prior institutions without doing the hard work of building new ones. While conceding their movement failed on a micro-level, somehow Turow clings without explanation or adequate argument to the notion every macro success from the civil rights movement to the rise of Mandela is due to show more flower power.
Despite his affinity for the sixties culture, it presents as selfish, decadent, and impractical on every level. Beyond all the philosophical asides, the reader discovers a mystery crafted by one of the best. Be warned like his other novels, Turow relies on foul language and sex as tools necessary to craft his characters. show less
Most of the time it was a very involving, character driven story spanning the decades from the 60s through the 90s, held together with unexpected plot twists and the obligatory court case. Sometimes it got too philosophical--and I'm the guy who reads actual philosophy but novels should show more and tell less, and the romance kept me at a distance which only lawyer love could do.
I liked various versions of reality undercutting each other and the way the characters from the 60s try to figure it all out from the distance of the 90s. The racial element worked for me as did the gang maneuverings and 60s political activism. Even the pop psychology was believable though in need of some editing.
I liked various versions of reality undercutting each other and the way the characters from the 60s try to figure it all out from the distance of the 90s. The racial element worked for me as did the gang maneuverings and 60s political activism. Even the pop psychology was believable though in need of some editing.
Years ago I read one of Scott Turow's books - I have no clue which one - and it offended me in some way that I cannot now remember. Since I can't remember, I decided to forgive and give him another shot. Am I ever glad I did. The Laws of our Fathers follows a court case as it unfolds, but with flashbacks to the early 70's, explains how things go to where they are. The fascinating characters in the book are my age and lived the things I lived and the whole story - a nice, long, meaty story - was captivating.
The Law of Our Fathers is an ambitious work, taking on several meaty, hot button issues from the last 40 years: war protesting, the Holocaust, political activism, recreational drug use, gang violence, poverty, grief and oh lets see, unhappy childhood/unresolved parental conflict/middle age divorce.
Scott Turow writes such total insight and witt, its hard to believe that a writer can create characters with that total depth and rich history. This is a lengthy novel that takes time to journey through given its sheer size. The story itself unfolds as two parallel universes; flipping between the past and the present, with the breaks coming at times of suspense, so there is motivation to read on. However, the story can be boggy. And the show more characters themselves? I can't say I really connected with them. But I do appreciate a well written story with a complex plot.
This is a work typical of Turow, just not my favorite. show less
Scott Turow writes such total insight and witt, its hard to believe that a writer can create characters with that total depth and rich history. This is a lengthy novel that takes time to journey through given its sheer size. The story itself unfolds as two parallel universes; flipping between the past and the present, with the breaks coming at times of suspense, so there is motivation to read on. However, the story can be boggy. And the show more characters themselves? I can't say I really connected with them. But I do appreciate a well written story with a complex plot.
This is a work typical of Turow, just not my favorite. show less
A good, if not great, book. A nice look at the hippie-turned-boomer class. I found myself as intrigued by the exposition of the past as I was with the actual trial.
An intriguing story that reunites a group of university friends and acquaintances 25 years after their student days. The event that brings them together is a murder trial. The American street slang and abbreviations take a bit of getting used to, but do not detract from the story which is more than a crime novel.
It is also a story of love and the relationships between the group and gradually reveals the reasons for their differences over the years. In addition, it shows the love and concerns of parents for their children and the effects that these cause.
There is so much more to the book than the reason for the crime and its solution.
It is also a story of love and the relationships between the group and gradually reveals the reasons for their differences over the years. In addition, it shows the love and concerns of parents for their children and the effects that these cause.
There is so much more to the book than the reason for the crime and its solution.
The complex story is told in two alternating tracks, with the first set in a lightly fictionalized late 60's Berkeley, and the second set in Turow's present-day Kindle County. The main character, Sonny, finds herself the judge of a murder trial involving people she has known for twenty years, and must decide it without the assistance of a jury.
This book is very long and complex. You will need patiences for a story to get to the point. But, Turow writes extremely well and ranges widely, taking on gang culture, judicial corruption, and the ever present political manipulations. And he always has very interesting character at the center of his tale. I would suggest this not be the first Turow book you read.
This book is very long and complex. You will need patiences for a story to get to the point. But, Turow writes extremely well and ranges widely, taking on gang culture, judicial corruption, and the ever present political manipulations. And he always has very interesting character at the center of his tale. I would suggest this not be the first Turow book you read.
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58+ Works 23,741 Members
Scott Turow is a writer and lawyer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 12, 1949. He received a B.A. from Amherst College in 1970 and an M.A. from Stanford University in 1974. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1978. He was an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago and served as a prosecutor in several corruption cases. Turow show more continues to work as an attorney. He has written numerous novels including Presumed Innocent, The Burden of Proof, Pleading Guilty, The Laws of Our Fathers, Personal Injuries, Ordinary Heroes, Limitations, Innocent, and Identical. His non-fiction works include One L about his experience as a law student and Ultimate Punishment about the death penalty. He has won numerous awards including the Heartland Prize in 2003 for Reversible Errors, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award in 2004 for Ultimate Punishment, and Time Magazine's Best Work of Fiction, 1999 for Personal Injuries. He will give a keynote speech at the National writer's Congress 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Goldmann (46086)
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Laws of Our Fathers
- Original publication date
- 1996
- People/Characters
- Sonia Klonsky
- Important places
- Kindle County
- Epigraph
- Those of us born in the years of bounty after World War II knew we had a different outlook than earlier generations of Americans. Blinkered by need, they had come of age with narrower commitments-to the glory of God, the glee... (show all) of acquisition, or the mean little business of survival. But we took seriously the promise of the Declaration of Independence that the birthright of America was not merely life or liberty, but the pursuit of happiness. Personally, as a child, I always assumed that was the point of growing up. So I'd feel better than I did then.
Which leaves us with the awful doomed inquiry of our middle years, the harpy's voice that whispers in dreams, at sunrise, at those unforeseen, instants of drilling isolation; Is this as happy as I will ever be? Do I have the right to just a little more? Or is there nothing better I should hope for?
-Michael Frain
"The Survivor's Guide,"
September 7, 1995 - Dedication
- For Rachel, Gabriel, and Eve
- First words
- Dawn. The air is brackish, although this place is miles from water.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I think I'd like to raise her as a Jew," he says.
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