Book description
In The Just and the Unjust, Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Gould Cozzens examines the ways in which freedom under the law operates in a democracy when a murder trial dominates the life of a small town.
Why read it?
1 author picked The Just and the Unjust as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This novel is in many ways the precise opposite of a “courtroom thriller.” The murder trial depicted is not upended by surprise evidence, witnesses do not blurt out confessions, and the outside world takes little notice of what is transpiring in the courtroom. But prosecutor Abner Coates is a memorable portrait of a man for whom the law has become an entire world. A powerful courtroom moment punctures Abner’s professional irony, when he imagines looking at himself through the eyes of the defendants, and he realizes that despite his good nature and intentions, to them he is a savage enemy…
From Garrett's list on The best legal novels that you can't put down.
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