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siriuslyeva 's review for:
Twelve Angry Men
by Reginald Rose
3.75/5 stars
honestly this was actually such an entertaining read. I knew very little about this book upon starting it except that it was about a jury & was in the format of a play. this made me quite hesitant to read it but it actually was so fun when I finally did. it was very digestible (contrary to some of the reviews on here) and I finished it in one sitting.
this whole book played out like a play in my head, not a movie. which I think is a great sign. since having a background in criminal justice and working with applicants for wrongful convictions, this book was actually nicely condensed. it was able to capture and communicate a lot of the doubts jurors may have in such situations well, and I loved the way it was giving us information bit by bit. we weren’t able to figure it out alongside the jurors because the jurors knew information we as the audience didn’t. and they fed it to us slowly as juror 8 slowly debunked their seemingly solid claims and made an 11-1 guilty vote turn into a unanimous non guilty verdict.
the one negative thing i’d say would be in regard to jurors 3 and 7 (and 10), and the fact that they only really changed their vote ‘just because’ rather than actually having that inner conflict. I think it was hinted that juror 7 was somewhat conflicted but the rest of them kind of just agreed because they wanted to leave and were tired of arguing. I think it just made the unanimous verdict less satisfying in the end. I wish they had been fully swayed by their assumptions being proven wrong or had reasonable doubt like the rest of the jurors.
a complaint i’ve been seeing in reviews is regarding the simplicity of the case and that it was illustrated as very black and white with some evidence (or lack thereof) being too circumstantial and guesswork. I understand this but it’s something that was addressed in the book. juror 8 never claimed the boy to be innocent but rather wanted to simply deliberate further and discuss the matter before jumping to conclusions. this book was only 73 pages - there’s only so much you can write in such a short period of time with such an abundance of characters with different characteristics, views and personalities. I think it was condensed very well and the point was made.
another complaint i’m seeing a lot is regarding the jurors being referred to as juror 2, juror 3 etc. but it honestly wasn’t too difficult to follow. I made a little note on every juror and one quality about them which I kept referring back to if I was ever confused. at one point I stopped needing the note and was able to identify the jurors right away.
overall, I didn’t expect this to be some sort of crazy mind-bending, thrilling, shocking book- and it wasn’t. there were some moments that were great and made me physically react but other than that, it wasn’t something I had to decipher or use too much of my brain to understand. it’s dramatic, fairly unrealistic - but it’s a script. for a PLAY. I can appreciate it for what it is and I quite enjoyed my time reading it. I hope to watch the movie sometime soon too!
honestly this was actually such an entertaining read. I knew very little about this book upon starting it except that it was about a jury & was in the format of a play. this made me quite hesitant to read it but it actually was so fun when I finally did. it was very digestible (contrary to some of the reviews on here) and I finished it in one sitting.
this whole book played out like a play in my head, not a movie. which I think is a great sign. since having a background in criminal justice and working with applicants for wrongful convictions, this book was actually nicely condensed. it was able to capture and communicate a lot of the doubts jurors may have in such situations well, and I loved the way it was giving us information bit by bit. we weren’t able to figure it out alongside the jurors because the jurors knew information we as the audience didn’t. and they fed it to us slowly as juror 8 slowly debunked their seemingly solid claims and made an 11-1 guilty vote turn into a unanimous non guilty verdict.
the one negative thing i’d say would be in regard to jurors 3 and 7 (and 10), and the fact that they only really changed their vote ‘just because’ rather than actually having that inner conflict. I think it was hinted that juror 7 was somewhat conflicted but the rest of them kind of just agreed because they wanted to leave and were tired of arguing. I think it just made the unanimous verdict less satisfying in the end. I wish they had been fully swayed by their assumptions being proven wrong or had reasonable doubt like the rest of the jurors.
a complaint i’ve been seeing in reviews is regarding the simplicity of the case and that it was illustrated as very black and white with some evidence (or lack thereof) being too circumstantial and guesswork. I understand this but it’s something that was addressed in the book. juror 8 never claimed the boy to be innocent but rather wanted to simply deliberate further and discuss the matter before jumping to conclusions. this book was only 73 pages - there’s only so much you can write in such a short period of time with such an abundance of characters with different characteristics, views and personalities. I think it was condensed very well and the point was made.
another complaint i’m seeing a lot is regarding the jurors being referred to as juror 2, juror 3 etc. but it honestly wasn’t too difficult to follow. I made a little note on every juror and one quality about them which I kept referring back to if I was ever confused. at one point I stopped needing the note and was able to identify the jurors right away.
overall, I didn’t expect this to be some sort of crazy mind-bending, thrilling, shocking book- and it wasn’t. there were some moments that were great and made me physically react but other than that, it wasn’t something I had to decipher or use too much of my brain to understand. it’s dramatic, fairly unrealistic - but it’s a script. for a PLAY. I can appreciate it for what it is and I quite enjoyed my time reading it. I hope to watch the movie sometime soon too!