ECLIPSE by Richard North Patterson
One of my favorite books of the past few years was EXILE by Richard North Patterson. In this story he told of an attorney involved in a trial defending, in a convoluted way, the man married to the woman the attorney loves. The plot involved events occurring in the world today between Israel and Palestine, and therefore was dramatic and informative.
Now Patterson has a new novel in print titled ECLIPSE and it is another story torn from today’s headlines. This time the story concerns a mythical country located in Africa called Luandia. An American attorney goes there to defend a man against a charge of murder. The accused is married to the woman the attorney loves. It is déjà vu all over again.
Still even though the theme of the story is familiar, Patterson’s writing skills hold your interest. He gets you inside the head of Damon Pierce, an idealistic attorney who has handled war crime cases in the past. Now he is caught up in cases which bring mostly financial gains for his firm, but at heart he is still an idealist. Why else would he respond to a plea by Marissa Okari, a woman he loved during his college years and who he has never forgotten.
Marissa Okari’s husband Bobby is a leader of a rebel faction in Luandia. During a recent clash with the government Army there has been a vicious massacre of citizens. The government alleges its actions were in response to a triple lynching of employees of an oil company in the area. They say they have arrested Bobby because he ordered the murder of the three men.
Damon responds to a plea from Marissa to help her husband and flies to Luandia. There he finds a world where the normal rules of civility do not apply. It is a country where death awaits around each and every corner; where natural resources are plundered for use by the rich; and where the average person lives in squalor.
The dictator of the country is a man named Karama and he has stated that after the court has had its day he will decide Bobby’s fate. Damon works as diligently as possible in this kangaroo court while also courting world opinion through the press. It is an uphill battle all the way.
The power of oil in African countries is the main theme of this story. Patterson shows how it can corrupt governments, skew world opinion, and override the rights of the individual. Bobby Okari is a man caught in the middle of the war between human rights and the global need for oil.
Topical and timely, ECLIPSE is a book that entertains and informs. Patterson is masterful in his ability to mold human characters out of words. We are outraged by the cruelty he describes but understand the limitations of governments who do not want to do anything to disrupt the flow of oil. It is a catch-22 of humanism and materialism.
You will enjoy reading ECLIPSE especially if you have not also read EXILE. For those who have there is that lingering thought you have read this basic plot once before in another Patterson epic.
ECLIPSE is published by Henry Holt and Company. It contains 369 pages and sells for $26.00.