Many people say this book was not Grisham’s best, but I do believe they missed his point of the story. This book actually moved me to the awareness of the homeless. Most of us sit in a comfortable chair reading and say, “Entertain me now!” I do highly doubt that an attorney would leave his prized job to do what he did, but it is possible. Some would say to stay put with the firm and use that income to save the homeless. In this story, Michael Brock decides to hit the pavement, dodge personal attacks on him and make a difference in D.C. This book moved me to be aware of the less fortunate in my own community, and I will do more to help others who need it.

My first Grisham novel was The Testament, so I walked into this novel, expecting more of the same. Unfortunately that expectation was mis-placed.

The concept was good, and the topic was riveting. The problem, however, lay in the narrative. The character of Michael Brock was almost wishy-washy. I couldn’t identify with him – in fact I related and liked far better the character of Mordecai Green, Director of the 14th Street Legal Clinic which Brock starts working for.

The novel is billed, essentially, as a thriller. However it didn’t have the feel of a thriller. Sure, I was intrigued by the developments, however I wasn’t feverishly turning the pages at 3am to finish it.

In a way, I’m disappointed. The topic is hot, and one deserving of much attention in this, the richest nation of the world. I often wonder how many millions are given to foreign nations, while thousands of its citizens sleep on our streets, including children? A disturbing thought.

I’m glad that Grisham brought it to our attention, but felt that he could have done so much more with the material. It’s an enjoyable read, don’t get me wrong, but not Grisham at his best.

I look forward to reading new books by favorite authors, but this one was extremely not worth the price of the book. If I had written this, no publisher would have touched it. It will sell based on his name only. My advice–skip it.

You’ve read Bleachers, John Grisham’s newest bestseller, many times in a thousand other books, many of them better than this somewhat undersized novel. The general atmosphere of high school football which consumes an entire town has been told better in Friday Night Lights. The harsh treatment of young football hopefuls by dictator-coaches was brought into cruel focus in the non-fiction Junction Boys, about Bear Bryant and a legendary sweatbox training camp for his players during his first summer at Texas A&M. And, of course, keeping vigil for an impending death has been literally done to death many times, notably in Edward Albee’s Pulitzer-Prize winning play All Over. So, why read Bleachers? Because, once again, the fresh, newspaper-like quality of John Grisham’s minimalist prose draws us into the story and makes us love and, in our own ways, relate to all the characters, saint and sinner alike. Here, we have Neely Crenshaw, the gifted ex-quarterback who can’t forgive Coach Eddie Rake for one moment of lockerroom abuse; Cameron, the ex-girlfriend whom he jilted in high school and who cannot fully forgive him; Mal, the ex-player turned lawman who has his own chilling tale to tell; and finally, the ex-teammates who meet spontanously in the bleachers of the old stadium awaiting news of the coach’s impending death. They meet shyly, hesitantly at first, then start to drink and tell stories while listening to a tape broadcast of their most famous game. (Their shared stories as they relive this game are the undisputed high point of the book.) Yes, we even have the memorial service in which our ex-quarterback and (believe it or not) our dearly departed coach get the chance to have a final say. We know the outcome of this story as surely as Friday night football in the South. Why retell it? Because it is a very touching and human story and like all the best stories, deserves to be told again and again. (Besides, it’a a short book, and quick readers will finish it in a matter of hours.) In short, a good reaffirmation of life, the human spirit, and football in all it’s glory.

John Grisham has been saying that this new book is similar to The Firm. This is only true in the sense that it has a young protagonist. Does he not understand what it is that people liked about The Firm and A Time to Kill? While The Associate is fun to read and a page-turner, the characters are the same old stereotypes as in all the later Grisham books. There are no detailed descriptions of anything. I hate to say it, but I think John Grisham is wasting his talent, even being a little bit lazy.

I have read every one of John Grisham’s books and was looking forward to this one, however, after finishing it last night, I must say I was very disappointed. The ending (which, of course, I won’t give away) was very lame. He spent a lot of time on the big bad law firms abusing the associates and not enough on the real story of Kyle and who were these people who were ruining his life. I would definitely not recommend it.

