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Summary: It is easy to forget the main story. Mr. Hall was on trial.
Review: I almost didn't finish this book because I was afraid of the ending. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative style. but I didn't think I wanted to read to the end.
Mr. Malone's writing skill makes the story and the characters so absorbing that we can forget that this is a story about a man on trial for his life.
Whether or not you will like the ending depends.
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Summary: How did this book go out of print and where is the movie?
Review: I checked this book out of my little local library several years ago, and enjoyed it tremendously. Malone has an excellent ear for dialogue. As I was reading the novel I kept thinking how well it would translate to the screen. Since then I have found out Malone writes for "One Life to Live", so I guess he has a lot of experience with dialogue.I always intended to look for more of Malone's books, and found a copy of Foolscap for a pittance in a bargain bin, but had forgotten about him until tonight, when for some reason this book came to mind and I looked for more of the same. I have added Uncivil Seasons to my shopping cart, I just wish you could add Time's Witness to yours.
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Summary: The Sequel to Uncivil Seasons
Review: If you liked the narration of Justin Saville in Uncivil Seasons, you will be pleasantly surprised by this sequel. The preceding book had Justin describing his good friend Cuddy as the classic good ol' boy. Well, this book has the same characters, but with Cuddy as the narrator. It gives us a different look at Justin, and some insight into Cuddy. He is not a dumb, semi-redneck, carefree guy. He is smart and serious, but he hides that, surprising a lot of people in a lot of ways. Uncivil Seasons has some great writing by Malone, who is my favorite author. However, this is a better book due to the complex plot and the wonderful drawings of so many characters.
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Summary: Great book!
Review: Malone is a really gifted writer and Time's Witness is one of his best books (much better than Uncivil Seasons). Cuddy is the kind of man about whom women dream (he's smart, has incredible integrity and is a romantic---it doesn't matter that he describes himself as homely---that's just part of his appeal).
Cuddy's struggle to balance his own moral code (opposition to the death penalty) with the demands of his profession (chief of police in a state which uses the death penalty) is at the heart of the novel. But the book also explores other issues as well: class snobbery/elitism, racism, the nature of the "New South" and there is also, of course, an interesting love story with a great and very unconventional ending.
You will not regret buying this book!
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Summary: Perhaps the best from Michael Malone
Review: Malone is an amazing writer. His command of the language, his ability to interweave multiple plots, and, above all, his characterization of people in "the new South" is flawless. Of the Justin/Cuddy trilogy, Time's Witness is by far my favorite. Perhaps that's because the point of view is that of Cuddy Mangum, far more complex than tortured soul Justin Savile, narrarator of "Uncivil Seasons". An older book that went out of print for awhile and is just now being enjoyed by a new generation of readers, "Time's Witness" covers the controversy of capital punishment, when the criminal is truly not guilty, in a way that Grisham, Turow, and many others are just getting to now. The threads of who actually was responsible for the death of a cop, and later a civil rights activist, are sometimes a little difficult to follow. But Malone keeps the complex story alive by his references to day to day small dramas, while the large plot unfolds. His phrasing is elegant, and bringing in the funny Martha (Cuddy's dog), the personal lives of cops Nancy & Zeke, and the bond between Cuddy and inimitable attorney Isaac Rosethorn (think Robert Duvall) grounds the reality you look for in a novel, into this fine book. In particular, the courtroom scenes, near the end of the novel, come to life in a way that many other "legal thriller" novelists would love to emulate. Rising above all is the way Malone brings Cuddy's (and others') beliefs on issues of the day to bear in the story with crisp and believable dialogue. Morally on par on multiple themes in the way that "To Kill a Mockingbird" read, "Time's Witness" is a classic of our times! Bravo!
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Summary: "Time's Witness" -- Good, but is it a real witness?
Review: Mr. Malone blends a strong courtroom police procedural plot with interesting characters and a feel for the current small town south. His plots [also in Handling Sin and Uncivil Seasons] are extremely intricate and the main characters, especially Cuddy and Justin, so clearly drawn that you feel they are people you have actually met and care about. My only critcisms are that the plot is a bit too intricate --there are so many threads running in and out of the story that it is difficult to keep them all together --I'd say the same is true for the number of minor characters who appear. All in all --he has quickly become one of my favorite writers and his books grab my interest and are completely enjoyable.
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Summary: An Uneven Idiosyncratic Novel
Review: This writer - and his readers - enjoy switching their attention just as MTV cuts its videos. It's as if the author said, "Look at this!" - and before your eyes had focused on what he pointed out, he was again saying, "And look at this!" He does this over and over and over. It is wearing, enervating, and annoying. I prefer something that the author has at least predigested for me, with a point of view, and with a main character that I like and can identify with. If you like a fast carnival ride that bangs you about and leaves you bruised, you will like this book. Otherwise, read something else.
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Summary: Tough but rewarding
Review: Unlike 98% of people who've read Michael Malone's work, I was quite underimpressed by his "Uncivil Seasons" - it was fine as far as detective stories go, but it was a bit too quirky, a bit too unconventional for my taste. So I was not looking forward to "Time's Witness," which revived many of the same characters - I read it only because I love Malone's other work, and TW was the last I had to read. If you can muscle your way through the first 150 pages, grow used to Cuddy (the narrator's) unusual voice, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Malone is a beautiful character writer and TW is as good as they come: the story is interesting, complex and raises some important questions. (While frequently preachy, Malone's first-person technique allows the reader to ascribe the preachiness to the narrator and not so much to the author.) The trial scenes toward the end surpass anything John Grisham has pumped out. A great read; find it if you can (I found my copy on Ebay)
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Summary: If you liked L.A Confidential
Review: When I read Michael Malone's first mystery "Uncivil Seasons," I was most impressed with policeman Cuddy Mangum. His dialogue seemed the most authentic, his character the most fully realized. What a pleasure then to have an entire book told in his voice. And what a book! This is a big, gorgeous, complicated piece of work. Malone weaves so many characters and plotlines and issues together -- and seamlessly, at that -- that it's truly breathtaking. As for the writing itself, there's not one clunky sentence, not one line of false dialogue, not one overblown metaphor. It's all clean, crisp and very, very funny. In short, this is not only one of the finest mysteries I've ever read, it's simply one of the finest NOVELS I've ever read.
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Summary: Time's Witness
Review: With a different voice, this time Cuddy's, Michael Malone again presents the characters of Police Chief Cuddy Mangum and Justin Savile V. They first appeared in the wonderful book, Uncivil Seasons. This book is even better. It is layered pefectly and is unique in that you end up caring about every character presented. And, most of them are flawed. Malone is a great writer and I look forward to reading First Lady.
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