Scottsboro is fact based fiction. It tells the story of the nine Scottsboro boys – nine young black men who were wrongfully convicted several times over, of raping two young women on a train in the American south in 1931. The colour of their skin ensured their guilty verdict, even when one of the girls retracted her statement and admitted that they had both lied about the rape.

The main narrator of the book is a (fictional) journalist named Alice Whittier, who covers the trial and tries to help in seeking justice for the boys. Parts are also narrated by Ruby Bates, the girl who admitted that she and her accomplice Victoria Price, had lied about being raped.

I think it is a skilful piece of writing, expertly blending fact and fiction. It will make you outraged at the absolutely blatant racism against the young men, (and also at the blatant sexism against the women in the story). It’s very eloquently written and I found it easy to lose myself in the pages, and hard to put the book down at times. However, while I could certainly see the usefulness of Alice as a character – her job entitles her to sit in the court while the trials were taking place, and to get to know Ruby and the nine Scottsboro boys – I did feel that unnecessary details about Alice’s personal life intruded somewhat. Of course people want a well rounded character, but certain events which she wrote about, just stalled the narrative.

However, anyone who is interested in civil rights and how they can be denied based solely on the colour of one’s skin (and this is not something that should come as a surprise to anyone) could do worse than read this book. I would recommend. ( )

It took me a little while to get into this book, but it was well worth it. The protagonist, Alice Whittier, is likeable but not by far a Mary Sue. Historical characters were very human and events weren't presented in a boring manner, but not chaotic either. All in all a book I'd certainly consider buying. ( )

I really enjoyed this well written book about the 9 Scottsboro boys.
I orginally thought this book would be hard going but it was easy to read.
We are lucky to live nowadays in such a Politically Correct world especially in the west.
The pace of this book is good and flows nicely. So glad I read this. I didnt want it to finish. ( )

Mycket intressant skildring av ett rättsfall i Alabama under 1930-talet. Vi blir insatta i rasmotsättningar, sociala problem och hur korrumperat ett samhälle kan bli när det vilar på osunda värderingar.
Feldmans approach med att skifta vinkel från en av de utsatta - då skrivet med hennas röst och språk - och till huvudkaraktären - den framgångsrika kvinnlige reportern från New York - gör romanen rik och underhållande.
Från och till sackar historien väl mycket. Utan dessa alltför långsamma partierna skulle jag ge "Scottsboro" full pott. ( )

4901. Scottsboro A Novel by Ellen Feldman (read 3 Feb 2012) This 2008 novel is based on the Scottsboro case--the best account of which Dan Carter's book, which I read 7 Dec 1969. The story is true to some extent but a major character in the novel is fictional and she has much interaction with Ruby Bates, one of the accusers, and so that part of the story is bound to be tainted by much fiction. The book is great to the extent it tells of the facts, but I am not sure it adds much to have the fictional story added to the facts. ( )