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macfiar's review against another edition
1.0
I think I have grown out of legal thrillers now that I'm a criminal defense attorney. This book pissed me off on the first page because his description of the of the ICC is absolutely incorrect. I have been there. Then the author kind of has the Bosnian witness speaking in a strange way. It is coming through a translator so it should have been in Regular English. So it was a bit of an insult to the interpreters and it made the witness sound strange. I stopped reading on page 8.
rglossner's review against another edition
4.0
Were 400 Roma massacred in the last days of the Bosnian war and buried by an explosion that collapsed a coal mine? Attorney Bill ten Boom leaves his life in Kindle County behind to work for the International Criminal Court in The Hague and to investigate that question. The testimony in the title belongs to one Ferko Rincic, who claims to be the only survivor of the massacre. Twists and turns abound in this well-crafted legal thriller. Ten Boom finds love, danger, friendship, and explores his own family’s history. I hope that we hear more from ten Boom and his work in The Hague in the future.
fictionfan's review against another edition
5.0
Much more than a legal thriller...
Middle-aged successful American lawyer, Bill Ten Boom, is having a bit of a subdued mid-life crisis. He has ended his marriage, not over another woman but simply because he felt there was no real love or passion in it. And he has given up his partnership in a big legal firm – a role he primarily took on to satisfy the aspirations of his ex-wife. So when he's offered the job of prosecuting a case at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, he decides it's too good an opportunity to pass up. The case involves the rumoured brutal killing of four hundred Roma in Bosnia in 2004. It happened near an American base, so the case is further complicated by the fact that the US, under George W Bush, pulled out of the ICC. First, Boom (as he is known) must establish that the atrocity did in fact happen, and if so, must then try to find out who should be held responsible.
Scott Turow is one of those writers whose books transcend easy genre definition. On the surface this is a legal crime novel with all the aspects of an investigation, suspects, clues, trial procedures, and so on. But it is also a careful, revealing look at the way the Roma have been dealt with throughout history, in Bosnia and elsewhere – a group at least as victimised as the Jews over the centuries but somehow still left under the radar of popular concern. Turow avoids the easy route of making the Roma seem too much like helpless victims though – he shows how their determination not to assimilate into the societies within which they live puts them in the position of always being seen as outsiders, who are often involved in criminal activity of one kind or another. He also discusses their cultural attitudes towards girls and women, which to our western eyes display all the sexism we have fought so hard to overcome. But Turow doesn't do any of this as an information dump. It's woven into the story as Boom himself learns about the Roma during his investigation, and as he becomes attracted to a woman of Roma heritage who is acting as a support to one of the witnesses.
We are also given a look at how the ICC operates: slow to the point of glacial on occasion, bound up in all kinds of procedures and restrictions, but grinding on in its efforts to bring justice for some of the most atrocious crimes in the world. Turow shows how the process can seem cold and unemotional, almost clinical in its approach, but how even this great legal bureaucracy can be shocked by some of the evidence that comes before it.
The story also touches on the other big American war of the early years of this century – some of the errors and miscalculations that turned “victory” in Iraq into the quagmire of factionalism that is still going on today, with consequences for us all. But while Turow is perhaps grinding a political axe of his own to some degree, he also shows the dedication and sacrifice of so many US soldiers at all levels, and the basic integrity of much of the legal and even political classes. And if all that isn't enough, there's another minor strand about Boom's European roots and the seemingly never-ending after-effects of earlier atrocities under Nazi Germany.
Turow's writing is as good as always – he's a slow, undramatic storyteller, so that he relies on the strength of the story and the depth of his characterisation, and he achieves both in this one. If I have made it sound like a political history, then that's my error, not his. Running through all this is an excellent plot – almost a whodunit – that kept me guessing till very late on in the book. He is skilled enough to get that tricky balance when discussing the various atrocities of bringing the horror home to the reader without trading in gratuitous or voyeuristic detail. And as well as Boom, he creates a supporting cast of equally well drawn and credible secondary characters. More political than most of his books, I'm not sure I'd recommend this one as an entry point for new readers (Presumed Innocent, since you ask), but existing fans, I'm certain, will find everything they've enjoyed about his previous books plus the added interest of him ranging beyond his usual territory of the US courtroom. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grand Central Publishing.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Middle-aged successful American lawyer, Bill Ten Boom, is having a bit of a subdued mid-life crisis. He has ended his marriage, not over another woman but simply because he felt there was no real love or passion in it. And he has given up his partnership in a big legal firm – a role he primarily took on to satisfy the aspirations of his ex-wife. So when he's offered the job of prosecuting a case at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, he decides it's too good an opportunity to pass up. The case involves the rumoured brutal killing of four hundred Roma in Bosnia in 2004. It happened near an American base, so the case is further complicated by the fact that the US, under George W Bush, pulled out of the ICC. First, Boom (as he is known) must establish that the atrocity did in fact happen, and if so, must then try to find out who should be held responsible.
