Un libro entretenido y poco más. El típico best-seller fácil de leer y que, al terminarlo, lo guardas en la estantería y es difícil que lo vuelvas a encontrar.

An entertaining book and little more. The typical best-seller that is easy to read and when you finish it, you put it on the shelf and it's hard to find again.

This is another good legal and political thriller from Grisham that follows two seemingly separate stories that find themselves becoming more and more intertwined with blackmail, conspiracy, and of course greed for both money and power driving it all. There were lots of twists and turns, even twists and turns on the twists and turns so it did get a little complicated keeping track of everyone but I found if I just kept reading I would figure it out.

titular sentence:
p5: The Brethren met once a week with the prison's approval.

punctuation:
p204: "Wes stared out the front window, stated at the rental, where his buddies were staring at him. He kept his back to the ruckus down the hall because he was struggling to keep a straight face. Footsteps, then Jan said, "Mr. Carson will see you in a just a moment."

I thought I've read this back in college, but the only thing I recall is this is supposedly about a tribunal of gay convicts with legal backgrounds. This is entirely inaccurate and I am glad I decided to read it when I did, as what I thought I knew should have kept me away.

This may be John's attempt to encroach into Tom Clancy territory, which is quite dismal if it is. There's even a tongue-in-cheek reference on Twenty-four (p192: Lake loved Clancy novels. He'd just finished the latest one, the thickest yet, and he wrote the author a complimentary note. --This may be referring to The Bear and the Dragon released a few months before this book--which is, however, a couple hundred pages thinner than Executive Orders published four years previously).

Undoubtedly well written and undeniably funny. Often cited as his funniest book, so very entertaining. Although, lack of a definite protagonist was irksome, really bothered me. I demand absolutes and neatly ordained worlds in fiction, or else it's pointless.

Plus, it was scary how a presidential candidate can be so easily controlled and selected; the whole selection could be that manipulative with such precision. That didn't seem fictional at all.

This was the first legal thriller I have read, and I have to say: I was pleasantly surprised. It was such a unique plot, and that really sold me on it from the start. Telling the story of three conmen in prison who are attempting to bring down the largest political figure in the nation, is fascinating. Although the split-story chapters threw me off at first, I grew to like the shift because it further tied the story together as it went along.

Here's what I didn't like: I really felt shortchanged by the ending. As a reader, I got to know Aaron Lake, and see his multi-faceted personality. But the rest of his story (and that of Teddy) was completely brushed over in favor of describing the brethren's tropical adventures. I wanted to hear about the election, and about how Aaron Lake dealt with the tense political climate he was walking into. Granted, that would've added a 100 pages or so to the book, but those are pages I would've gladly read. Overall: A good book, with some missed potential.

I don't have any doubt that Grisham will once again cast a spell on me with th rich story he had crafted through The Brethen. This is despite the selected diatribes I have read from the critics and fellow goodreaders. Undeniably, this novel is an amalgamation of humor and wit.

2.5 stars

Note: The Brethren was published in 2000, so the social issues may seem a little out-of-sync with current times.....or maybe not.

*****

Trumble Federal Prison near Jacksonville, Florida is a minimum security facility that hardly seems like a penitentiary: it has no fences, decent food, recreational facilities, and - as it turns out - opportunities for serious mischief.



Three of Trumble's older inmates are dubbed 'The Brethren': Joe Roy Spicer - a onetime Mississippi justice of the peace; Finn Yarber - a former California Supreme Court justice; and Hatlee Beech - an erstwhile federal judge from Texas. The Brethren handle appeals for other convicts; hold a weekly 'prison court' to iron out disputes among prisoners; and perpetrate a scam to rake in the moola.



The Brethren's scam involves 'catfishing' closeted homosexual men who can't risk being outed. To perpetrate the hoax, the judges - using the name Ricky - place an ad in an alternative lifestyle magazine.



Ricky says that he's in a rehab facility, feels very lonely, and would like to correspond with a mature man. In the accompanying photo, Ricky seems to be a handsome young guy with an irresistible crooked smile.



When men answer Ricky's ad, the judges check them out. If the responder has money and a family, Ricky (really Judge Yarber or Judge Beech) writes back. He inveigles the victim into an epistolary love affair, asks for cash for incidentals, and arranges to meet when he gets out of rehab.



Eventually, the judges lower the boom. They tell the poor dupe he's been scammed and demand $100,000 (or more).....or they'll send copies of the letters to his wife.



