- Audio CD
- Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (Oct 11 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 073932263X
- ISBN-13: 978-0739322635
- Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 2.4 x 14.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 204 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#2,117,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Books > Audiobooks > Audio CDs > Authors, A-Z > ( T ) > Turow, Scott
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Arthur Raven, more versed in corporate law than criminal defense, is not eager to accept the court-appointed task of handling death-row inmate "Squirrel" Gandolph's last-minute appeal of his murder conviction. Fast approaching middle age, Arthur has come to terms with the burdens and disappointments of his life, among which are a schizophrenic sister for whom he is responsible and the realization that he will probably never make an enduring connection with a woman. But when evidence surfaces that might exonerate his client, he rises to the occasion with a quiet determination to see justice done. Facing a formidable prosecuting attorney and her former lover, the policeman whose testimony convinced Judge Gillian Sullivan to find Squirrel guilty, Arthur's persistence not only wins his client a temporary reprieve from execution but also endears him to Sullivan, who has fallen on hard times since Squirrel's trial--fresh out of prison herself for taking bribes, she is a most unlikely candidate for Arthur's affections. Scott Turow's masterful characterization of complex and multidimensional people catalyzed by events into searching reexamination of their own motives and ambitions is matched by the intricacies of his plot, which itself is well served by his insider's knowledge of the criminal justice system and his extraordinary understanding of the vagaries of the human heart. The prose is luminescent, the narrative compelling, and the moral implications of Arthur's personal and professional choices beautifully articulated. This is a tour de force for a novelist writing at the top of his game. --Jane Adams
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
The sixth novel from bestseller Turow is a big book about little people in big trouble, involving the death penalty (one of the author's real-life legal specialties), procedural foul-ups and a cast of characters who exemplify the adage about good intentions paving the road to hell. Arthur Raven (a middle-aged, undistinguished lawyer taking care of a schizophrenic sister in a suburb of Chicago) lands a career-making case: the 11th-hour appeal of a quasi-retarded death row inmate, Rommy "Squirrel" Gandolph (accused of triple homicide a decade earlier), on new testimony by a terminally ill convict. Muriel Wynn, an ambitious prosecutor, and Larry Starczek, the detective who originally worked the case, are Raven's adversaries. Plot thickener: Wynn and Starczek are engaged in a longstanding, tortuous, off-again, on-again affair (both being unhappily married) that predates the crime, and which may have indirectly influenced the course of the original investigation. Arthur pulls in the original presiding judge from the case, Gillian Sullivan, just emerging from her own prison stretch for bribery (which masks an even darker secret) to assist him on the case, which leads to another tortuous affair on the defense's side. On top of this (Turow is well known for his many-layered narratives) is the dynamic among the criminals themselves: the dying con may be covering up for his wayward nephew, further muddying the legal waters. The first part of the book, which flips back and forth between the original investigation (1991) and the new trial (2001), is structurally the most demanding, but it is vital to the way in which Turow makes Rommy's case (as well as Arthur's and Muriel's). No character in this novel is entirely likable; all seek to undo some past wrong, with results that get progressively worse. Turow fans should not be disappointed; nor should his publisher.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
THE CLIENT, like most clients, said he was innocent. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
THE CLIENT, like most clients, said he was innocent. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could Have Been A Brilliant Court Drama,
By
Ce commentaire est de: Reversible Errors (Mass Market Paperback)
Many of the reviews comment positively on the large amount of space devoted to the character's lives outside the strict confines of the plot. In my opinion, however, this was the downfall of this, otherwise superb, courtroom novel. At 350 pages this would have been a brilliant page-turner, at 550 pages it dragged a lot.The basic plot is certainly enough to maintain interest through the sidelines, though. The early part of the novel spends part of it's time in 1991 when a policeman who "had the right man" and a very ambitious junior DA (also his lover) 'assisted' a mentally subnormal man ("Squirrel") into confessing to three murders - a confession that ended up giving him the death penalty. Jump forwards 10 years and we have his appeals lawyer starting to dig into a few murky circumstances that shed serious doubt on the case. Turow does a great job of keeping our interest in the various murder suspects; the original assistant DA is now highly placed to become the next DA and doesn't want this to ruin her chances of election; the policeman anxious to put charges of coercement behind him; the appeals lawyer, finding a new love of the law in the process; the original judge, having fallen on hard times herself, second-guessing her decisions. The machinations of the prosecutors is handled masterfully and, of course, we have the twists and turns expected. Unfortunately, this is interrupted frequently by tedious chapters that add nothing to the plot and, actually, add little to the characters we see. Pages and pages of very similar dialog do nothing. Now, some will argue that I'm just being shallow and buying into the constraints of the genre. Perhaps. I'm certainly not adverse to heavyweight material (see my review of Joyce's Ulyssees) but this isn't particuarly good and it does seriously impede the flow of the book. It seems from other reviewers that this was a departure for Turow. I'll certainly give him another chance but, for me, this book will always be a little soured by all the things in it that shouldn't have been there.
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Turow's finest...,
By Shirley Gillespie (Dublin, CA United States) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Reversible Errors (Mass Market Paperback)
A magnificently written court room drama with a man's life in the hinges. RE gives the reader an insightful look at what it takes to survive as a lawyer, a judge, a detective, and a condemned inmate. His characters come to life with just the right mix of detail so you look into their personality and personal lives like you know them as friends. A great mix of suspense and romance and mental disorder thrown in the normal Turow flair -- and the author's got yet another winning novel. Four stars!!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Close to perfect...a bravura performance.,
By A Customer
Ce commentaire est de: Reversible Errors (Mass Market Paperback)
I didn't care for the first couple of books I read by this author, but Reversible Errors is - exquisite. Mr. Turow gets into the hearts and minds of women better than any male writer on the current scene, except, perhaps, Stephen King. I loved this book - and the TV movie with Wm. H. Macy was faithful to the plot and feelings...that's rare, that a movie compares favorably to the book. So if you have a chance to see the movie if it is repeated or comes out on DVD, I recommend it. And I recommend the book wholeheartedly. It's a blessing in a wasteland of popular books that are merely....well...crap.
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