Gene Hackman Book:
Justice For None: A Novel
Gene Hackman Book:
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Editorial Review: The year is 1929, just before the Depression. Vermilion, Illinois is a prosperous small town where World War I veteran Boyd Calvin lives. Still haunted by his experiences in the war, Boyd struggles to find a place for himself. He drives a trolley and lives hand-to-mouth in a flophouse. But when Boyd stumbles upon the scene of his wife’s brutal killing, he loses his nerve and runs, only to be captured and jailed for murder… In prison, he meets and befriends George, a black convict accused of raping a white woman. Narrowly escaping a crowd’s attempt to lynch them, the men flee for their lives, hiding together before making their way to the anonymity of Chicago and day labor paid in cash. But Boyd soon discovers the fugitive’s underworld is not for him and decides to return to Vermilion and surrender to his fate. What he doesn’t expect to find is a small group of supporters who believe in his innocence and convince Boyd to fight for the justice that has eluded him. As the country stumbles toward collapse, a dramatic trial unfolds as a man’s fate hangs in the balance… Justice For None: A Novel Reviews: Against the backdrop of the looming and imminent Great Depression this story takes place. The protagonist is a World War One hero, who is also a hard-luck case. Rather than being rewarded and recognized for his heroism in Europe, he is scarred by his wartime suffering, and his marriage does not survive the strain. When someone murders his estranged wife, he is the suspect, and then a fugitive. The eventual courtroom scenario, as it plays out in the novel, is the story's climax and also involves the best writing in the novel. Further, it seemed to me (I am a trial attorney) that the authors did an exceptionally good job of showing the reason for some of our procedural safeguards in court that protect defendants. The absence of these safeguards in this 1929 trial work to the very great, and unfair, disadvantage of the protagonist. I thought that the authors did an exceptional job of bringing this out, and the trial has a gritty feel of realism, right down to the incident (no real spoiler here) in which the defense attorney realizes that his client has not been entirely truthful or candid with him. There, as in real life, this is a potentially fatal mistake. The ending surprised me a bit, and the authors do a good job of tying up the loose ends in the story, making for a startling conclusion to a satisfying read. | |||||||||||||||||
