Al-Tounsi: A Novel

by Anton Piatigorsky

How do the personal lives of Supreme Court Justices affect their decisions?

This debut novel by Anton Piatigorsky tells the behind-the-scenes story of U.S. Supreme Court Justices as they consider a landmark case involving the rights of detainees held in an overseas military base. Inspired by a true case from 2008 addressing Guantanamo Bay, the fictional lawsuit of Al-Tounsi v. Shaw pits Majid Al-Tounsi, an Egyptian prisoner, against the President of the United States. It challenges U.S. laws that apply to non-citizens under wartime circumstances and the extent of executive power.

As the controversial case maneuvers through the minds and hands of the Justices, the novel explores in detail how the personal life dramas, career rivalries, and political sympathies of these judicial titans blend with their philosophies to create the most important legal decisions of our time.

Genres: Fiction

359 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2017

About the author

Anton Piatigorsky is the author of THE IRON BRIDGE (Goose Lane Editions), AL-TOUNSI (Crowsnest Books) and several plays, including ETERNAL HYDRA (Coach House Books). He lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

You may need to be a lawyer or a Supreme Court groupie to love this book, as it is very legal and at points quite technical. It also starts very drily. And it feels a wee bit dated, because the moral and legal concerns it addresses are those of 2008, and that was a benign time for the rule of law compared to now. But it's a great book just the same, with sharply drawn characters (including a nice homage to Scalia and Ginsberg via two of them) and a brilliantly played out moral story. If you have ever really pondered what an honorable judge should do when the law and justice are at irreconcilable odds, you won't want to miss this. Other gripping morally based sub plots revolve around intellectual honesty, the corruption of ambition, and the diaphanous nature of the distinctions we draw between thoughts and acts. There are in addition some nice soliloquies about the community's right to legislate moral conduct and the way religion facilitates discrimination. This is all a heck of a lot more interesting than it sounds, because the narrative never really slows. Plus this book features an inside look at the Supreme Court, a very interesting discussion of the roots in the Bush administration of the current president's pretensions to ultimate power, and a nice tour of some of the highlights of Washington DC. Highly recommended.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm probably the ideal audience for this book, but I thought it was a really interesting exercise in getting inside the justices' heads.

[Phillip Marquart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed. Was a smart but easy read. Ending felt a little vague and rushed, but overall an excellent book.