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An historical legal novel worthy of reading 11/5/2013 11:08:18 AM
I just finished a novel called Tobacco Sticks by Wm. Hazelgrove which I feel is worthy of recognition. One reviewer called it a rip off of To Kill A Mockingbird. If that's the worst you can say about a book, I'll take that comparison any day.
This is the story of a family in post World War 11 as told by the narrator a 12 year old boy. The setting is Richmond Virginia which is still mired in the racial and class segregation of the Old South. Yet times they are a changing. The unions are starting to get a foothold and even "uppity Negras" are beginning to have a say in the political order which has been dominated by the old boy network.
That political machine is so powerful that they will use any means even illegalities to maintain the status quo. The narrator Lee Hartwell witnesses the change that will touch his entire family and his friends as well. His father Burke (comparable to the Atticus Finch lawyer in Mockingbird) has been part of the political machine and becomes the campaign manager for the power boss state senator who is up for re-election. Burke must straddle carefully between his own moral instincts and those of steel mill magnate Buddy Hillman who is the financial broker for the senator. The latter will devote whatever efforts are necessary to beat the union/black supporters of the challenger.
Lee's life is upended as his father breaks with the machine over a criminal charge lodged against Fanny a black household servant of Hillman which causes Lee and his father to be ostracized by the city.
Lee's friends and even the girl of his dreams Careen Hillman break with the Hartwell family.
Burke's courage is tested to its limits( I won't say why) as he defends Fanny. The last third of the book will have you in angst as the trial rushes to conclusion. The author, although not a lawyer, does create a vivid atmosphere throughout the book and especially during the trial where secrets and motives are revealed. Allow me one personal criticism by pointing out a legal error. He has the lawyers objecting to leading questions on cross examination. ( leading the witness on cross is of course permitted and common). There are also hearsay problems, but these technical glitches do nothing to spoil a story that captured a slice of history for me. I recommend this legal and social novel to everyone. Happy reading.
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