Limitations

By Scott Turow

Life would seem to have gone well for George Mason. His days as a criminal defence lawyer are long behind him. At fifty-nine, he has sat as a judge on the Court of Appeals in Kindle County for nearly a decade. Yet, when a disturbing rape case is brought before him, the judge begins to question the very nature of the law and his role within it. What is troubling George Mason so deeply? Is it his wife’s recent diagnosis? Or the strange and threatening emails he has started to receive? And what is it about this horrific case of sexual assault, now on trial in his courtroom, that has led him to question his fitness to judge?

In Limitations, Scott Turow, the master of the legal thriller, returns to Kindle County with a page-turning entertainment that asks the biggest questions of all. Ingeniously, and with great economy of style, Turow probes the limitations not only of the law, but of human understanding itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Jul 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781447207153

Scott Turow

Scott Turow is the world-famous author of several bestselling novels about the law, from Presumed Innocent to Reversible Errors , as well as the wartime thriller Ordinary Heroes. He has also written an examination of the death penalty, Ultimate Punishment. He lives with his family outside Chicago, where he is a partner in the international law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

Reviews for Limitations

[schmerguls · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This slim 2006 novel starts out well, posing an interesting statute of limitations problem: a college girl, drunk, is raped by four students, the proceedings being videotaped. No charges are brought until the statute of limiations has apparently expired. George Mason, an appellate judge, is on the panel hearing their appeal. He is conflicted by an unsavory event in his own college time. The denouement I found unsatisfing and weak. Of the five Turow books I have read, this is undoubtedly the least good. I will never forget the first Turow book I read, labeled non-fiction: One L. I think it is better than any of his fiction, but that is maybe because it spoke so srtongly of my time in law school, even though my experience was very different from what Turow claimed his was.

[elizchanlest · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful book. It isn't the stereotypical "legal thriller," but Turow has always been better than that. While there is a mystery to be solved, it is more of a character study of the life of an appellate judge. It is a very thoughtful look at how the truly noble judges manage to survive and thrive while trying to do the right thing on the bench.

[lycomayflower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An appellate court judge must decide a case that brings up unpleasant memories from his own past and confuses the matter for him. He's also receiving strange, threatening emails from an unknown source. I really enjoyed the way this short novel explored the issues of law surrounding the case involved while coupling them with the personal issues of the judge. The suspense-y mystery-y bit about who was sending him the emails was less interesting to me, but it has a really excellent resolution and pay-off in the end. Recommended.

[philippa58 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

an older writer's book...interested in exploration of the difference between person and role...and an exploration of worthiness to fill the role..trigger event strong...way he grappled with and reconciled himself to his past a bit glib

[mahallett · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

listened to this. found it hard to focus. maybe it's just about being a judge. however if i wrote a book about being an esl teacher i don't think that many people would buy it. i guess i'd have to put in some threatening notes and discover they were from a co-worker since there is no one under me.

[georgehawkey_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've never been one for Grisham. While I like a fast, exciting legal thriller as much as the next guy, I've never found Grisham to be a writer who could hold my interest. The plots surely make good films, the dramatic lawyerly speeches make for great grandstanding by well-known actors. Just not good books.What Turow does in "Limitations" is far from Grisham as one can get. This was a thoughtful, well-paced novel about a judge considering the statue of limitations on a criminal case. The idea of limitations in life and in law runs throughout the book, and it illustrates the lives and motivations of each of the characters. At what point do personal or professional limitations begin to impact how you live your life? How you can move beyond them? Not the usual legal thriller pabulum, for sure.While not spare, the prose was precise, making for a relatively short novel (200pgs), but even still the conflicts, resolutions and characters were well-rounded, and inhabited the novel like living things. Based on my enjoyment of "Limitations" I would certainly explore other Turow books - this is the only one I've read. I remember my father enjoying the hell out of "Presumed Innocent" back in the late 1980's. "Limitations" is more than a beach read, but finds a balance between "throw-away" fiction (Grisham) and more meaningful "literature" which explores and finds meaning within the lives of its prose and characters.

[camdavis48 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

a simple novella about a moralistic dilemma

[suzieqkc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

George Mason, a judge in a rape trial, may let his feelings about his indiscretions as a college student influence his decision.