Customer Reviews

The Law Review

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was so good that I could not put it down. In some ways this was like Grisham's novels but without the fluff. I found the text so powerful and realistic that I'm hoping the murder was fiction and not a real life memory of the author.

The novel is about a group of ambitious law students wanting to advance their careers by being on the Law Review. The Editor of the Review is murdered. This is unlike the normal "who done it" because these top law students knew far more law than the police or prosecuters. This has more twists and turns than a vineyard.

Scott Gaille had more gratuitous sex than was necessary. But he certainly conveyed the pressures these law students were under. Many Law Review types really are under the delusion that they are more than pretentious clerks. Gaille picks up these delusions very accurately and creates actions that are not implausible.

This is an incredible read. This book is also evidence that one needs a strong publisher to give a novel adequate exposure. This should be a best seller but probably will never receive the promotion is deserves.

This book is really a long 'short story'-and not a good one. This is a story about 'brilliant'?? law students acting like idiots ... Or- So what if she's a murdering psychopath, she's so beautiful!) Add in poor chracter and plot development, and an ending too stupid to believe. I hope the author is a better lawyer than he is a writer.

Besides being a page-turning, Grishamesque thriller and a MUST for lawyers and law students, The Law Review is an insightful and compelling look at a man's journey into a world of obsession and desire--for money, for power, for sex--where he finds himself wrestling with his own obsessions and ultimately, his humanity. Obviously, anyone who has suffered through the demands of law school will recognize and appreciate Grayson Bullock's struggles, but so too will anyone who has ever felt the struggle between good and evil--in short, all of us.

This is the shallow story of a few intelligent students that will do anything to make it onto the prestigious University of Chicago Law Review. The only thing this book does correctly is show how competitive law school really is. I must also give the author credit for his writing ability, but I also think he added too much unnecessary sex. Bottom line: If you're interested in reading something that will prepare you for law school, don't read this book. There are much better books out there.

A great read - excellent first effort by Gaille. This book was hard to put down. Though structured as a mystery, the murder and investigation are a device to advance the real story, a study of the ambition, self-importance and altered sense of reality that can afflict the most dedicated students at a top-tier law school. Simply being accepted is a victory, access to a successful career assured, but to Grayson Bullock and Aris Byrd attending classes and formal legal education are a side show - the real struggle is for and about the law review. Those who fall short are failures; those who succeed are a self-anointed royal class destined to clerk for the Supreme Court and walk the halls of power. In their insulated, artificial world intellectual superiority justifies any action, any manipulation regardless of the impact on other's lives, to assure success. Grayson struggles with a dying conscience as he watches Aris and her law review cohorts destroy lives and use sex and love as a weapon. He comes to understand that he is just like Aris, kindred spirits in a world that does not understand or appreciate them.
The book hints at the personal changes and self-evaluation that occur when Grayson graduates and enters the real world, leaving the reader wondering about a possible sequel. Dark, sometimes disturbing, The Law Review is fast-paced and provocative, a must-read for anyone thinking about law school. For others, it is a great story, well-told.

The setup is interesting (if you are into law school and manipulative competition), but the ending was not particularly satisfying.

A great read - excellent first effort by Gaille. This book was hard to put down. Though structured as a mystery, the murder and investigation are a device to advance the real story, a study of the ambition, self-importance and altered sense of reality that can afflict the most dedicated students at a top-tier law school. Simply being accepted is a victory, access to a successful career assured, but to Grayson Bullock and Aris Byrd attending classes and formal legal education are a side show - the real struggle is for and about the law review. Those who fall short are failures; those who succeed are a self-anointed royal class destined to clerk for the Supreme Court and walk the halls of power. In their insulated, artificial world intellectual superiority justifies any action, any manipulation regardless of the impact on other's lives, to assure success. Grayson struggles with a dying conscience as he watches Aris and her law review cohorts destroy lives and use sex and love as a weapon. He comes to understand that he is just like Aris, kindred spirits in a world that does not understand or appreciate them.
The book hints at the personal changes and self-evaluation that occur when Grayson graduates and enters the real world, leaving the reader wondering about a possible sequel. Dark, sometimes disturbing, The Law Review is fast-paced and provocative, a must-read for anyone thinking about law school. For others, it is a great story, well-told.

The Law Review is about a first year law student, in law school lingo, a "One L", named Grayson. Shortly after starting classes, he falls for a "Three L", Aris, who, unbeknownst to Grayson, is embroiled in an abusive relationship with another law student. After Grayson becomes the third leg of this triangle, he increasingly compromises his ethics to win Aris and other prizes. Though he catches glimmers of redemption, he repeatedly opts for Aris and her deceit. Hardly a happy ending, but perhaps all too real in this world of Enron, etc. In sum, it is an interesting story of how easy it is to be compromised -- permanently.

This is a quirky story filled with unusual characters hell-bent on getting ahead at any price. With every turn, the story sharply highlights the darker recesses of a greedy culture that celebrates status irrespective of substantive accomplishment. The bitter surprise of The Law Review, though, is the absence of justice. It does make one wonder how many crimes go hidden and unpunished.

After reading this book, it was hard to believe that the staffing of a law school publication was less on merit and more on influence. That Supreme Court Clerks are selected from a pool of Law Review hierarchy rather than due to academic achievement. Unless being an Editor of a Law Review publication is in of itself a measure of accomplishment. The author was on the staff of a Law Review publication which would indicate that there is a kernal of truth to this premise. Then there is the concept of "getting away with murder" that is difficult to digest. Although one who is familiar with the law can use it to manipulate their innocence. I don't agree with the morality, it is a good and easy read.