The Brethren need an outside person to assist with their scam, so they hire a shlubby local lawyer named Trevor Carson.



Trevor sneaks letters in and out of Trumble, handles the blackmail money, and investigates victims as needed (for example, if they use fake names).

Meanwhile, the United States is in the midst of a presidential campaign and CIA Dirctor Teddy Maynard - who's worried about Russian aggression - plans to get his candidate elected.



Teddy has chosen Congressman Aaron Lake, a quiet widower whose one campaign issue (dictated by Teddy) is to double defense spending.



Teddy coerces contributors (mostly weapons manufacturers) to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to Lake's campaign and - even worse - permits (or organizes) terrorist activities to frighten the American public. Lake keeps rising in the polls, and it appears that he'll be a shoo-in for President.

As many readers will guess, it turns out that Aaron Lake is a secret homosexual who gets caught up in The Brethren's flimflam. When the CIA Director gets wind of this, he'll do whatever it takes to 'save' his candidate. Moreover, Teddy has the whole CIA at his disposal!

For the rest of the book, the judges and Teddy's operatives try to out-think and outmaneuver each other. The CIA bugs cars, homes, and offices; looks into bank accounts; follows people; and so on. But the judges are wily fellows.....and they make worthy opponents.



There's not a single likable main character in this book and I hoped every single one of them would go down in flames. Of course that doesn't happen (and I really didn't really expect it to). Nevertheless, I was disappointed in the book's finale. In addition, there's a whiff of homophobia about the story (IMO)....though this may have been unintentional.

One thing I do like about the book is the judges garb for 'prison court.' The judges wear lime green robes (sometimes with nothing underneath) and the 'bailiff' wears a long wig (like British barristers) and lavender slippers. One of the judges goes barefoot, and makes it his business to crack his toes and clean his toenails while adjudicating. All this is pretty amusing.



This isn't one of Grisham's better efforts, but he's a capable writer and the story held my attention. Still, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this book.

You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/

Doing Time Never Paid So Good

To quite a few people, when they hear that John Grisham has come out with a new novel, their first hasty generalization is that it is another “lawyer book.” This may have been true with his first five novels, but the subsequent five had been entirely different. Yes, each involved a lawyer or the court in some way, but they entailed an interesting story not to do with law and the courts, but with ordinary happenstances of life. Once again, John Grisham has delivered with The Brethren, a unique story that keeps the reader hooked until the very end.

The Brethren are three judges doing time in a prison in Florida. All three have committed somewhat serious crimes, nothing as major as murder or manslaughter, but enough that they are doing ten years at Trundle, a minimum-security prison. What separates them from the rest of the inmates is the elaborate scheme they have concocted.

They enter personal ads in gay magazines, and then reply to those interested who seem to be rich and stable. They created a fictitious yet perfect setting: a young boy in rehab, getting off his drug addiction, trying to get accepted back into the real world, and needing someone to comfort him. Then, when the right moment is reached, they launch their attack, revealing their identities and their plot, demanding large amounts of money. The people who have been had have no choice but to comply, unless they want their hidden sexual leanings reveled to their friends and families.

Juxtaposed with this is the election for President of the United States. There is a perfect candidate, backed and controlled by the CIA, guaranteed to win; except he has answered one of the personal ads and currently has a “rich” correspondence with “Ricky” in rehab.

And so begins the ongoing game where the Brethren scam and scam, bringing in the dollars, while the CIA fight to preserve the secrets of the new president. One cannot help but be sucked into the raging maelstrom Grisham has created with The Brethren, following the lives of the judges, the candidate, the CIA and its agents. This tale is sure to delight any reader, whether they are a John Grisham fan or not.

Originally published on April 2nd 2001 ©Alex C. Telander.

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The Brethren is, like most of Grisham's books, a legal thriller. The central characters are multiple, and so are the plot lines but the narrative is easy to follow and understand. The book is quite readable. It might be called a page turner, as the narrative is pretty eventful, thought one could always say that the 'page turning quality' is ultimately dependent on personal taste. The Brethren contains a fair amount of social satire, and perhaps we could say that is what sets it aside from other similar books. Apart from that, I would say that The Brethren is pretty much everything a good legal thriller is ought to be, interesting and well paced. One thing worth noting is that this book doesn't focus on murder as much as on a 'cat and mouse' play.


