Jae-Ha Kim
Baltimore Sun
January 14, 2020
Scott Turow has a new novel coming out this May called “The Last Trial.” The bestselling author (“Presumed Innocent,” “The Burden of Proof”) and attorney says it’s not a coincidence that the book’s protagonist makes trips to Naples, Florida. “I have regarded myself unambiguously as a Chicagoan,” Turow says. “But we will spend more time in Naples than any other city. Sandy Stern, my main character, is an elderly lawyer. To me, there is a lot to love in Naples, but Stern despises all of Florida. He says that America’s elderly are like characters in a Shaw play who do not realize they are actually in hell.” Turow’s next public speaking engagement will be on April 4 on behalf of the St. Charles Public Library Foundation’s Books and Brunch fundraiser. Fans may follow Turow on Facebook and Twitter.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. Italy. Hands down. Great beauty, great food, great people. But it’s the classic place that’s wonderful to visit, but not to live. The country is always on the verge of complete chaos. It would drive me crazy full time.
Q. To someone who was going there for the first time, what would you recommend that they do during their visit?
A. Go. You can make almost no mistakes, no matter what you choose to visit first. Rome, Tuscany. Magnificent both. If you want to stray from the beaten path, the Piedmont is spectacular. We went truffle hunting with a trained dog and drank remarkable wines.
Q. What untapped destination should people know about?
A. I don’t think Portugal is exactly a secret, but it’s still probably the least-visited nation in Western Europe. It’s magnificent from south to north — glorious beaches in the Algarve, wonderful wine in the Douro Valley and a world-class city in Lisbon.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. I remember my parents taking me to Miami when I was between two and three. My father’s mother had died when he was a child, but I’m sure my parents were reluctant to scare me by telling me that. When my father said we were going to My-ami, I thought I was finally going to meet his mother. I told everyone we were going to “my daddy’s ami.” I was confused the whole time we were there.
Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A. About what is eternal among humans — love in its many forms — and what is amusingly different, culture or customs, call it what you like.
Q. If you could only pick one place to eat, would you choose a casual meal at a street cart or fine dining at a nice restaurant?
A. Well, I’d pick the restaurant, I guess, because I can’t luxuriate in a meal unless I’m sitting down. I cook myself lunch most days and eat it standing up, so dinner means tush in chair. (My wife) Adriane and I have a little bit of gourmet-meal exhaustion. The preciousness of many haute cuisine places seems a bit much. But we ate at a world-famous restaurant in Lima this year, where half the courses were prepared from ingredients available only in Peru and we’re still talking about it.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. We have a house in southern Wisconsin, where we spend most weekends when we’re back in the Midwest and often Fridays and Mondays, too. It’s in the middle of acres of oak forest.
Q. Do you speak any foreign languages? And in the same train of thought, do you pick up new languages easily?
A. I am completely inept with languages. I can speak Spanish and German well enough to get back to the hotel if I’m lost. In Spanish, I probably have about 75 percent comprehension, if I’m reading a newspaper.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. Chicago. London. Paris. Barcelona. San Francisco.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A. Talking about Chicago, which was home most of my life, then the other cities of the Midwest, especially Milwaukee and Cleveland. Outside the U.S., perhaps Moscow — except the locals are so much grimmer than Chicagoans.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. India.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. Plugs and cords. We’re all lost without our electronics. Meds, of course, a necessity of age. I carry a big briefcase, a kind of rolling office, and a big Dopp kit, that has every kind of pill a traveler might need.
Q. What would be your dream trip?
A. Two weeks in Italy, Spain or Portugal, sleeping late, eating well, reading.
Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A. I think I’ll take the Fifth on both.
© 2020 JAE-HA KIM
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