Scott Turow is one of those writers whose books transcend easy genre definition. On the surface this is a legal crime novel with all the aspects of an investigation, suspects, clues, trial procedures, and so on. But it is also a careful, revealing look at the way the Roma have been dealt with throughout history, in Bosnia and elsewhere – a group at least as victimised as the Jews over the centuries but somehow still left under the radar of popular concern. Turow avoids the easy route of making the Roma seem too much like helpless victims though – he shows how their determination not to assimilate into the societies within which they live puts them in the position of always being seen as outsiders, who are often involved in criminal activity of one kind or another. He also discusses their cultural attitudes towards girls and women, which to our western eyes display all the sexism we have fought so hard to overcome. But Turow doesn't do any of this as an information dump. It's woven into the story as Boom himself learns about the Roma during his investigation, and as he becomes attracted to a woman of Roma heritage who is acting as a support to one of the witnesses.
We are also given a look at how the ICC operates: slow to the point of glacial on occasion, bound up in all kinds of procedures and restrictions, but grinding on in its efforts to bring justice for some of the most atrocious crimes in the world. Turow shows how the process can seem cold and unemotional, almost clinical in its approach, but how even this great legal bureaucracy can be shocked by some of the evidence that comes before it.
“…I knew there was no point. I could claw at the rock the rest of my life and get no closer. I knew the truth.”
“And what truth was that, sir?”
“They were dead. My woman. My children. All the People. They were dead. Buried alive. All four hundred of them.”
Although virtually everyone in the courtroom – the judges, the rows of prosecutors, the court personnel, the spectators behind the glass, and the few reporters with them – although almost all of us knew what the answer to that question was going to be, there was nonetheless a terrible drama to hearing the facts spoken aloud. Silence enshrouded the room as if a warning finger had been raised, and all of us, every person, seemed to sink into ourselves, into the crater of fear and loneliness where the face of evil inevitably casts us.
So here you are, I thought suddenly, as the moment lingered. Now you are here.
The story also touches on the other big American war of the early years of this century – some of the errors and miscalculations that turned “victory” in Iraq into the quagmire of factionalism that is still going on today, with consequences for us all. But while Turow is perhaps grinding a political axe of his own to some degree, he also shows the dedication and sacrifice of so many US soldiers at all levels, and the basic integrity of much of the legal and even political classes. And if all that isn't enough, there's another minor strand about Boom's European roots and the seemingly never-ending after-effects of earlier atrocities under Nazi Germany.
Turow's writing is as good as always – he's a slow, undramatic storyteller, so that he relies on the strength of the story and the depth of his characterisation, and he achieves both in this one. If I have made it sound like a political history, then that's my error, not his. Running through all this is an excellent plot – almost a whodunit – that kept me guessing till very late on in the book. He is skilled enough to get that tricky balance when discussing the various atrocities of bringing the horror home to the reader without trading in gratuitous or voyeuristic detail. And as well as Boom, he creates a supporting cast of equally well drawn and credible secondary characters. More political than most of his books, I'm not sure I'd recommend this one as an entry point for new readers (Presumed Innocent, since you ask), but existing fans, I'm certain, will find everything they've enjoyed about his previous books plus the added interest of him ranging beyond his usual territory of the US courtroom. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grand Central Publishing.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
bolynne's review against another edition
1.0
*I received a copy of this book from Bookstr*
I don't know how I feel about this book... I do know that it needed to be about 100-200 pages shorter for my liking and that could have been accomplished by cutting out all of the sex scenes and fluff. I wasn't really bothered by it exactly, but I wasn't there for sex I wanted to see the case through because it's a legal thriller!
It just seemed as though the case itself took a little bit of a backseat to Boom's life's problems and while the Roma's plight was touched on it didn't seem to be taken seriously.
Personally I just don't think this book was for me.
I don't know how I feel about this book... I do know that it needed to be about 100-200 pages shorter for my liking and that could have been accomplished by cutting out all of the sex scenes and fluff. I wasn't really bothered by it exactly, but I wasn't there for sex I wanted to see the case through because it's a legal thriller!
It just seemed as though the case itself took a little bit of a backseat to Boom's life's problems and while the Roma's plight was touched on it didn't seem to be taken seriously.
Personally I just don't think this book was for me.
jlmreader's review against another edition
4.0
Wrapped inside a legal thriller is the heart of Turow's book, a study of identity.
Nearly every character is dealing with some aspect of shifting personal or professional identity as they deal with the disappearance of 400 Roma men, women and children in a war zone
Ethnic, religious, sexual, professional, the identity one is born with, the identity one creates for him or herself are all examined here.