Basically, the plot and introduction to the story could be described as following: Three former judges ( calling themselves the Brethren) are located in minimal security prison. There these judges are allowed to put together a sort of 'quasi-parody trials' and solve cases of prisoners with their consent. Their 'trials' are highly entertaining because everyone is expected to lie, being that everyone there is a criminal and all that. So, the 'judges' resort to common sense, presumably with some success. If you enjoy criticism of the legal system, reading these passages will be an absolutely delightful experience. I'm digressing a bit here, since these 'trials' don't really have anything to do with the plot, but I think they are worth pointing out as they were extremely well written.

Anyhow, these former judges also do some legal services for other prisoners, which they obviously (and illegally) charge but since that work doesn't prove to be very profitable, they also plan a con job: placing a lone heart advert in a gay newspaper and extracting money from rich lonesome (preferably married) gay man by means of blackmail. These three judges have all the time in the world, and have learned to be very patient. They also have a horrible lawyer on their side, so it seems their victims really don't stand a chance. I have to say these judges were very convincing characters, as much as I hated what they were doing, I was also fascinated by their fate. What do you think would happen with a 'former' middle aged judge that has fallen from grace? It's an interesting question.


Besides the 'judges' plot, there is also a parallel plot featuring mister Lake, a rare specimen of what seems to be an honest politician. Lake is a widowed man, a congressmen who never broke the law and seems to be actually doing his job, i.e. serving the people. In other words, Lake is just what the CIA's director wants. What the CIA's director wants is a sure win presidential candidate they can control. What could Lake possibly have in common with the judges? How will they paths cross? Is CIA money all it takes to win an USA election? Well, you'll have to read this book to see but not everything is what it seems.


I read this novel a couple of days ago (while I was recovering from an incredibly painful operation which was also a horrible failure so imagine my mood & sentiments). The book was exactly what I expected it to be, and it that sense I can honestly say that I'm not disappointed. I quite liked the implied irony and sarcasm of this novel. If you want to read someone who is able subtly make fun of election system, politicians, secret services, legal system and prisons, The Brethren is a novel for you. Here you basically have a story without a moral character. Everyone is corrupted, one way or another. You can't love these characters, but it's hard to hate them either. They're so human you're compelled to ,if not sympathize with them, then to understand them.

What are the faults of this novel? I wouldn't say there are any explicit faults, it's more a case of it not being a very ambitious book. The book was a bit too long for my taste, I would have preferred it to be shorter. Maybe it was just little old me, but I felt some things were needlessly repeated and dragged on. The ending didn't feel realistic, but it kind of made sense in the context of the novel so I won't complain too much. There was a point when I expected it to develop into something more sinister (and interesting) but the narrative remained pretty standard. Once the parallel plots got interwoven, there weren't many surprises. Towards the end, I could definitely see things coming, but somehow the book kept my interest. So I'd say that despite having some minor faults, The Brethren is definitely a compelling read.


All in all, I enjoyed reading this novel, but I can't say that I learned anything from it. I was entertained and that was about it. I've read Grisham's works before, I'm familiar with his style and honestly in many ways this book didn't feel like anything new. I did think that the idea of imprisoned judges plotting away was quite fresh, so that was kind of cool. I don't remember seeing this idea/concept anywhere else, so bonus points for originality. What else to say? Grisham's legal thrillers are what he is known for and they are usually pretty good. I can certainly appreciate his simple and descriptive style of writing. I might read more of him. I would recommend this book to lovers of social satire and legal thrillers.

The lowly bring down the powerful. Prisoners run the world.

Братята просто не знаят кога да се спрат: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/b...

Сюжетът, ако има и други като мен, които са я пропуснали. Трима съдии са на топло за разнообразни престъпления – това обаче не ги е трогнало особено и редом с неформалната власт, която са си извоювали в рамките на затвора, са се заели с доходоносен изнудвачески бизнес. Публикуват обяви в списания за мъже, с които привличат вниманието на прикрити хомосексуалисти, които после изнудват със заплахи да ги разкрият пред семействата и колегите им. Работата се задвижва от един корумпиран адвокат, а заверата започва малко по малко да дава солидни плодове – и всеки от тримата има свои планове за времето, когато отново ще е на свобода. Само дето алчността им става все по-голяма.

Обсидиан ИК / Obsidian Publishers
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/b...

It was an enjoyable read filled with plenty of political and legal intrigue as well as humorous writing. Ending was so-so.