written by John Grisham
There was a time in my late twenties when I went on an "extreme Grisham" kick and within the span of about a year, read every book he wrote. No small feat, considering I had a newborn at home to contend with back in those days, and there was precious little spare time for reading (or anything else!) in my life.
So now, just for old time's sake, I try to keep up with the newest stuff he comes out with. This one was published in 2006, so I was a little late getting around to it. It's his first-ever nonfiction book. It tells the story of Ron Williamson, a man whose life was pretty much ruined when he was wrongfully convicted of a brutal rape and sent to death row.
Of note:
- Grisham makes some important and disturbing points just by telling Williamson's horrific story. If even half of the stuff about the mishandling of William's case is true, I fear for anyone who finds themselves at the mercy of our criminal justice system, which is apparently ruled by the good-old-boy network and is deeply riddled with heinous flaws and injustices.
- His storytelling is really plain Jane in this book — quite lackluster compared to the drama and suspense you find in his fiction. Maybe it's because he gets so bogged down in the details of the story, or maybe it's because he didn't want to poison the well by inserting his own dramatic twist on this appalling real-life story. But I felt he could've been a lot more engaging. Parts of the book seemed to drag on and on; it became a bit of a chore to keep reading. In some areas he repeated himself. I came away believing that Grisham's should really stay with his forte: fiction.
- Why on earth are the pictures inserted in the middle of the book? The photos and their captions totally give away the ending of the story! That was really annoying. If you plan on reading the book, force yourself to bypass the pictures till the end.
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3 comments:
Thanks for the free book! Are you sure you don't want it back?!? I completely agree with point about the pictures; it gave away the book for me too! I should have had Kellie read this entry to me before I read it! And, you're right--this book lacks Grisham's normal dramatic flair. However, for me the book was a page turner, and I found myself staying up later than I wanted to--mostly because I was distressed for Ron Williamson and the other suspects because they were treated so badly by the police. It taught me to never, ever, EVER talk to the police without a lawyer present! These people were sent to jail basically because they were uneducated. So I ended up enjoying the book...maybe because my expectations were so low based on what you told Kellie! =)
--Paul Steen
Hi Paul! I'm glad you enjoyed this book! Yeah, it's amazing how the police never even offered an apology to the suspects, much less attempt to right the wrong of all those years wasted in such a horrible detention system. I see JG has another new one out too... something about football (?) ...have you read it?
I didn't know it existed until you mentioned it. So I checked it out of the library and read it last week, but it wasn't very good...it's all dialogue of ex-football players reliving their glory days. Pretty boring and nothing like any of JG's other work. I think you must have to be a big football fan to enjoy it. At any rate, I wouldn't recommend it.
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