My first book review of the year. John Grisham’s books are very technical in nature, probably due to his legal training. His books are slow-moving with lots of legal jargon, so for those who do not understand the legalities of certain issues and how the legal system functions, they will not be able to appreciate his books. Although he tries to incorporate a storyline, his stories are mainly law-based. Which is why a lot of people find his books very hard to read.
The first book I read is “The Firm” when I was in upper secondary. At that point in time, I was not able to understand all the technicalities behind the book, so I found that book very boring. The story was slow-moving, characters moved in slow motion, there was hardly any sense of anticipation on what would happen next.
I used to be rather bewildered how come his books could sell so well if the stories are slow, disengaging and confusing at some parts. Only after I started reading “A Time To Kill” and “The Pelican Brief” that I understood why he is such a popular writer.
Back when I was doing law, my tutor would recommend his books, and told us to read it from a lawyer’s frame of mind. Analyse the situations in the storyline and then reach our own conclusions on how exactly to fight the case. After that, his books became more and more intriguing.
“A Time To Kill” is the second one of his books I read, and so far I find this the best. “The Firm” is one of his more slow-moving books, like “The Chamber”. I wonder how the Tom Cruise movie of the same name was like as I never got to watch the show. If I could go back in time, I would have read “A Time To Kill”, “The Pelican Brief” or even “The Runaway Jury” first.
Where “The Firm” is more on a high-speed chase type of story, thus may not appeal to a lot of people, “A Time To Kill” really tugs at your heartstrings as it is more of a father’s love for his daughter, and the still-rampant racial discrimination of the blacks by the white in the southern states.
If you have seen the film starring Matthew McConaughey, you will more or less know what the story is about. Black girl raped by two white guys, father attacked the guys, white guys got off scot free but black father got thrown into jail for assault, whites revived the old Ku Klux Klan tradition of “terminating” the blacks, white lawyer defended black guy and got into some trouble as a result, public chose an all-white jury, black father knew he was doomed when he saw the jury, a law student was intrigued by the case and offered to help the lawyer out for free and almost got herself killed.
The actions were all very 1930s-America, even though the story itself was set around the 1980s – 1990s. The show summarized a lot of the wordings in the book. Where the book consisted of lots of legal jargon and terminology, the show itself rephrased the words and made them more “layman” English just so the general public would be able to understand.
Other than that, the gist of the story is about the same. I love the lawyer from the way he argued the case, both in the book and in the show. The lawyer was real brilliant! I leave it to you to find out whether he won the case, and if he did, how. ;-)
John Grisham’s other books are just as brilliant. He is a brilliant writer in his own right, although not everyone can appreciate his style. The general American public seems to like his books though, which explains why several of his books have been made into movies.
Besides “The Firm” and “A Time To Kill”, there was “The Pelican Brief” starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, “The Chamber” starring Chris O’Donnell and Gene Hackman, “The Rainmaker” starring Matt Damon and Claire Danes, and most recently “The Runaway Jury” starring John Cusack and Rachel Weisz. I have only seen “A Time To Kill”, “The Pelican Brief” and “The Rainmaker”.
His books deal with law of all aspects, from young interns (The Rainmaker) to law students (A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief) to big shot law firms (The Firm) to the jury system (The Runaway Jury) to capital punishment (The Chamber).
John Grisham’s books are not for everyone. Even the most avid reader may not be able to handle his books. But it is a good read for people who like intense drama, albeit slow-moving. The most interesting parts will be when the characters pick up all the clues and evidence along the way. His books are quite specialized in this area.
He writes like a lawyer, thus his books require lots of breaking down of the various jargon before normal people can fully comprehend. Which is why those who read his books must be people who have the patience to devour from the first to the last page, otherwise most will give up halfway. For simplicity of reading and just as intense drama, Dan Brown’s books are still better and more suitable for the general public.
