It has taken me six weeks to slog through this book - thank goodness for library renewals! In Jones' defense, I don't have even the tiniest bit of legal knowledge or background, and this is not really a book for the layperson, so it was always going to be difficult for me to get through. I strongly suspect that if I had any basic training in any sort of law this would be easier to understand, but even so I managed to get most of it, I think. Apart from chapter two. There I nearly foundered on theory. I'm one of those readers who desperately needs concrete examples to grasp any sort of theory at all, really, and credit where it's due: for much of the book Jones does give examples, and when he does it makes everything a whole lot easier to comprehend.

That being said, just because something is difficult, doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. There were a lot of things here that made me think of the law in different ways. The sustained argument about justice versus certainty, for example, makes a lot of sense, and chapter four's observations on inconsistent translations in Treaty settlement documents was eye-opening. I also liked the little stories sprinkled through the text - story is a form of communication that I very much do understand. That final story, of the new legend of Māui and the law, was fantastic. I'd read a whole book like that and it probably wouldn't take me six weeks.

Honestly, I'm glad I read it. I might be a little more glad that I'm not a lawyer, though. Still, maybe lawyers feel the same way about science books...