The Laws of Our Fathers

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment.
Review: I have read Scott Turow before and had high expectations of a great read. Presumed Innocent was a 5 star mystery and unputdownable. This boring book took me twice as long to finish and failed my expectations miserably.

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I expected another great Turow book & got nothing, but bland, long-winded drivel. There are very, very few books which I just refuse to waste my time finishing. This was one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Pointless
Review: Mr. Turow is obviously trying to be a 'serious' writer. In my opinion, he fails at linking the children of the past to the parents of the present as he intends. He takes a core story line that would be mildly interesting as a short story and drags it out for 800 pages. Neither depictions of student life in the 60s or inner cities of today ring true. To add insult to injury, 50 pages near the end of the book are printed in italics. As far as I can tell, the only purpose being to increase my headache.

Rating:
Summary: The plot draws you in; the characters make you want to stay.
Review: The plot, a courtroom procedural about an urban gang murder, is well told. It kept me turning the pages. The stories of the characters -- how they began their lives, how they grew up, and how they've decided to reconcile their ideals with their adult responsibilities -- made me feel at home in this world of Turow's. It's a big well-written book, and a fast read. And it left me with some ideas to mull over at the end. Not bad for a murder mystery.

Rating:
Summary: A grueling bore
Review: The story is a mind numbing journey from present to past and back again, featuring characters that I just couldn't muster any interest or sympathy for. I don't recall reading a story that was so completely filled with selfish jerks. Reading this made me feel that I'd died and gone to hell. It's like being stuck in a DMV waiting room on a hot day with no AC and the only empty seat is between Ms. Nosepick and Mr. Pitstains. I can't imagine anyone but the most devoted Turow fan finding this anything but dull from beginning to end. I could, however, be wrong. After all, there are fishing shows on tv, and you can watch Spam decompose on the internet...if you want to.

Rating:
Summary: It gave me a headache!
Review: This is definately not Turow's best novel, I loved Burden of Proof and Presumed Innocent, but found this one to be long, and slow to progress and confusing with all of the jumps from past to present. Twice I put the novel down and read another book in between and the only reason I finished it was because I refuse to not finish a book I start!!

Rating:
Summary: LEGAL DRIVEL-OR-SLUDGE TO END ALL SLUDGE
Review: After reading Burden of Proof, I had not read Scott Turow since. I ordered this volume from a book company in Pennsylvania which obtains volumes from libraries, etc, to sell at a discount. I managed to get through 170 pages before calling it quits. Turow has written an excruciatingly boring volume, full of dull characters and a plot which is as exciting as watching chrome rust! The sixties scene has been done to death, enough already, the judge is poorly written, the other characters arouse little more interest than a funeral. Turow has made the same mistake John LeCarre made-getting so full of himself he thinks he can do no wrong. Le Carre has basically written sludge the last few books. After trying to get through Laws of Our Fathers, it looks like Turow has joined him. I don't think I'll read Turow again. A sad waste of what seemed a really promising talent.

Rating:
Summary: A great flash back/flash forward read!
Review: As I completed Scott Turow's bestseller from 1996, I found myself thinking about how interesting it would have been to have grown up in the 60's and early 70's. Not that the mid 70's and early 80's were anything boring! Having read this well-written book, I found that not only was I reading an extremely compelling work of fiction but also a story entrenched in true non-fictional historical settings and events. The only fair comparison that could be made for a novel that did as good a job, if not better, of capturing the history, turbulence and romance of the 60's and early 70's would be Gary Drake's debut novel "Silent Bell". For any fan of Turow's "Laws of our Fathers", I recommend this novel as well!

Rating:
Summary: This audiobook was a huge disappointment! Boring, boring!
Review: I am a Scott Turow fan - at least I used to be. This book made me so angry, I fast-forwarded through the last 30 minutes or so and threw the tapes into the nearest dumpster. A dumpster is where it belongs!

Rating:
Summary: Legal fiction with vision and a conscience.
Review: Readers expecting John Grisham page turner will be disappointed, but those who like good literature that attempts more than merely to occupy your time on airplane flights or vacations at the beach will enjoy this one.