Another nice story that demonstrates John Grisham's growth as a writer of mass-market, popular fiction. Its a nice book to read or listen to on vacation or on a commute. You get exposed to a great number of characters -- many of them unsavory -- and some poignant parts, particularly at the end, leave the reader thinking.

This book is a shining light of what is really important in life. We all struggle in some ways. You just need to stay focused on what is really important

I'm going to write a review. I'm going to do it. Why? Personal reasons.
*ahem*
first of all, I feel like John Grisham tries too hard to make this book seem action packed and suspenseful, when really, it's very predictable, cliche and slow moving. You always know what's coming. I found myself only reading one chapter, then putting it down. Then coming back hours later, reading another chapter maybe two, then putting it down again, etc. It didn't hold much interest. The only reason I read it so fast is because a friend lent it to me, and I wanted to give it back as soon as I could.
The dialogue was bland, there was way too much legal jargon that no one cares about, his descriptions of scenes and people didn't really leave much to the imagination, and the plot was pretty weak. An old, reclusive, very rich man who hates everyone commits suicide in the lamest way possible and leaves his fortune to a long lost illegitimate daughter who's a missionary in some far away country, so a lawyer has to find her and give her the money. Big deal. And of course, it wouldn't be complete if the lawyer who has to find the Christian woman is a drunken, drug addicted slob whom she helps to find God and he is "reformed" simply because she taught him to say "Forgive me God. Kthnxbai" and your slate is wiped clean.
I guess that's all it takes nowadays.
And don't even get me started on her so-called "Christian teachings."
I think I only gave it two stars because it gave me something to do.

Πριν λίγους μήνες διάβασα την "Ομολογία" του John Grisham και ενθουσιαστηκα. Περνούσε τόσα πολλά μηνύματα, κρατώντας αναλλοίωτο το ενδιαφέρον του αναγνώστη. Σε αυτό το βιβλίο, δεν μπορώ να πω ότι συνέβη το ίδιο. Ιδιαίτερα στο πρώτο μισό του βιβλίο βαρέθηκα. Η περιπέτεια του Νειτ μου φάνηκε ανούσια. Το μόνο που μου άρεσε ήταν οι τελευταίες εκατό σελίδες. Εκεί ο Grisham απέδειξε για άλλη μια φορά το ταλέντο του.

Reclusive eccentric self-made billionaire Tory Phelan, changed his will one more time before taking a suicide nosedive on to concrete. His mostly awful (partially because of his neglect and deep business focus) multiple ex-wives and his children begin making plans and spending money before his testament is read; and these relatives are horrified and angered when the last will and testament is read out giving the 11 billion dollar fortune to a n illegitimate daughter who has spent the last decade as a religious relief worker working with a primitive tribe in the deepest jungles of Brazil.

This was like two books in one, one book was about the greedy family and their unscrupulous lawyers trying to get the testament over turned = interesting; the other book was about a drug and drink addicted lawyer using the quest for the will beneficiary in deepest Brazil as a way for rebuilding his life yet again = boring! This is the weakest Grisham I have read to date, with so much time spent on the down-for-the-count lawyer finding a reason to live in the jungles of Brazil; the mostly repulsive family and just as bad lawyers I could have done with seeing a lot more of. A 6 out of 12 Three Star read.

2024 read

Not as riveting as The Pelican Brief or The Firm, but hey, it’s about a Christian missionary. That was cool.