The first book I read is “The Firm” when I was in upper secondary. At that point in time, I was not able to understand all the technicalities behind the book, so I found that book very boring. The story was slow-moving, characters moved in slow motion, there was hardly any sense of anticipation on what would happen next.
I used to be rather bewildered how come his books could sell so well if the stories are slow, disengaging and confusing at some parts. Only after I started reading “A Time To Kill” and “The Pelican Brief” that I understood why he is such a popular writer.
Back when I was doing law, my tutor would recommend his books, and told us to read it from a lawyer’s frame of mind. Analyse the situations in the storyline and then reach our own conclusions on how exactly to fight the case. After that, his books became more and more intriguing.
“A Time To Kill” is the second one of his books I read, and so far I find this the best. “The Firm” is one of his more slow-moving books, like “The Chamber”. I wonder how the Tom Cruise movie of the same name was like as I never got to watch the show. If I could go back in time, I would have read “A Time To Kill”, “The Pelican Brief” or even “The Runaway Jury” first.
Where “The Firm” is more on a high-speed chase type of story, thus may not appeal to a lot of people, “A Time To Kill” really tugs at your heartstrings as it is more of a father’s love for his daughter, and the still-rampant racial discrimination of the blacks by the white in the southern states.
If you have seen the film starring Matthew McConaughey, you will more or less know what the story is about. Black girl raped by two white guys, father attacked the guys, white guys got off scot free but black father got thrown into jail for assault, whites revived the old Ku Klux Klan tradition of “terminating” the blacks, white lawyer defended black guy and got into some trouble as a result, public chose an all-white jury, black father knew he was doomed when he saw the jury, a law student was intrigued by the case and offered to help the lawyer out for free and almost got herself killed.
The actions were all very 1930s-America, even though the story itself was set around the 1980s – 1990s. The show summarized a lot of the wordings in the book. Where the book consisted of lots of legal jargon and terminology, the show itself rephrased the words and made them more “layman” English just so the general public would be able to understand.
Other than that, the gist of the story is about the same. I love the lawyer from the way he argued the case, both in the book and in the show. The lawyer was real brilliant! I leave it to you to find out whether he won the case, and if he did, how. ;-)
John Grisham’s other books are just as brilliant. He is a brilliant writer in his own right, although not everyone can appreciate his style. The general American public seems to like his books though, which explains why several of his books have been made into movies.
Besides “The Firm” and “A Time To Kill”, there was “The Pelican Brief” starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, “The Chamber” starring Chris O’Donnell and Gene Hackman, “The Rainmaker” starring Matt Damon and Claire Danes, and most recently “The Runaway Jury” starring John Cusack and Rachel Weisz. I have only seen “A Time To Kill”, “The Pelican Brief” and “The Rainmaker”.
His books deal with law of all aspects, from young interns (The Rainmaker) to law students (A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief) to big shot law firms (The Firm) to the jury system (The Runaway Jury) to capital punishment (The Chamber).
John Grisham’s books are not for everyone. Even the most avid reader may not be able to handle his books. But it is a good read for people who like intense drama, albeit slow-moving. The most interesting parts will be when the characters pick up all the clues and evidence along the way. His books are quite specialized in this area.
He writes like a lawyer, thus his books require lots of breaking down of the various jargon before normal people can fully comprehend. Which is why those who read his books must be people who have the patience to devour from the first to the last page, otherwise most will give up halfway. For simplicity of reading and just as intense drama, Dan Brown’s books are still better and more suitable for the general public.
4 comments:
I collected John Grisham book and i had almost everyone of them except the last two & the non-law fiction he wrote (The Painted House if i am not wrong).
Long time fan of law fiction, i found John's book is really captivating. I also do have the entire collection of Sidney Sheldon book :P
Really? I haven't read much of Sydney Sheldon though, but John Grisham's books are good, although, like I mentioned, they are not for everyone.
Hmmph, this is certainly something I can make do during my free time. Thanks for the review!
Welcome. Hope you enjoy!
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