Official Review: Jaundiced Justice by Capt. Paul Barrett

[nangel04]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Jaundiced Justice" by Capt. Paul Barrett.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The fact that racism is not a thing of the past is made clear in Paul Barrett’s Jaundiced Justice. Starting out on a small-town Ohio farm, it would be easy to presume that this story takes place a couple of centuries ago. That is, if the very first line did not reveal the actual timeline. However, it is soon revealed that the protagonist, Henry Hall, is actually just extremely sheltered. Growing up on this farm, he knows nothing of racism until he goes into town one day and is refused service. He is already sixteen when this happens. From that moment on, he decides he wants to change the world. Doing his schooling via computer from his home on the farm, he graduates high school, college, and even law school. Then he goes out into the “real world” to become a lawyer. Not too long into his career, his first official case happens to involve the wrongful arrest of a black man. So, after having the case dismissed, Henry convinces the victim to sue the police department and the city for this injustice. Henry soon finds that, even though it is worth it, justice is not an easy thing to achieve.

The message of this book is accurate and eye-opening for someone who might think that racism is a thing of the past. I can get behind any book that reveals this idea as false to the world. The symbolism of Henry’s small, old-fashioned town is impressive. Through this, Barrett portrays how small-minded people can be, and what small worlds we can make for ourselves in order to deny the truth of the injustices that surround us. By far, this was the best part of the novel.

The naivety of Henry’s character would have to be a close second. Barrett did a good job portraying this character. I have to say this because it had to have taken a lot to make a character like Henry believable. The fact is, there are no real people like Henry. His whole world seems unlikely. However, Barrett managed to eventually convince me that Henry and his world could be real. The other characters, while perhaps slightly underdeveloped, did a good job of enhancing and supporting Henry’s character.

On the downside, the book itself could have been written better. First of all, I cannot stand reading a book that does not have any indication of where one chapter ends and another begins. The beginning of the book has a list of chapters but they are not designated throughout the book. It appears to be one really long run-on chapter. Second, the book was filled with grammatical errors. It is clear that the book was not professionally edited. I want to say the errors do not detract from the story too much, but they are definitely a concern. Finally, I think there could have been a little more friction in the storytelling. The way the story is written, everything just seems to fall into place too easily. This is definitely not indicative of real life. However, it was only mildly perceptible.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel. I would not say it was my favorite book, but I have certainly read worse. I would give it two and a half stars. However, as half points are not possible, I must rate this book two out of four stars. Should there be a second edition that clears up the grammatical errors and defines each chapter, I could bump it to three stars. With those changes, I would proudly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys justice being served. Well, maybe individuals fifteen and older due to a mild use of bad language in the book.

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Jaundiced Justice
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[Victoria Copsey]

Thanks for your honest review. I think I'll be giving this one a miss. Especially if you could have read worse

[NetMassimo]

This novel has the potential to address an issue that is still far too common, but the author might need a professional editor to help him with its proper development and proofreading. Thank you for your honest review!