A CALAMITY OF SOULS,
David Baldacci
Synopsis
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.
Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. He quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.
Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.
Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.
Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.
Richard says
One of the best books I have ever read.
Baldacci is a best-selling author and world-renowned, and this book reinforces his reputation in spades. The book is more than a page-turner. It’s a page-mesmerizer drawing you into the story from the very beginning and never loosening its grip on you.
The plot is based on American society in Virginia in the late 60s, with its society that is steeped in hate, prejudice and racism. Baldacci successfully captures the atmosphere and thinking of the times, loaded with antipathy and hate for Blacks and fear and trepidation about whites. Baldacci, a Virginian himself, understands full well the polarization of Americans of the south, even today, and he strives to be politically correct in his writing: the pejorative ‘N****r’ is never used; instead, when its use suits the story, he uses “N______” which to border some kind of ethical or principle lines or perhaps it just should be done so.
The story may be a tribute to Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, as it has the same plot, a Black man accused of murder being defended by a white man who is uncertain about his own principles and beliefs. Baldacci adds a few more wrinkles to the story that make the story even more engaging.
Baldacci’s excellence shines through in many areas in this book: his dialogues feel authentic, his characters grow page by page, his ‘antagonists’ are easily disliked, and the sympathy and empathy for the Blacks is pulled out of the reader, page after page.
Readers will cheer for our hero and wish him luck as he takes up the legal challenge set before him. The trial is one engaging moment after another with a blend of tension-filled surprise twists and expected and easily guessed moments of predictability. But even so, every reader will want to read on into the wee hours of the night as they want to see what happens next on the next page.
Finally, Baldacci deserves kudos and compliments for his closing pages. He never lets up. The majority of readers will be surprised by the climax after the trial. Baldacci is superb at keeping readers engaged right down to the last line.
Not only a good book, but probably one of the very best I have read. The writing is excellent. How he deals with the story’s foundation of hate vs respect and acceptance is riveting. The dialogue is authentic and credible. The ingrained hatred, as demonstrated by some of the characters, is palpable. The tension between what is happening and what is expected is relentless. Baldacci brings American beliefs and thinking of the 60s to life. Sadly, it may still have tendrils of life in American life today.
In short, Baldacci’s A Calamity of Souls is a top-notch must-read.