As the facts of the Roma's fate are uncovered, the identity issues of the characters conflict, clash, complement and confound each other and with the truth.
This book is excellent as a legal thriller and compelling as a more philosophical read.
Nearly every character is dealing with some aspect of shifting personal or professional identity as they deal with the disappearance of 400 Roma men, women and children in a war zone
Ethnic, religious, sexual, professional, the identity one is born with, the identity one creates for him or herself are all examined here.
As the facts of the Roma's fate are uncovered, the identity issues of the characters conflict, clash, complement and confound each other and with the truth.
This book is excellent as a legal thriller and compelling as a more philosophical read.
jonid's review against another edition
4.0
No doubt about it - Turow writes a masterful legal thriller. But the reason to read this suspenseful intriguing story with it's twists and discoveries? A lone witness comes to The Hague to testify that over a decade earlier in the middle of the night, unidentified troops rousted up 400 Gypsies form a refugee camp, marched them into a cave, and used a grande, setting off an explosion and burying them all alive. A war crime to be prosecuted? Does anyone care about the Roma people? Who were the troops? Who is this witness? It's a premise that grabs the reader and grabs our hero - Bill ten Boom. A lawyer from Turow's beloved Kindle County, he is leaving his law prentice and comfortable life but is unsure of what should come next. And he has his own issues with family to deal with.
What would help the reader and is unfortunately missing is a clear overview of how the Hague works. Some of the rules of law, the governing bodies, who answers to whom and how cases are brought and moved forward are really hard to understand. While Turow explains a the story unfolds, it's complicated and bears repeating. Additionally, prepare to get lost in the challenge of understanding the war involving the Croatians, the Serbs, the Bosnians, and throw in the Iranians, and Al-Quade and the role of the United States. It is confusing, and remains confusing as you read. A better knowledge and understanding of recent history is required. And one lat observation - the author ended a long term marriage and the main character ends a long term marriage and spends a lot of time reflecting on that and the issues of why some middle aged men who have gained respect and position seem to risk it all for a torrid affair. (Were these thinly veiled reveals about human frailty?)
The book moves along at a quick pace so the reader needs to keep up and I admit I had to look up some things about The Hague and the Bosnian war in order to understand what I was reading. You may guess at some of the plot twist but I didn't have my guess firmly in hand until the last 50 pages.
What would help the reader and is unfortunately missing is a clear overview of how the Hague works. Some of the rules of law, the governing bodies, who answers to whom and how cases are brought and moved forward are really hard to understand. While Turow explains a the story unfolds, it's complicated and bears repeating. Additionally, prepare to get lost in the challenge of understanding the war involving the Croatians, the Serbs, the Bosnians, and throw in the Iranians, and Al-Quade and the role of the United States. It is confusing, and remains confusing as you read. A better knowledge and understanding of recent history is required. And one lat observation - the author ended a long term marriage and the main character ends a long term marriage and spends a lot of time reflecting on that and the issues of why some middle aged men who have gained respect and position seem to risk it all for a torrid affair. (Were these thinly veiled reveals about human frailty?)
The book moves along at a quick pace so the reader needs to keep up and I admit I had to look up some things about The Hague and the Bosnian war in order to understand what I was reading. You may guess at some of the plot twist but I didn't have my guess firmly in hand until the last 50 pages.
marystevens's review against another edition
1.0
Awful! Appalling and vivid, even lurid descriptions of atrocities, extensive gushy panegyrics of the Roma, a Juvenile love affair between two middle aged professionals who have a conflict of interest in the case, and there's not much about investigative or court procedure at The Hague. I gave up about half way through. Scott Turow's novels are usually an education in the law as much as a crime story. His protagonists are people I can identify with. Not here. I suggest you pass this one up.
jcm's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. I hadn’t read Turow in quite a few years, but saw a review of Testimony and it sounded like a fantastic subject matter. It is, but a few issues bummed me out.
Turow uses the N word to describe the Roma. Out of all the ways to describe them, he chose that?! This was used early on, but as I got to the end it became emblematic of an issue that many white, middle-aged white men can’t help but think they are the good guy when in fact their sexism and racism just aren’t that overt.
****SPOILER ALERT*****
In the manner of this story, of course it is the black queer woman, Atilla, who is guilty; and the sexy lawyer who tricks poor vulnerable men into sleeping with her. Turow actually used “siren call” to describe her.
The character of Esma is the one who brings the plight of the Roma to the ICC. It is a conceit to basically give the protagonist Bill some sexy time, again, for the white middle-aged sad sack whose divorce was as bland as they all should be. But Esma is just another brown woman taking advantage of the guileless hero. That ground has been trod to death.
