Reviews

The Final Case by David Guterson

ericksonshaylee's review

3.0

I enjoyed the parts about the trial and the relationship between the father and son. The writing throughout the whole book is beautiful and poignant. However, the last quarter or so of the book was harder to get through. The scenes in the tea shop felt like they belonged in a completely different book, and they didn’t seem to fit the rest of the story. Like other reviewers have said, I finished the book not knowing what exactly it was supposed to be about. Overall, it was a good book, but not a great book.

mmc6661's review

1.0

I wanted to really enjoy this one. The premise is a great story about a writer taking time off to chauffer his aging father, an attorney who can no longer drive on what may be his last case. The case is the death of an Ethiopian foster child at the hands of her fundamentalist Christian parents. His father represents the parents in this case. Like he says someone has to represent them or it wouldn't be a fair trail. A sad story of bigotism, cruelty and abuse that rings all too true. That being said it started out really well. Then it went on and on without really getting to the story. I will say that the author's ability to write run on sentences is amazing in that one sentence filled a whole page.
I hate to say I didn't finish this one.

rozlev's review

3.0

I slogged through to the end because the book was short. The writing itself is beautiful, so 2 stars for that. But, the Final Case isn't a mystery or a thriller. It's not tense or suspenseful. It's overlong, wordy, dry. There were interesting sections of the story, but also, long periods of just nothing...meandering passages and musings. I loved Snow Falling on Cedars, but this was a disappointment.

knitter22's review

4.0

All I knew about The Final Case when I requested it from the library was that it was a legal drama and I remembered loving Snow Falling on Cedars. That was enough because I'm fairly sure that this book will be among the best books I read this year. I say that with some confidence even though it's only January because it's so much more - more than a legal drama, more than a story about an adopted Ethiopian child, and more than a story about what we do for work, leading a meaningful life, religion, justice, and the bonds between parents and children.

The book is narrated by the son of Royal, an 83-year-old defense attorney who is still practicing. Royal has had a small accident with his car, so he has asked his son to drive him to the courthouse and help with the investigation for a trial. Royal has agreed to represent Betsy Harvey, a white, fundamentalist Christian woman with seven children who has been charged along with her husband in the death of Abeba Temesgin, a sixth-grade girl they adopted from Ethiopia.

In an interview, Guterson said, "The reality of life isn’t consistent with fictional conventions, with plot points and a finite story. Life meanders. But I didn’t set out to meander. It’s just that the plot of the novel might take a little work to discover because it’s not necessarily on the surface." The fact that the plot wasn't on the surface is exactly what made me enjoy and appreciate the book as much as I did. Another reviewer spoke about trusting the author, and sticking with the book even when you're not sure of the journey. The Final Case is a book with ample rewards for the reader if they trust David Guterson.

"To tell you the truth, a lot of things in my work are sad. It's sort of a sad world to have to move around in."

masonf's review

informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A quick read about a devoted son following his father’s final court case. Captures what the worst tragedies have to teach us about love. Studies cycles of abuse without preaching that they have the right answer. 

trisha_thomas's review

2.0

I hate that I didn't love this. When I first cracked it, I was a bit worried. There aren't really chapters - the first 'chapter' is 100 pages and called Pretrial. Even though I loved the connection of the dad and son, the rest was a bit drawn out and I didn't connect to it. And I wanted to - it was a trial charged with the death of a adoptive child, religion and racism. I've started and stopped this a few times and I finally decided to just finish it. I wish I'd loved.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

eowyns_helmet's review

3.0

Much of this is very beautiful. But too much reads like a straight trial transcript.

renaplays's review

2.0

Discursive, wordy, gave up trying to care.

charf47's review

3.0

I absolutely loved Snow Falling on the Cedars and had high hopes for this book. These hopes were met in the first half of the book. The writing is descriptive and beautiful, throughout. Each of the characters are well developed and interesting. The case at the heart of the book is horrifying and evokes in the reader a great despair and a desire for the perpetrators to be adequately punished.

Then an incident occurs, which I will not elaborate on for fear of giving too much away, and no more is said about the case again, until very close to the end of the book. In the intervening pages the description of people, events, relationships and emotions remains beautifully evoked and expressed, but, to me, is totally removed from what I consider to be the focus of the book. This left me feeling somewhat frustrated. There may well be a parallel social commentary in this part that I have failed to discern, in which case the fault is mine and I apologise.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

soliteyah's review

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

By turns depressing and boring. Having certain characters speak in multiple-page blocks didn't really work for me; nor did the florid, paragraph-long sentences. The crime and trial were the most interesting parts of the book, while all the bloviating about aging and tea (my god, enough about the tea!) had me nodding off. I read and enjoyed Snow Falling on Cedars back in the day, but I think I'm going to skip this author from now on.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Child abuse