ABSTRACT
Henry James was referring above to the problem of the novelist in curtailing unnecessary developments in a work of fiction, but the metaphor of the “geometry of his own” can be used to appreciate an important dimension of restorative justice and its vulnerability to co-optation. Although usually recognized in its more limited variation as a criminal justice diversion or alternative measures program for young, non-violent first-time offenders, restorative justice (RJ) holds deeper meanings about building peaceful communities. Communities are constituted by the relationships between individuals and groups; RJ responds to harm-doing, criminal or otherwise, through attention to the health of these relationships.
