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I was complaining about Paretsky's casual ignorance in the face of her studious examination of other topics, but as has been pointed out, it is not what she was writing about.
Blacklist is written in the post-9/11 world, with a teenager who is accused of being a muslim terrorist and federal agents flush with the power of the Patriot Act. "Shoot to kill" is the instruction given to a group of policemen.
The major plot, intricately woven with this, deals with the rich if not always famous of greater Chicago and the witchhunts for Communists in the 50's and before. Toss into it racial, homosexual, and class issues and you have a rich panoply of political and personal exploration. Paretsky's characters are clear in their feelings - very few moderates - and Paretsky is as clear in her beliefs and statements of them.
For all that her protagonist proclaims ignorance of the guilt or innocence of the teen, she seeks to protect him. And she is filled with fear and concern for her lover who is somewhere in Afghanistan, doing what he sees as his job as a journalist.
The messages from the book are simple. The Patriot Act is overzealous, but no more so than the actions of those who have been freed to pursue the "potentially guilty" with its powers. Justice in America is not fair. It is not fair racially, it is not fair religiously, and it is not fair on a class basis.
"The rich are different."
And everything Paretsky says is true. It is truer today than it was 3 years ago when the book came out.
Blacklist is written in the post-9/11 world, with a teenager who is accused of being a muslim terrorist and federal agents flush with the power of the Patriot Act. "Shoot to kill" is the instruction given to a group of policemen.
The major plot, intricately woven with this, deals with the rich if not always famous of greater Chicago and the witchhunts for Communists in the 50's and before. Toss into it racial, homosexual, and class issues and you have a rich panoply of political and personal exploration. Paretsky's characters are clear in their feelings - very few moderates - and Paretsky is as clear in her beliefs and statements of them.
For all that her protagonist proclaims ignorance of the guilt or innocence of the teen, she seeks to protect him. And she is filled with fear and concern for her lover who is somewhere in Afghanistan, doing what he sees as his job as a journalist.
The messages from the book are simple. The Patriot Act is overzealous, but no more so than the actions of those who have been freed to pursue the "potentially guilty" with its powers. Justice in America is not fair. It is not fair racially, it is not fair religiously, and it is not fair on a class basis.
"The rich are different."
And everything Paretsky says is true. It is truer today than it was 3 years ago when the book came out.
