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A review by jonid
Testimony by Scott Turow
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.