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An entertaining thriller from John Grisham. Also an excellent introduction to the plight of the homeless on the streets of D.C.
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The Street Lawyer
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Michael was in a hurry. He was scrambling up the ladder at Drake & Sweeney, a giant D.C. law firm with eight hundred lawyers. The money was good and getting better; a partnership was three years away. He was a rising star with no time to waste, no time to stop, no time to toss a few coins into the cups of panhandlers. No time for a conscience.
But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.
The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.
And a thief.
But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.
The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.
And a thief.
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 16,1998
This edition
- Format
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384 pages, Paperback
- Published
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April 26, 2005 by Bantam
- ISBN
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9780385339094
- ASIN
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0385339097
- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Michael Brock
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Mordecai Green
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Hector Palma
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Claire Brock
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Braden Chance
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Devon Hardy
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About the author
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John Grisham is the author of fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include Framed, Camino Ghosts, and A Time for Mercy, which is being developed by HBO as a limited series.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
John lives on a farm in central Virginia.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
John lives on a farm in central Virginia.
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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 99 votes)
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99 reviews All reviews
An entertaining thriller from John Grisham. Also an excellent introduction to the plight of the homeless on the streets of D.C.
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People here claiming a white upper class lawyer (from Yale remember) in the 1990s is racist because he (Michael Brock, the character remember, not the author John Grisham) noted how basketball was popular and Washington D.C. jails and juries would be majority black, need to have their SJW cards revoked and get off their high horse and soapboxes.
It continues to amaze me the incompetence of readers and lacking insight and nuance.
If you can't handle facts even today in your snowflakey world then best not to read anything pre-2020 that isn't written but a certified Marxist lefty gender fluid furry.
This is why we can't have nice things.
It continues to amaze me the incompetence of readers and lacking insight and nuance.
If you can't handle facts even today in your snowflakey world then best not to read anything pre-2020 that isn't written but a certified Marxist lefty gender fluid furry.
This is why we can't have nice things.
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من لا يؤدبه الضمير؛تؤدبه الحياة حين تدور
و الضمير الحي قد تصيبه غشاوة و قد يغفو او يتغافل؛ لكنه لا يموت
و عبر احد مواقف الرهائن؛يؤكد لنا جريشام في تلك الدراما القانونية انه لا قوة؛تفوق قوة الضمير! ا
و الضمير الحي قد تصيبه غشاوة و قد يغفو او يتغافل؛ لكنه لا يموت
و عبر احد مواقف الرهائن؛يؤكد لنا جريشام في تلك الدراما القانونية انه لا قوة؛تفوق قوة الضمير! ا
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This book was donated to my Little Free Library Shed.
But…
After the disappointment of “The Exchange,” I wasn’t sure I wanted to plunge myself into another Grisham. Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Still…
I have found his earlier books to be quite satisfying.
So…
I began reading.
Michael Brock was an associate at one of Washington D.C.’s top firms, Drake & Sweeney.
He didn’t have time to notice what was going on in the outer world, with having to be concerned about billings for the firm.
But…
One day that would change when “Mister” strove in and took him and 8 other fellow attorneys as hostages.
Mister died, and Michael may have escaped the event unscathed; but, something changed in him.
Thus…
Opening the door for him to become an advocate “street lawyer” for the homeless. (Hence: the title of the book.)
“The frightening part of homelessness is what you don’t see on the street. About half of all poor people spend seventy percent of their income trying to keep the housing they have. …There are tens of thousands of people in this city who are clinging to their roofs; one missed paycheck, one unexpected hospital visit, one unseen emergency and they lose their housing.”
What Michael learns under the tutelage of street lawyer, Mordecai Green, helps him realize leaving the firm to work on behalf of the homeless is what he was needing in his life.
And…
Then there is that file that tells the full story as to why Mister was at his original law firm, in the first place.
“The trend in urban America is to criminalize homelessness. …Can’t beg, can’t sleep on a bench, can’t camp under a bridge, can’t store personal items in a public park, can’t sit on a sidewalk, can’t eat in public. …The cities selectively enforce general laws, such as loitering, vagrancy, public drunkenness. They target the homeless. Sweeps are common. …shovel up all the homeless, dump them somewhere else.”
