Anatomy of a Murder : 25th Anniversary Edition

Rating:
Summary: Of Bastards and Angels
Review: Up in Michigan, Laura Manion is raped by Barney Quill. Her husband, Army Lt. Manion kills Quill in a fit of irresistible impulse. Enter small town lawyer Paul Biegler. Assisted by his old friend, Parnell, and his able secretary, Maida, he brings order out of this human chaos. The story is a blend of sex, crime, and psychology. Dostoyevsky in the upper mid-West. It was a best seller in the late '50s. True to a real-life legal scenario, the pace is slow. The plot revolves around the investigation, and the trial. The methods of a defense attorney in building and defending a plausible case are interesting. Be aware, however, that talking and legal maneuvering comprise the main action of the novel. The exhaustive discourse and verbose courtroom dialogue get tiresome by the time the book rambles to a conclusion. The story's hard-hitting punch has been diminished by time. What was shockingly "adult" in the late '50s seems mundane today. Paul Biegler is a likable character, and his self-deprecating sense of humor keeps the story from getting too grim. The legal defense of "irresistible impulse" takes some effort to swallow. Perhaps conscious of the uncertain ethics of his case and his client, Biegler makes a wry observation that the lawyer's world is both of "bastards and angels." The setting is small town America rather than Big City, USA. The late summer-early fall setting adds earthy flavor to Biegler's quiet interludes of introspection. As diverting fiction, this novel has value. Nevertheless, it falls short of a powerhouse. ;-)