Synopsis: Upper East Side bond trader mows down Bronx “honor student” and New York City freaks out. Review: Oh, how I love Bonfire of the Vanities! I have read it several times, most memorably rereading it in the first month after I moved to New York City, way back in 1995. I don’t know that I could ever tire of reading it, because I’m always astonished by how deep Wolfe takes you into every single little nuance of the story. And it’s funny how the…
Synopsis: Accused of murdering her family’s benefactor, a teenage girl caught in the legal system explains what led to her arrest and indictment. Review: Author Shannon Cowan has done a remarkable job researching the Canadian legal system viz. young adults around the time that Tin Angel takes place (late 1960s). However, the emotional component of the story never quite came together for me.
Synopsis: The tangled fates of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his four sons, three legitimate, one a bastard, culminating in a trial for murder. Review: I’d be a fool if I tried to pretend I were anywhere up to the task of critiquing The Brothers Karamazov. I can honestly say I’m a little freaked out by what I’ve just been through. Karamazov is a rollicking glory of human depravity shot through with tastes of the divine. Dostoevsky doesn’t hesitate to put theology and intellectual arguments adjacent…
Synopsis: After she befriends secretive An-Ling, a menopausal wife and mother’s family collapses under the weight of a lifetime of lies that may have lead to An-Ling’s murder.
Synopsis: When a dead baby is discovered in an Amish barn, a Plain girl finds herself on trial for murder. She says she can’t remember… then all she wants to do is confess. But is she actually guilty–and of what? Review: This is the book I was referring to yesterday when I said I was reading a salty book with no umami. The main reason I don’t like courtroom books is that they’re so formulaic. No matter how intriguing the setup or tantalizing the scenario,…