Manchester District Library Book Club discussion

Please share your thoughts.

The book is not very long so I haven't jumped in yet. I am reading some light fiction for now.

I just started, and here is the NY Times book review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/boo...

.The blurb on the back of the book from Desmond Tutu is a powerful statement:
"Bryan Stevenson is America's young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. JUST MERCY should be read by people of conscience in every civilized country in the world....It is as gripping to read as any legal thriller, and what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation."

This book is the reason to join a book discussion group. You may not like or read some of the recommendations but the suggestions are broken down into different genres, a very democratic process takes place and you find that you can be enlightened if you just give it a try.

I am finding that there is much going on to give you hope. The NY Times just had a headline today "States Move Toward Treating 17-Year-Old Offenders as Juveniles, Not Adults". Yesterday it was, "
BREAKING NEWS Pfizer has blocked its drugs from being used in lethal injections, cutting off the last open-market source of such drugs. Friday, May 13, 2016"

Am I noticing more about this topic because I read a book written by an amazing man, who happens to be someone that can get positive results......with a lot of work...on a topic that isn't Fiction or even easy reading? Yet, the prose moved along and easily drew me in.

When I tell people what I'm reading and try to encourage them by discribing what Bryan Stevenson cares about, they mostly just nod but don't seem to want to add it to their already long "to read" list. They are probably thinking, "Oooooh, honey, all that's going to make you tired, tired, tired." as someone told Stevenson. But a friend added, "That's why you've got to be brave, brave, brave." Read about something important that is happening right now!

This man, Bryan Stevenson, has a plan, has learned a lot and it's so good to see that it is working. Believe me, you will start noticing that there seems to be more people and organizations seeking AND finding Justice and Mercy. Keep the good news coming so we can practice accepting the bad with Courage and Mercy.
I gave it 5 stars

Big ditto to what Patty has said. The book was 4 stars for me, primarily because of the chapters interspersing Walter's story. I would have preferred a more sequential approach, with Walter's story being told in one long segment (at the end of the book, perhaps?) I just didn't want to leave him, although the chapters in between were very important, especially in the area of juvenile offenders.

The NY Times article I referenced above expresses another concern of mine: "He also has the defense lawyer’s reflex of refusing to acknowledge his clients’ darker motives. A teenager convicted of a double murder by arson is relieved of agency; a man who placed a bomb on his estranged girlfriend’s porch, inadvertently killing her niece, 'had a big heart.'" At no point does Stevenson spend time on the victims. His closeness to his clients is admirable, but I couldn't forget the lives lost in the violence.

However, I do agree with the last paragraph of the NYTimes article:

"The message of this book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. “Just Mercy” will make you upset and it will make you hopeful. The day I finished it, I happened to read in a newspaper that one in 10 people exonerated of crimes in recent years had pleaded guilty at trial. The justice system had them over a log, and copping a plea had been their only hope. Bryan Stevenson has been angry about this for years, and we are all the better for it."

Thanks to Mary Vigilante for this recommendation--an important book to finish off our season!

I am sorry I am going to miss the in person discussion due to soccer practice conflicts but I REALLY enjoyed the book and am so glad Mary recommended it. I agree with Julia, 4 stars, because I would have preferred a different format as well and although I appreciate Stevenson's sympathy for his clients there are plenty of people who have hard circumstances who still don't make bad choices that hurt other people. I am horrified by the amount of corruption and prejudice in our legal system even today. Yet, it is still probably one of the better judicial systems in the world. I hope emerging technology and science will help clear those wrongfully accused and prevent innocent people from being imprisoned. In general, I am not a supporter of the death penalty although for certain people, like serial killers and those who intentionally take many lives, I wouldn't protest a death sentence.