This story was published in 1998, and yet, the circumstances of the homeless that are shared here, feels as if it were written today.
Grisham does a fine job of casting a young, idealistic lawyer as the underdog and pitting him against a big, powerful opponent with money and resources…
While…
Providing readers with a quick plot line with social issues that give this story relevance.
And…
This story is truly character-driven.
Although…
Michael’s transition from top firm associate lawyer on track for partner to street lawyer, may feel rushed, it is still readable.
Because…
As readers we are rooting for the underdog, and we like what we are seeing when we do.
This may not be the courtroom drama readers will come to expect of Grisham…
But…
The page-turning is quick and the story moves along, especially for the inevitable showdown with his former firm.
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“You spend more on fancy coffee than I do on meals. Why can’t you help the poor, the sick, the homeless?”
― John Grisham, The Street Lawyer
This book was so very good. I am a big Grisham fan but certain books are better then others and this one was near flawless.
I liked the lead character, Michael very much and loved the story line. It is a page turner from start to finish and I loved that the homeless angle was flawlessly woven into the story line.
Some things never change..some bad guys, a nasty law firm. But the pacing on this one is excellent and you cannot put the book down. It is up there along with The Firm, Runaway Jury, A Time to Kill and The Rain Maker as one of his best.
― John Grisham, The Street Lawyer
This book was so very good. I am a big Grisham fan but certain books are better then others and this one was near flawless.
I liked the lead character, Michael very much and loved the story line. It is a page turner from start to finish and I loved that the homeless angle was flawlessly woven into the story line.
Some things never change..some bad guys, a nasty law firm. But the pacing on this one is excellent and you cannot put the book down. It is up there along with The Firm, Runaway Jury, A Time to Kill and The Rain Maker as one of his best.
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One of Grisham's most inspirational novels, and among those that turned me into a Grisham fan.
It is clear that the author was disturbed by the plight of the homeless and decided he would write a fictional vehicle to raise awareness of this problem. What makes the story more striking is the contrast presented by the protagonist's own affluence, and the price he must keep to maintain it.
The story starts out with a bang, literally, an event so traumatic that the main character, Michael Brock, is forced to reflect upon his life and on those of others much less fortunate.
In terms of writing, the style is engaging, the first person narration candid, the story upbeat and heartwarming. However, there are two risks Mr. Grisham took in writing this novel.
1) A political stance is taken within a work designed for entertainment. This will alienate those who do not agree with the views the story is clearly expressing.
2) Exacerbating the first point, is that events take on extreme turns during the course of the story, so much so that some credibility is lost. But there is always a degree of "suspension of disbelief" when reading fiction, the amount of it depending on the genre and the author's reputation. Grisham may have come close to the edge in this one.
Still, I congratulate him for taking these risks,, and of course as a multi-million selling international author, one could say he could well afford to. But then again who else can, even though many in his position never do.
I gave it 5 stars, and I acknowledge that this rating is based on a very personal and subjective judgement. This book moved me.
It is clear that the author was disturbed by the plight of the homeless and decided he would write a fictional vehicle to raise awareness of this problem. What makes the story more striking is the contrast presented by the protagonist's own affluence, and the price he must keep to maintain it.
The story starts out with a bang, literally, an event so traumatic that the main character, Michael Brock, is forced to reflect upon his life and on those of others much less fortunate.
In terms of writing, the style is engaging, the first person narration candid, the story upbeat and heartwarming. However, there are two risks Mr. Grisham took in writing this novel.
1) A political stance is taken within a work designed for entertainment. This will alienate those who do not agree with the views the story is clearly expressing.
2) Exacerbating the first point, is that events take on extreme turns during the course of the story, so much so that some credibility is lost. But there is always a degree of "suspension of disbelief" when reading fiction, the amount of it depending on the genre and the author's reputation. Grisham may have come close to the edge in this one.
Still, I congratulate him for taking these risks,, and of course as a multi-million selling international author, one could say he could well afford to. But then again who else can, even though many in his position never do.
I gave it 5 stars, and I acknowledge that this rating is based on a very personal and subjective judgement. This book moved me.