The worst is that Turow actually set a somewhat-compelling storyline where she isn’t who she seems, but it just falls flat. I kept waiting for a pay-off, because the mention of her being Iranian posing as Roma could be very interesting, but of course it was all just a way that Bill could get the moral high ground.
The next ridiculous contrivance for the white middle-aged guy is to swing from the brown siren to an emotionally confused woman 17 years his junior.
At the end, Bill visits Atilla to essentially, again, claim the moral high ground by refusing to accept that she is a flawed human who ethically and morally did the same things his body Roger has done and continues to do. Does Roger get a visit and a lecture? Nope.
This is not to say she should have gotten a pass, but the character of Bill lays the “I am for Justice!” on THICK, but then applies it randomly.
If this is Turow, I am one and done.
Turow uses the N word to describe the Roma. Out of all the ways to describe them, he chose that?! This was used early on, but as I got to the end it became emblematic of an issue that many white, middle-aged white men can’t help but think they are the good guy when in fact their sexism and racism just aren’t that overt.
****SPOILER ALERT*****
In the manner of this story, of course it is the black queer woman, Atilla, who is guilty; and the sexy lawyer who tricks poor vulnerable men into sleeping with her. Turow actually used “siren call” to describe her.
The character of Esma is the one who brings the plight of the Roma to the ICC. It is a conceit to basically give the protagonist Bill some sexy time, again, for the white middle-aged sad sack whose divorce was as bland as they all should be. But Esma is just another brown woman taking advantage of the guileless hero. That ground has been trod to death.
The worst is that Turow actually set a somewhat-compelling storyline where she isn’t who she seems, but it just falls flat. I kept waiting for a pay-off, because the mention of her being Iranian posing as Roma could be very interesting, but of course it was all just a way that Bill could get the moral high ground.
The next ridiculous contrivance for the white middle-aged guy is to swing from the brown siren to an emotionally confused woman 17 years his junior.
At the end, Bill visits Atilla to essentially, again, claim the moral high ground by refusing to accept that she is a flawed human who ethically and morally did the same things his body Roger has done and continues to do. Does Roger get a visit and a lecture? Nope.
This is not to say she should have gotten a pass, but the character of Bill lays the “I am for Justice!” on THICK, but then applies it randomly.
If this is Turow, I am one and done.
bibliophile_394's review against another edition
4.0
I actually really liked this book and was not expecting to at all. My stepson randomly picked this book up for my at a salvage store and gave it to me for Mother’s Day. I have never read a book by this author before. I was at first a little put off by all the military and legal jargon, but soon found myself getting lost in the thrilling chase of justice. It had the perfect blend of thriller, romance, and action. I would definitely read another of his books!
left_coast_justin's review against another edition
2.0
I try to disguise spoilers as much as I can here, but I may be giving away some plot points, so read at your own risk:
Although there was a potentially interesting story here, waaaay too many pages were devoted to ridiculous subplots, to wit:
1) Here's a 55-year-old divorcee who hasn't had a date in five years, suggesting he's not exactly the stuff of ladies' dreams, but during the course of the book winds up having a torrid affair with a married woman much younger than him. But that wasn't enough, apparently, because within days of that highly-unlikely pairing coming to an end, he's back at it with yet another married woman.
And if you were wondering, she too is much younger than him.
2) A shocking (!) revelation about his ancestry that has no point, is unrelated to anything else in the book, crops up at random and then disappears completely, having made not one iota of difference to anything else going on.
Even the main plot is filled with ridiculous elements, suggesting that prosecutors are battle-hardened men of action rather than cogs in a bureaucratic machine. Everybody's whizzing back and forth from Belgium to Bosnia to Brooklyn so fast that it's difficult to keep track of, let alone figure out who's paying for all these flights.
Although there was a potentially interesting story here, waaaay too many pages were devoted to ridiculous subplots, to wit:
1) Here's a 55-year-old divorcee who hasn't had a date in five years, suggesting he's not exactly the stuff of ladies' dreams, but during the course of the book winds up having a torrid affair with a married woman much younger than him. But that wasn't enough, apparently, because within days of that highly-unlikely pairing coming to an end, he's back at it with yet another married woman.
And if you were wondering, she too is much younger than him.
2) A shocking (!) revelation about his ancestry that has no point, is unrelated to anything else in the book, crops up at random and then disappears completely, having made not one iota of difference to anything else going on.
Even the main plot is filled with ridiculous elements, suggesting that prosecutors are battle-hardened men of action rather than cogs in a bureaucratic machine. Everybody's whizzing back and forth from Belgium to Bosnia to Brooklyn so fast that it's difficult to keep track of, let alone figure out who's paying for all these flights.