'Defending Jacob' - the 2012 thriller by William Landay is hard to button-hole. On the surface, it appears to be a regular legal thriller, along the lines of John Grisham - but a little deeper, and it is a family drama, fraught with deep human emotion.
Andrew Barber has been been Assistant District Attorney in Newton County for over 2 decades. He leads a normal, suburban life with his wife, Laurie, and 14 year old son, Jacob. Until the day the body of a young boy is discovered in neighboring Cold Spring Park - Ben Rifkin is Jacob's classmate and has been fatally stabbed in the chest. The horrific crime sends shock waves through the community, and threatens to rip apart the Barber family - as Jacob is the prime accused in the case!
Andrew believes with all his heart in Jacob's innocence - what parent wouldn't? - even when confronted with damning evidence. A knife in Jacob's dresser drawer, a fingerprint on the victim's coat, an online story with details of the murder - none of it seems to matter to the former ADA! But Andrew, too, is hiding a dangerous secret - a secret which he has kept from his wife, a secret which would be the confirmation of Jacob's guilt. Andrew comes from a long line of extremely violent men - his great-grandfather and grand father had both done time, and his father is currently serving a life sentence for murder. Has Jacob inherited this treacherous 'murder gene', or is he truly innocent?
What makes this book so disquieting is the Barber family dynamic before and after the storm that breaks over them. Right after the murder, in fact at the wake of Ben Rifkin, we are introduced to Andrew and Laurie as a couple in love with each other even after years of marriage. After Jacob's arrest, Laurie starts to fall to pieces, and when Andrew's secret is revealed, I could empathize as she questions the very foundation of her marriage. While Andrew staunchly defends his son, Laurie explores the 'what if', and struggles to come to terms with her culpability as the parent of a child who might have committed a vicious crime. It seems to be a certainty that whether Jacob is guilty or not, whether he is convicted or not - the Barber family will never be the same again.
As a parent, Jacob seems to be like your worst nightmare come true. What if, just, what if despite all your best efforts to bring up a normal, well-balanced person, you end up with a child - as Jacob's psychiatrist puts it very insensitively indeed - who has a heart 2 sizes small? As babies, as toddlers - parents are attuned to every emotion, every thought a child has. As they grow older, what secrets will they keep from us? How many things did you hide from your parents? Innocent things, silly secrets - that can be laughed at in retrospect, but where do you draw the line, and how do you know when your child crosses it? As parents, we are doomed to be responsible for all the mistakes that our offspring may make - and it is very hard to be dispassionate when Laurie searches for answers to her son's behavior.
The 'murder gene' theory also compelled me to think - if artistic talent, simple habits can be inherited and passed down over generations, is it really that implausible to believe that a predilection to bad behavior could also be hard-wired for some people? But is this genetic theory really an adequate defense against heinous crimes such as murder? The question finally merges with the age-old debate of Nature vs. Nurture, and once again, the burden of responsibility of the parents.
The climax of the book is startling, but, at the same time not totally unexpected. The question of Jacob's guilt is left wide open - you can choose to believe in his innocence or not. Either way, the book will make you question how well you know your own child. Definitely a must-read, but not for those faint of heart! Happy Reading!!
Andrew Barber has been been Assistant District Attorney in Newton County for over 2 decades. He leads a normal, suburban life with his wife, Laurie, and 14 year old son, Jacob. Until the day the body of a young boy is discovered in neighboring Cold Spring Park - Ben Rifkin is Jacob's classmate and has been fatally stabbed in the chest. The horrific crime sends shock waves through the community, and threatens to rip apart the Barber family - as Jacob is the prime accused in the case!
Andrew believes with all his heart in Jacob's innocence - what parent wouldn't? - even when confronted with damning evidence. A knife in Jacob's dresser drawer, a fingerprint on the victim's coat, an online story with details of the murder - none of it seems to matter to the former ADA! But Andrew, too, is hiding a dangerous secret - a secret which he has kept from his wife, a secret which would be the confirmation of Jacob's guilt. Andrew comes from a long line of extremely violent men - his great-grandfather and grand father had both done time, and his father is currently serving a life sentence for murder. Has Jacob inherited this treacherous 'murder gene', or is he truly innocent?
What makes this book so disquieting is the Barber family dynamic before and after the storm that breaks over them. Right after the murder, in fact at the wake of Ben Rifkin, we are introduced to Andrew and Laurie as a couple in love with each other even after years of marriage. After Jacob's arrest, Laurie starts to fall to pieces, and when Andrew's secret is revealed, I could empathize as she questions the very foundation of her marriage. While Andrew staunchly defends his son, Laurie explores the 'what if', and struggles to come to terms with her culpability as the parent of a child who might have committed a vicious crime. It seems to be a certainty that whether Jacob is guilty or not, whether he is convicted or not - the Barber family will never be the same again.
As a parent, Jacob seems to be like your worst nightmare come true. What if, just, what if despite all your best efforts to bring up a normal, well-balanced person, you end up with a child - as Jacob's psychiatrist puts it very insensitively indeed - who has a heart 2 sizes small? As babies, as toddlers - parents are attuned to every emotion, every thought a child has. As they grow older, what secrets will they keep from us? How many things did you hide from your parents? Innocent things, silly secrets - that can be laughed at in retrospect, but where do you draw the line, and how do you know when your child crosses it? As parents, we are doomed to be responsible for all the mistakes that our offspring may make - and it is very hard to be dispassionate when Laurie searches for answers to her son's behavior.
The 'murder gene' theory also compelled me to think - if artistic talent, simple habits can be inherited and passed down over generations, is it really that implausible to believe that a predilection to bad behavior could also be hard-wired for some people? But is this genetic theory really an adequate defense against heinous crimes such as murder? The question finally merges with the age-old debate of Nature vs. Nurture, and once again, the burden of responsibility of the parents.
The climax of the book is startling, but, at the same time not totally unexpected. The question of Jacob's guilt is left wide open - you can choose to believe in his innocence or not. Either way, the book will make you question how well you know your own child. Definitely a must-read, but not for those faint of heart! Happy Reading!!
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