Mr. Grisham is padding his billing sheet with The Associate, which seems almost to have been ghost-written. It reflects little of the talent behind The Partner, my favorite Grisham novel and, frankly, it made me somewhat upset to have spent 27 bucks. I would have been disappointed to buy this one in paperback. Time was that you started a Grisham novel and couldn’t put it down. Had I not been stuck in an airport en route from a deposition I would not have had the patience to finish.

This book was like my sixth grade term paper; we all had them, you would count the words until you got to the end. Likewise, although there was some great potential in this story it was not realized. Sure, there were half-hearted attempts to bring other characters to life, but they were all just that, half-hearted. The ending was among the most disappointing that I have ever come across–in any genre.

Nobody learns anything. There is no character progression–just a slow moving train wreck from which nobody emerges having been enlightened. In fact, the reader feels much like our protagonist–forced to endure a journey that was expected to be something completely different and not entirely sure how to escape. Heavens, big law firms are such a deliciously evil mix of stunningly warped personalities and distorted goals that any number of excellent thrillers could be drawn from facts known to just about any lawyer.

I do hope that Mr. Grisham rediscovers the joy of telling a story–he is very good at it; however, I cannot recommend this book.

John Grisham will be ending his absence from the New York Times Best Seller’s List (fiction) with the arrival “The Appeal.” Grisham’s first legal thriller since the Broker (2005) is a gripping and compelling read that will be hard to put down. It is also timely since it highlights the underbelly of today’s election politics.

The story centers on a small Mississippi law firm who wins a big verdict over a chemical giant, Krane, that has spread carcinogenic pollutants. Krane, fearful that this verdict, if not overturned, would set a precedent that would eventually destroy it, goes into action. It files an appeal that will find its way to the state supreme court, and hires a “dirty tricks” firm to unseat a sitting justice believe to be unfriendly. This is a viable strategy since Mississippi elects their Supreme Court justices and 69% of its voters know little about the court’s candidates.

The “Appeal” provides a believable primer on how to rig an election – pick a victim; promote an unknown candidate with no visible record; and ambush the victim by painting him/her as a extreme ideologue (this liberal judge will destroy the family). Done well…and the election process is subverted.

This is Grisham’s thirteenth legal thriller since “A Time to Kill” which was published in 1989. He has been a master at putting urgent moral issues on center stage for all to consider. He has succeeded again in “The Appeal.”

Evil uncaring chemical baron Carl Trudeau’s company has been poisoning the city of Bowmore’s drinking water for years. After people start coming down with cancer and related ailments, the company cuts and runs to Mexico leaving hundreds of people ill and dying and the ground water contaminated. A scrappy altruistic attorney couple(the Paytons) sues Krane on behalf of a widowed client and wins a sizeable settlement. Carl Trudeau chooses to fight back, using his deep pockets and political connections.

I wanted to like this story, but I felt the good guy characters-particularly the attorneys -(the Paytons), were annoying. They were a little too perfect, a little too altruistic… It was very saccharine. The Paytons were both such Mary Sue’s I didn’t identify with them at all. Ironically, I liked the antics of the evil villains more because at least their plots and plans were entertaining.

Overall this was a decent book, but I found the simplistic character development aggravating.

I’ve just finished reading more than 250 pages of filler with nothing worth mentioning at the end of it all, except that the ending “majorly” sucked.

Essentially a sordid tale of big business and politics vs. big verdicts and class action lawsuits, it begins nicely, and gathers steam, then proceeds to continue blowing hot air at the reader until the unsatisfactory quickie ending.

While there’s some food for thought regarding how the legal, political, religious and business arenas may all be connected, there’s more garnish than meat in a story which could have been cut by about 100 pages of the filler, and sweetened with about 50 more pages of conclusion for dessert.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)

1. Large company dumps chemicals in rural community
2. Water changes color
3. People get sick
4. Some die
5. Small law firm files lawsuit
6. Large verdict awarded
7. Big business takes over
8. Money talks
9. Once again, Grisham gets tired of his own rambling and wraps up story in indecent haste leaving most of his ends dangling
10. His ends aren’t pretty

I’d like to sue for 50% of my money back, plus loss of productive time, legal costs and mental trauma, and also for punitive damages, but I guess I’d lose on appeal.

Rated: 2.5 stars for half of a good book

The Innocent Man

Amanda Richards, March 21, 2008