Book Review: Brush With the Law by Robert Byrnes, Jaime Marquart
This is the second book review I have put together. The previous review was One L by Scott Turow. Feedback can be direct to pointdexterish@gmail.com and is appreciated.
Book Review: Brush With the Law by Robert Byrnes, Jaime Marquart
Shortly after posting the One L review, I received a suggestion for another book. A book, so the suggestor promised, which would act as a counterpoint to the somewhat brutal nature of Turow's law school experience. Brush with the Law was the suggestion. While it was an interesting departure from the often serious and harsh experience Turow purports - the book runs on similar parallels to One L nonetheless.
Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll: three things usually not on the short list of activities that come to mind when considering the grind of law school. Brush With the Law embraces these vices and dives head first into the rambunctious lives of Havard Law student Jaime Marquart and Stanford Law student Robert Byrnes. On a basic level Brush and One L are similar; both are written in a first person narrative/journal style. Jumping back and forth between Marquart's and Byrnes' stories, Brush paints a very detailed portrait of these two deliquents breaking the mold in law school.
Halloween orgies, gambling addictions, ditching class all semester, gaming the law school system and even a (admittedly fake) recipe for cocaine are poured over in vivid detail. Marquart and Byrnes lived fast in law school and do not seem to regret a single moment of it. Demysitfying the law school mystique is something that Jaime and Robert seem to revel in. The "fuck you too" attitude leaks out the pages.
While the book is chocked with overindulgence and debauchery - there are still some basic similarities to Turow's text: namely that law school is a time of immense emotional disparity and overwhelming change. The authors of Brush did not spend three years hoodwinking two of the best law schools in the world, they also underwent some of the same fundamental changes in personality and prejudice that Turow wrote on. Experiencing the crush of law school, even if only for the night before an exam (as was par for the course for Marquart and Byrnes) - they inherited the unique thinking patterns that law school demands. The impact of this change is not negligible.
Brush With the Law is a good read for prospective law students who may be unsure if they think law school is right for them. By the time the end of the book comes around it is apparent that law school need not be the center of the universe for the "last three years of freedom" it affords students. Observing the changes in both Jaime and Robert is an interesting experience itself.
Book Review: Brush With the Law by Robert Byrnes, Jaime Marquart
Shortly after posting the One L review, I received a suggestion for another book. A book, so the suggestor promised, which would act as a counterpoint to the somewhat brutal nature of Turow's law school experience. Brush with the Law was the suggestion. While it was an interesting departure from the often serious and harsh experience Turow purports - the book runs on similar parallels to One L nonetheless.
Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll: three things usually not on the short list of activities that come to mind when considering the grind of law school. Brush With the Law embraces these vices and dives head first into the rambunctious lives of Havard Law student Jaime Marquart and Stanford Law student Robert Byrnes. On a basic level Brush and One L are similar; both are written in a first person narrative/journal style. Jumping back and forth between Marquart's and Byrnes' stories, Brush paints a very detailed portrait of these two deliquents breaking the mold in law school.
Halloween orgies, gambling addictions, ditching class all semester, gaming the law school system and even a (admittedly fake) recipe for cocaine are poured over in vivid detail. Marquart and Byrnes lived fast in law school and do not seem to regret a single moment of it. Demysitfying the law school mystique is something that Jaime and Robert seem to revel in. The "fuck you too" attitude leaks out the pages.
While the book is chocked with overindulgence and debauchery - there are still some basic similarities to Turow's text: namely that law school is a time of immense emotional disparity and overwhelming change. The authors of Brush did not spend three years hoodwinking two of the best law schools in the world, they also underwent some of the same fundamental changes in personality and prejudice that Turow wrote on. Experiencing the crush of law school, even if only for the night before an exam (as was par for the course for Marquart and Byrnes) - they inherited the unique thinking patterns that law school demands. The impact of this change is not negligible.
Brush With the Law is a good read for prospective law students who may be unsure if they think law school is right for them. By the time the end of the book comes around it is apparent that law school need not be the center of the universe for the "last three years of freedom" it affords students. Observing the changes in both Jaime and Robert is an interesting experience itself.
posted by law student @ Thursday, February 17, 2005
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