The Final Case
If you convict someone because they’re abhorrent, and not because they broke the law, you might as well live in a dictatorship.
I think Guterson tried to do too much in this book. At times it follows a father and son, as the father prepares his last case in court. So there are the attendant themes of processing life and death. At others, Guterson tries to portray a court case for child abuse and homocide, which I felt was disjointed from the father and son narrative.
Finally, in the father’s legacy feels forgotten by the end of the book, unprocessed. Perhaps that’s a bigger theme here? Maybe I’m missing something.
I didn’t enjoy the book, and felt the ending was unsatisfactory.