8th | The Brethren
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Date started: 13 October 2021
Date Finished: 22 October 2021
Author: John Grisham
First Published on: 2000
Genre: Fiction, Legal Thriller
Rated at Goodreads with: 3.75

Recommended for: John Grisham fans. It is the second book I read that John Grisham wrote and so far this book had me reading. Compared to the Playing for Pizza (the first book I read authored by the same), I liked this better.

Best Quote from the book: A dialogue I can relate to
"Will you confront him?"
"Not yet."
"When?"
"Maybe never. Let's gather the intelligence, learn all we can."

One of the lessons I learned: Do not under any circumstances reveal your financial status to a person you barely know. I know that this is fiction, but I can't help but wonder if there are people who are actually victimized by such scam artists.

Personal Note: It is a good one. The ending was unexpected. And another lesson I could tell is, it is difficult to owe anyone in politics anything.

I read this book when it was first published and then read it again years later.

Of the several novels I've read by this author, this is the only one causing me to smile at various intervals throughout.

It contains a multitude of sly humor seeping up from the pages, whether it's situational, character development, interactions, or dialog.

The story of three judges remanded to federal prison, they're resourceful and creative in raising money for their planned 'release'. Not particularly likable, they ARE funny and exist in situations of their own provocation.

In fact, most, if not all characters in this book are not people you'd like to know, so I was actually rooting for the protagonists not to get caught.

When I re-read this many years later, it wasn't quite so humorous and I was struck by several politically incorrect comments not noticed the first time around. They may be trigger inducing for some.

I don't know if this stood the test of time and how others will respond...

Let me make a confession. I only checked this book out because, sitting in my bar review course on Constitutional Law, the teacher made a reference to a book titled "The Brethren" that purported to report that the clerks (and some of the Justices themselves) on the Surpeme Court would hold 'movie day' where they would watch the evidentiary movies that were being appealed on First Amendment obscenity-content/free-speech grounds. Such a statement was so absurd to me that I had to find-out for myself whether this was true.

As it turns out, there is a seperate book titled 'The Brethren,' not by Grisham, that may or may not tell the story. But I didn't find this out until I got done reading his.

That being said, this book has nothing whatsoever to do with the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States, for those not in the know). It is an interesting book about how to get elected president and also how to run the perfect scam. Not a Hollywood ending in this one. It would surprise me if it is ever made into a movie. In this one, all the wrong doers eventually get away with all the wrongdoing that they perpetuate.

But is it entertaining and interesting nonetheless.