Me estoy dando un atracón de John Grisham como no lo hacía desde tiempos de Roberto Ampuero (¡aquellos años!). Son libros bien construídos, con personajes con los que uno se llega a identificar y a apreciar y que, en general, tiene un arco. Un arco simple, pero lo tienen.
Lo que me llama la atención es como evolucionan las historias y pasan de un personaje a otro, cambiando el gorro de "principal" y el punto de vista (POV).
El Testamento cuenta la historia de la rencilla que se desata luego que el dueño de una de las fortunas más grandes del mundo decidiera lanzarse por la ventana de su rascacielo, dejando todo su imperio en manos hija desconocida por sus otros seis vástagos y tres exmujeres. La heredera resulta ser una misionera perdida en la amazonía y totalmente desinteresada en lo material. El personaje principal resulta ser el abogado/exalcoholico/extrabajólico/mal padre/mal marido que tiene que viajar hasta lo desconocido de la selva a buscar a esta mujer y que termina teniendo su propio "viaje" interior/reconversión.
¿Le suena cliché? ¡No! ¡No! Bueno sí, un poco. Quizás un más que un poco, pero está bien escrito. Con el libro en la mano no me pareció tan "lugar común".
En fin, es El Testamento es un libro que no va a pasar a la historia como una historia de redención notable, pero no va a envejecer mal y se va a seguir leyendo por mucho tiempo.

Whilst the legal aspects of Grisham's work are always interesting, I thought the conversion of his protagonist was completely unconvincing. Grisham seemed to want to contrast greed with the 'purity' of selfless Christian behaviour. He makes a whole set of assumptions that might wash well with a US 'Bible Belt' community but it simply didn't work for me.

Grisham includes legal practice in his criticism and has his protagonist reject law and substance addiction simply because he went into a church and 'found God'. He gave no details about that 'discovery' and it was completely unconvincing.

He spent a lot of time describing the Brazilian swamp lands - it was pretty obvious that Grisham had been there on a holiday. It seemed to me to be largely irrelevant to the story. My advice to the author would be to stick to what he does best - write about legal practice.

Wow! This was my first John Grisham book! What a wild ride! Intense, intriguing and amusing. I was beautifully surprised by the faith elements woven through the story. I would have liked for it to have a more definite ending rather than an ambiguous ending. This was a great time!

I learned it's more important to forget the materialism of this world and be self-less for Christ like the heroine of this book was, than to get caught up in making a name for myself in my short time on earth. I forget the amount of family fortune she'd inherited, but she was so lost in her love for Christ that she was oblivious to the inheritance itself until a lawyer tracked her down from U.S to the Amazon to tell her/award her the inheritance. Her other-worldness was in stark contrast to the superficiality and artificiality of family members who showed up the moment they heard of their tycoon relative's death. Grisham does a great comical work of painting how insane we humans really look/are when we are money hungry and consumed with greed. I remember the book opened with the old rich father's death and how instantly his corporate office was swamped with relatives shamelessly hoping to cash in, some actually spending excess amounts of their own money before they realized that the old rich man never left them a cent. All the while our heroine who inherited everything was quietly, unfettered by all the greed and commotion, serving the Lord as a missionary in South America. GoodRead! :)

Second Read: I totally forgot that I have already read this book just over four years ago. I really liked it then, and really like it now. Highly recommend if you like good courtroom.

First Read: Fascinating!! I was extremely intrigued by this Grisham. His writing is above par, and definitely good enough to keep the readers at grasp and wondering what will happen next. I'm not too much into suicide, but the grip of it keeps us reading and wondering what the story is fully about.

Though different from many of his other books, I think The Testament becomes one of my Grisham favorites. Troy Phelan, a self-made billionaire, jumps to a spectacular death after signing a will leaving his fortune to an unknown daughter, Rachel Lane, and spurning his six other children by three failed marriages, all of whom are circling like vultures waiting for their lucky day to finally arrive. The wrinkle is that Rachel is a missionary in a remote part of Brazil, and is totally out of touch with the Western world except for two phone calls a year. So Josh Stafford, Troy's long-time lawyer, dispatches one of his associates, Nate O'Riley, on a mission to find Rachel.

Nate is fresh out of drug rehab (his fourth trip), and is coming to terms with the wreck his life has become, with a failed marriage and kids he doesn't stay in touch with, on top of federal charges that jeopardize his law practice and good intentions but little hope of true sobriety and recovery. Josh sees this little trip as a chance to get Nate back on his feet, and also keep him away from trouble for a little while. Rachel Lane is a missionary there with World Tribes Missions, a group that seeks to evangelize unreached peoples by sending missionaries in to live with tribes permanantly and to get to know them and earn their trust. Nate, with the help of a couple local guides, finally tracks Rachel down in a remote village, only to learn that she doesn't want the money. This to Nate is of course shocking, and as he spends a few days with Rachel, he comes to see the deep contrast between her contentment and his own searching and floundering.

