Related News
Legal thriller draws on Greek myth
Print Edition
Best-selling author Scott Turow turned to Greek mythology for his latest legal thriller, “Identical,” which centers on a contemporary Greek-American family and community headed by a patriarch named Zeus.
The story is loosely based on the myth of mortal Castor and his immortal brother Pollux, the twin sons of the Greek god Zeus. It includes elements of Greek tragedy such as love, anger, devotion, deceit and incest.
According to the myth, when Castor was killed Pollux wanted to share his immortality with him so they would not be separated. Zeus transformed them into the constellation Gemini.
In “Identical” one twin, Cass Giannis, is imprisoned for a murder his brother Paul is sure he didn’t commit. When Paul runs for mayor, the murder victim’s brother embarks on a television ad campaign to thrust the 25-year-old crime back into the limelight to hurt his candidacy.
Q: Why do your books succeed?
A: One reason is that what the reader thinks is the mystery is not really the mystery. One thing that helped in this book is that the memory of the Greek myths we read in school has faded a little so the parallels are not immediately obvious.
Q: Are you still a practicing lawyer?
A: Now I only do criminal law, defending attorneys in cases of wrongdoing. I defend judges, lawyers, hearing officers. I sometimes say I started out with a proctologist’s view of the profession.
Q: It’s odd that lawyers, whose stock and trade is the law, would break it.
A: There’s nothing new about a public official making private use of office. The motive of a briber, or a person who takes it, though, in a community like Chicago can go beyond an individual. It’s an identity group thing, whether insiders or outsiders. It can have a very complex sociology. People can become convinced that this is just the way it’s done.
Q: How do you keep separate legal fiction from actual law practice?
A: There are ethical constraints on what I can steal from life for my novels and that’s just as well. Even if you try to stick with reality, there will always be something you don’t really know. I don’t write about my clients or my cases. It’s much easier to let small inspiration from reality take wing.
Q: How do you structure your day?
A: I like to write in the morning and tend to other business in the afternoon. Most writers write in the morning, pretty much as soon as the coffee is out of the way. I think it has something to do with the passageways to dreams not being fully closed.
Q: Do you feel differently about your work today, compared to when you began writing?
A: Yes. I feel like I know what I’m doing. The other side is that since I think I know what I’m doing, I’m always worrying that I’m not pushing myself hard enough.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