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Up and coming corporate lawyer Michael Brock is held hostage alongside eight other lawyers by what appears to be a homeless and deranged black man. After the siege comes to the tragic expected end, Michael just can't let it go; and eventually finds himself looking into the plight of the hostage taker and what drove him to choose the law firm he works at as a target. The only way Michael can come to terms with the reality of the urban existence for many and the ongoing homeless epidemic is to become a street lawyer, but this will me giving almost up everything he has worked for, including is personal relationships!
The one thing two of my favoured writers Stephen King and John Grisham have in common is that they both continually dive into the plight of the American disenfranchised in their storytelling; this is a superb read, that is built round the story of a white lawyer not accepting the 'crazy black man' trope; and around how American capitalism creates and persecutes its homeless. My favourite Grisham to date; I just love the big bucks mainstream storytellers telling real stories about real America. A 9, yes 9 out of 12, Four Star cracker of a read.
2024 read
The one thing two of my favoured writers Stephen King and John Grisham have in common is that they both continually dive into the plight of the American disenfranchised in their storytelling; this is a superb read, that is built round the story of a white lawyer not accepting the 'crazy black man' trope; and around how American capitalism creates and persecutes its homeless. My favourite Grisham to date; I just love the big bucks mainstream storytellers telling real stories about real America. A 9, yes 9 out of 12, Four Star cracker of a read.
2024 read
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The Street Lawyer, John Grisham
The Street Lawyer is a legal thriller novel by John Grisham. It was Grisham's ninth novel. The book was released in the United States on 1 January 1998, published by Bantam Books, and on 30 March 1998 in the UK, published by Century. A homeless man, identifying himself only as "Mister," enters the offices of the powerful Washington D.C. law firm Drake & Sweeney and takes many of the lawyers hostage while angrily demanding information about some kind of eviction that took place. Although he is eventually shot and killed by a police sniper and the hostages freed, one of the hostages, an antitrust lawyer named Michael Brock, is concerned by what he has learned and feels compelled to investigate further. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوم ماه اکتبر سال 1999 میلادی
عنوان: وکیل خیابانی، نویسنده: جان گریشام، مترجم: هادی عادل پور، تهران، کوشش، چاپ 1377 ؛ در 496 ص؛ شابک: 9646326390؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 20 م
عنوان: وکیل خیابانی، نویسنده: جان گریشام، مترجم: فریده مهدوی دامغانی، تهران، پیکان، چاپ 1377 ؛ در 510 ص؛
عنوان: وکیل خیابانی، نویسنده: جان گریشام، مترجم: طاهره سجاده چی دامغانی، مشهد، گوهرشاد، چاپ 1379 ؛ در 395 ص؛ شابک: 9646905072؛
کتابی که خواندم، تایپ شده و پی.دی.اف شده بود، با حق تکثیر و از منبع کتابخانه: نودوهشتیا. ا. شربیانی
The Street Lawyer is a legal thriller novel by John Grisham. It was Grisham's ninth novel. The book was released in the United States on 1 January 1998, published by Bantam Books, and on 30 March 1998 in the UK, published by Century. A homeless man, identifying himself only as "Mister," enters the offices of the powerful Washington D.C. law firm Drake & Sweeney and takes many of the lawyers hostage while angrily demanding information about some kind of eviction that took place. Although he is eventually shot and killed by a police sniper and the hostages freed, one of the hostages, an antitrust lawyer named Michael Brock, is concerned by what he has learned and feels compelled to investigate further. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوم ماه اکتبر سال 1999 میلادی
عنوان: وکیل خیابانی، نویسنده: جان گریشام، مترجم: هادی عادل پور، تهران، کوشش، چاپ 1377 ؛ در 496 ص؛ شابک: 9646326390؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 20 م
عنوان: وکیل خیابانی، نویسنده: جان گریشام، مترجم: فریده مهدوی دامغانی، تهران، پیکان، چاپ 1377 ؛ در 510 ص؛
عنوان: وکیل خیابانی، نویسنده: جان گریشام، مترجم: طاهره سجاده چی دامغانی، مشهد، گوهرشاد، چاپ 1379 ؛ در 395 ص؛ شابک: 9646905072؛
کتابی که خواندم، تایپ شده و پی.دی.اف شده بود، با حق تکثیر و از منبع کتابخانه: نودوهشتیا. ا. شربیانی
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