Decision (novel)
_Allen-Drury.jpg) US first edition | |
| Author | Allen Drury |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Political novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | August 1983 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 486 |
| ISBN | 0-385-18832-3 |
Decision is a 1983 political novel by Allen Drury which follows a newly appointed Supreme Court Justice as he is faced with the most difficult decision of his life. It is a standalone work set in a different fictional timeline from Drury's 1959 novel Advise and Consent, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[1]
The novel was out of print for several years until WordFire Press reissued it in paperback and e-book formats in 2014.[2][3]
Plot summary
Tay Barbour has just achieved his ultimate goal—a seat on the US Supreme Court—when his marriage crumbles and a terrorist bombing puts his daughter in a coma. The deterioration of the criminal justice system is illuminated as ambitious minds with their own agendas swirl around the terrorist's compelling case. And when it reaches the Supreme Court, Barbour faces the greatest challenge of his life: recuse himself and allow a probable deadlock, or take on the case and either follow his anti-death penalty principles or spurn them and seek justice for his daughter.
Critical reception
Kirkus Reviews summarized the novel as "the Supreme Court reduced to shrill, sometimes crudely effective melodrama", and noted:
Anyone with even the slightest sophistication about law will find Drury's crayon-and-fingerpaint version both laughable and irritating: notwithstanding a page or two of case-law, the oversimplifications are crass, often murky. Nor is the backstage-at-the Supreme-Court scene lively or convincing. Still, despite the stilted dialogue and stodgy pace here, there's a modicum of issue-interest and sentimental grab—which, together with the Drury byline, should ensure a solid commercial showing.[4]
References
- ↑ "Pulitzer Prize Winners: Fiction (1948-present)". Pulitzer.org. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ↑ Simon, Phil (May 28, 2014). "Classic Politics: The Works of Allen Drury Now Back in Print". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ↑ Karl, Jonathan (May 23, 2014). "Book Review: Allen Drury". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Decision by Allen Drury". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||