Official Review: The Snake Charmer by Stuart V. Goldberg

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Poppy Drear
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Official Review: The Snake Charmer by Stuart V. Goldberg

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Snake Charmer" by Stuart V. Goldberg.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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The Snake Charmer by Stuart V. Goldberg is a crime thriller novel that takes place in Chicago in the 1980s. It follows Victor Raymer, a defense lawyer working in the narcotics courtroom of the Cook County court, for the entirety of his career. From his first day on the job, he struggles with the challenges of being one of the few members of the judiciary system not accepting or paying bribes. To add to his hardships, he must fight against the federal officers carrying out Operation Greylord, who are looking to implicate him as a part of the wide net of corruption that plagues the county's judiciary system.

Raymer is a stand-in for Goldberg himself, and nearly every character is inspired by someone from his own life. Raymer's paralegal, Michael, even has the same name as Goldberg's own now deceased law clerk. Goldberg doesn't rely on simply retelling his experiences, though: he shapes and embellishes his narrative to turn it into a masterful work of fiction. Because of his personal insights, every character feels intensely real. Even Chicago becomes its own character, with a mind and spirit of its own. The worldbuilding of The Snake Charmer is like no other because Goldberg is so intensely familiar with the setting of the story he weaves.

The only complaints I had with The Snake Charmer were mechanistic in nature. Goldberg relies somewhat heavily on ellipses, and occasionally uses exclamation points rather than periods for descriptive statements, which I found a bit distracting. These are minor flaws, and for the most part, the book's writing is incredibly effective. It employs both poetic and prosaic language when needed, and the dialogue is never stilted or unrealistic. Utilizing relatively short chapters, sometimes as minimalistic as one or two pages, served to ensure the flow of the story never stagnated or dragged on, despite the dull connotation legal work holds. Furthermore, I could find only one grammatical error that wasn't stylistic.

The Snake Charmer clearly holds an extremely personal place in Goldberg's heart, and with good reason. It deals with a variety of very heavy, thought-provoking subjects, chief of which is the true role of defense attorneys. They have an obligation to defend their clients' rights, to be sure, but in doing so, they humanize their clients. Convicts are sons and daughters. Drug dealers have husbands and wives. It's no hyperbole to say that I finished the novel with a broadened understanding of humanity and a new respect for criminals, who most people might pass off as the scum of the earth. This is the heart of Goldberg's novel: even those scorned by society can become great people, and even those championed by society can become terrible.

I can't help but give The Snake Charmer 4 out of 4 stars. I highly recommend this novel to any adult living in the Chicagoland area or anyone with even a cursory interest in the crime and thriller genres. For obvious reasons, it isn't appropriate for children. From a narrative standpoint, it's an exciting adventure, rife with twists and turns and unique characters. From a philosophical standpoint, it's a compelling look into the lives of the downtrodden, and how incredibly convoluted the execution of justice can be.

******
The Snake Charmer
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Post by kandscreeley »

It takes a skilled author to takes his own experiences, embellish them and turn them into a beautiful and enthralling story. Especially when legal information is involved. I'm not sure I'd appreciate this one, but I enjoyed your review. Thanks.
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Post by Farmgurl1 »

Based on the review this book sounds fabulous. I love the crime/thriller genre and the fact that Goldberg lived the life of a defense attorney just makes the story real. I have often wondered how defense attorneys are able to compartmentalize how they feel about the criminal they are defending and their duty to provide representation to all people. The review makes it seem like the author does a great job of humanizing these criminals. I will add this to my read shelf. Thanks for the review!
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Post by stacie k »

The Snake Charmer clearly holds an extremely personal place in Goldberg's heart, and with good reason. It deals with a variety of very heavy, thought-provoking subjects, chief of which is the true role of defense attorneys. They have an obligation to defend their clients' rights, to be sure, but in doing so, they humanize their clients. Convicts are sons and daughters. Drug dealers have husbands and wives. It's no hyperbole to say that I finished the novel with a broadened understanding of humanity and a new respect for criminals, who most people might pass off as the scum of the earth. This is the heart of Goldberg's novel: even those scorned by society can become great people, and even those championed by society can become terrible.
I really admire the way you were able to extract the heart of the book. Great job on this review!
“The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable.” Proverbs 15:2a
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Post by revna01 »