While in the jungle, Nate catches malaria, and narrowly escapes death after convalescing in a Brazilian hospital for a number of days. Once back in the States, he begins acting as Rachel's lawyer, in defense of the will, since the other Phelan heirs are contesting the will and seeking their own share of the vast estate. In the end, a settlement is offered to the other heirs, solving the legal troubles, except for the need for Rachel's signature. When Nate makes a return trip to Brazil, he learns that Rachel died of Malaria. But before her death, she signed the necessary papers, giving Nate control over the vast fortune in the form of a trust to benefit World Tribes, the spread of the gospel, and the betterment of the people of Brazil.

This book has the legal intrigue of Grisham's other books, with some comical but also interesting heirs and their lawyers battling for control of billions of dollars. But it is in the characters that this book excels. Grisham shows the devastation that money and greed can bring in the lives of the three ex-wives and six heirs-apparent (whom I absolutely can't stand) to the Phelan fortune. And he does a great job of contrasting this with the contentment that can be found elsewhere. Rachel is a very authentic character, and adds great depth to the book. In my opinion, the best character proves to be Nate O'Riley. His journeys to Brazil parallel the searching in his own life, and his encounters with the Phelan heirs and with Rachel cause him to refocus his own life. He re-focuses his life with new purpose and meaning. His journey shows how painful the past can be, but also how liberating God's truth and forgiveness is. The journey isn't easy for him, but Grisham has cast it just right, to make it authentic without being shallow and moralizing or preachy.

In short, I loved this book. The setting was fun and different, the legal maneuvering is vintage Grisham, and the characters bring the story to life. And, best of all, it is a great "testament" to the source of true meaning in life, none other than God and the forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ.

Tenth in publishing order, THE TESTAMENT, shows an author with no sign of wear and tear.

Some guys don't like admitting they cry, but I don't care if others think I'm a wimp for this book making my eyes water. My oh my, it was good! I think it's a tie for me with A Time to Kill, both are brilliantly executed stories. I'm getting ahead of myself. Stay with me, this one cooks.

It starts in first person narrative with crotchety rich old guy, Troy Phelan, describing it detail just how desperately he wants to cut out his despicable family members from his will. He has called a psychiatric hearing in his house to have him declared of sound mind so that his final will and testament--the one where the family he hates receives equal share of his 11 billion dollar estate--will not be contested. Seconds after the doctors certify that he's mentally OK, Troy whips out a handwritten alternate will on three yellow pieces of paper--his real will, that cancels the other will that he hated, a will which cuts out everybody in his family except an illegitimate daughter. And then, with a sneering smile, he does something even more shocking! Takes a swan dive off the balcony and kills himself!

This is the best opening to any Grisham story I've read yet. I was beyond hooked at this point.

The story switches to third person for the rest of the adventure which peppers in colorful scenes of money-grubbing relatives (I cracked up how the next day after his father dies, Troy Phelan Jr., a tool if there ever was one, is out buying two Porsches!) and a frantic search through the Amazon jungle by a washed-up, alcoholic lawyer for the secret sole billionaire heiress. Nobody knows exactly where the richest woman in the world is...

Just when readers think they have it figured out, the story twists and turns in thrilling fashion, moving the story a completely different direction. There is a little courtroom drama, but the central conflict is the battle over honoring a person's final wishes and exploring what truly matters in life: is it money, love or a much greater calling?

The author is a spiritual person and I also appreciated how God was worked into this tale in a non-preachy, and yet important manner. There is power with prayer and faith, and in the final pages tears came down my cheek because this story did what the best of the best stories do: enthralled, enchanted and made me want to be able to read forever. 5-stars and could not be possibly higher recommended for fans of thrillers and awesome stories in any genre. 6,494 Kindle locations. Approximately 482 pages.