Review of Deceit
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Becca Olsson
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Review of Deceit
[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceit" by Vernon Baumrind.]
Deceit, by Vernon Baumrind, is the retelling of true events from the author’s own life in the 1970s featuring his now ex-wife, her affair partner, and a unique, precedent-setting court case. Baumrind had been married to his wife for nearly eleven years when he realized her distant attitude was caused by her affair with her gynecologist. After this realization, Baumrind recognized that the pending divorce would most likely take his two young children from him and place them with this new man in their lives and he refused to accept that. To stop this from happening, he wiretapped his landline and forced himself to listen to recordings of his wife’s explicit conversations to use as evidence against her to gain custody of his children and to sue the doctor. The subsequent court case set a precedent for new interpretations of the federal laws that were set in place against wiretapping. Now, forty years later, the court transcriptions have been unsealed and the author uses these to shape the story.
I was hooked on this book right from the beginning. Baumrind wastes no time in getting to the meat of the story. In fact, within the first paragraph he has his realization of his wife’s affair. However, it wasn’t simply the scandal that pulled me in, it was also his expression of his own emotions and inward thoughts that really brought the story to life. He clearly articulates his grief through the entire process and, although he has a right to be upset with the explicit conversations and acts his wife engaged in, he did not drag her name through the mud. Instead, he expressed his confusion of who she had become and continued to extend an olive branch to her, despite her consistent rejection.
This was a quick read and I found it immensely interesting how the author used the real court transcripts to move the story along. Especially knowing that this is a true story, I enjoyed hearing how life turned out for everyone involved. I felt invested in the story and was glad to hear how the author dealt with life after such difficult events. I truly appreciated that he included his ideas on why this is an important story to write and his acknowledgement that, because these are true events and the details had previously been sealed by the court, this story may change the way some people have been perceived and that some relationships of the people involved may not be the same now.
I found no negatives with this book. I enjoyed the read, the scandal, the author’s narrative, and the way he expressed himself.
I found a few typos, mainly with opening and closing quotation marks. Since there were so few, I believe this book to be professionally edited. Due to the overwhelming positive aspects, I rate this book five out of five stars.
There is explicit content and some strong language used in this book, not to mention the mature subject, and I would caution against allowing young readers to read this. I would recommend this book to mature readers who are interested in reading about a groundbreaking court case paired with scandal.
******
Deceit
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Deceit, by Vernon Baumrind, is the retelling of true events from the author’s own life in the 1970s featuring his now ex-wife, her affair partner, and a unique, precedent-setting court case. Baumrind had been married to his wife for nearly eleven years when he realized her distant attitude was caused by her affair with her gynecologist. After this realization, Baumrind recognized that the pending divorce would most likely take his two young children from him and place them with this new man in their lives and he refused to accept that. To stop this from happening, he wiretapped his landline and forced himself to listen to recordings of his wife’s explicit conversations to use as evidence against her to gain custody of his children and to sue the doctor. The subsequent court case set a precedent for new interpretations of the federal laws that were set in place against wiretapping. Now, forty years later, the court transcriptions have been unsealed and the author uses these to shape the story.
I was hooked on this book right from the beginning. Baumrind wastes no time in getting to the meat of the story. In fact, within the first paragraph he has his realization of his wife’s affair. However, it wasn’t simply the scandal that pulled me in, it was also his expression of his own emotions and inward thoughts that really brought the story to life. He clearly articulates his grief through the entire process and, although he has a right to be upset with the explicit conversations and acts his wife engaged in, he did not drag her name through the mud. Instead, he expressed his confusion of who she had become and continued to extend an olive branch to her, despite her consistent rejection.
This was a quick read and I found it immensely interesting how the author used the real court transcripts to move the story along. Especially knowing that this is a true story, I enjoyed hearing how life turned out for everyone involved. I felt invested in the story and was glad to hear how the author dealt with life after such difficult events. I truly appreciated that he included his ideas on why this is an important story to write and his acknowledgement that, because these are true events and the details had previously been sealed by the court, this story may change the way some people have been perceived and that some relationships of the people involved may not be the same now.
I found no negatives with this book. I enjoyed the read, the scandal, the author’s narrative, and the way he expressed himself.
I found a few typos, mainly with opening and closing quotation marks. Since there were so few, I believe this book to be professionally edited. Due to the overwhelming positive aspects, I rate this book five out of five stars.
There is explicit content and some strong language used in this book, not to mention the mature subject, and I would caution against allowing young readers to read this. I would recommend this book to mature readers who are interested in reading about a groundbreaking court case paired with scandal.
******
Deceit
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Elizabeth's Garden by Phillip Leighton-Daly