This sounds like a very interesting read and I feel I would enjoy it. I do like crime fiction and legal fiction. I'm sure the author would be very pleased with your high opinion of his book.
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Post by Poppy Drear »

kandscreeley wrote: 20 Mar 2018, 09:35 It takes a skilled author to takes his own experiences, embellish them and turn them into a beautiful and enthralling story. Especially when legal information is involved. I'm not sure I'd appreciate this one, but I enjoyed your review. Thanks.
Definitely not for everyone; I felt compelled to take a chance on it despite not being my usual genre. If you don't want to commit to reading an entire book, this article by the Chicago Reader is worth checking out. I happened upon it while researching this book, and it's an intriguing look into the life of an intriguing man.
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Post by Poppy Drear »

Farmgurl1 wrote: 20 Mar 2018, 13:19 Based on the review this book sounds fabulous. I love the crime/thriller genre and the fact that Goldberg lived the life of a defense attorney just makes the story real. I have often wondered how defense attorneys are able to compartmentalize how they feel about the criminal they are defending and their duty to provide representation to all people. The review makes it seem like the author does a great job of humanizing these criminals. I will add this to my read shelf. Thanks for the review!
Again, I really can't recommend this book enough if you're interested in the genre! In all honesty, my only experience with defense attorneys has been from playing Phoenix Wright, so it was great to see a much more realistic picture of what they do.
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Post by Poppy Drear »

stacie k wrote: 20 Mar 2018, 14:50
The Snake Charmer clearly holds an extremely personal place in Goldberg's heart, and with good reason. It deals with a variety of very heavy, thought-provoking subjects, chief of which is the true role of defense attorneys. They have an obligation to defend their clients' rights, to be sure, but in doing so, they humanize their clients. Convicts are sons and daughters. Drug dealers have husbands and wives. It's no hyperbole to say that I finished the novel with a broadened understanding of humanity and a new respect for criminals, who most people might pass off as the scum of the earth. This is the heart of Goldberg's novel: even those scorned by society can become great people, and even those championed by society can become terrible.
I really admire the way you were able to extract the heart of the book. Great job on this review!
Hey, thanks! And thanks for reading my review, I sure appreciate it. I had a lot of feelings about this book, so I'm glad I was able to express them effectively.
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Post by Poppy Drear »

SABRADLEY wrote: 20 Mar 2018, 19:06 This sounds like a very interesting read and I feel I would enjoy it. I do like crime fiction and legal fiction. I'm sure the author would be very pleased with your high opinion of his book.
Honestly, since it's a manuscript he's apparently worked on for about two decades, I think Goldberg would stand by it no matter what anyone's opinion was. The strong conviction he had in his work, though, is a big part of what made it so impactful!
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Post by revna01 »

Two decades! That is a lot of investment. It's nice to see he finally completed it, and did so with gusto.
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The book is thrilling, awesome, spellbound, it's a readers delight.
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Post by kislany »

As a legal mystery (a genre which I like), this book sounds interesting. Thanks to your review, if I see it, I will probably pick it up.
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Post by MsTri »

This sounds like a very intriguing read, as I've always been fascinated by true crime and other genres that include the legal profession and system. Add to that that I moved to Chicago in 2012, so the 80s was long before my time, and I'm interested in reading about Chicago then and comparing it with Chicago now. Thanks for the superb introduction!
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Post by Yoli García »

I think it is interesting he based this crime book about corruption within the judicial system on his own experiences. Not my genre, but I liked your review.
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Post by Libs_Books »

This sounds like a really fascinating book - it's shocking to hear about bribery being rife in the system as recently as the 1980s. Curious choice of cover - I was expecting Sci-fi/Fantasy, or a children's book. Anyway, I don't know whether this one will be published in the UK, but I'll look out for it, thanks.
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