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4.5 stars
n How could Adam ever reconcile the past with the present? How could he fairly judge these people and their horrible deed when, but for a quirk of fate, he would have been right there in the middle of them had he been born forty years earlier?...If Sam was lynching at such an early age, what could be expected of him as an adult?...How in God's world could Sam Cayhall have become anything other than himself? He never had a chance.n
This is my first John Grisham novel, purchased for a dollar at a local consignment shop. It's the story of a young attorney who decides he wants to represent a grandfather he only recently learned he had and who is on death row for his part in a KKK killing decades earlier. Although the grandfather was only an accomplice in the crime he was convicted of, it turns out that he had participated in several other murders, adding a layer of complexity to the story.
In many ways, this reads like southern Gothic fiction, which I generally enjoy so it's no surprise that I liked this as much as I did.
In addition to exploring racism in the south, Grisham tackles the morality of the death penalty and also seems to be delving into the topic of "free will." For those reasons alone, I thought this was a compelling read.
The argument made against the death penalty is a familiar one, that state condoned killing is cruel and immoral and doesn't really solve anything. Interestingly, I'm reading one of his earlier books called A Time to Kill where he makes a moral argument in favor of a father charged with killing two men who brutally raped and beat (almost to death) his ten-year old daughter.
Both arguments, while seemingly at odds with each other, are strong and thought provoking.
The two criticisms that seemed to appear in many of the less enthusiastic reviews I read are 1. This is much different than his other books and 2. It was way, way too long. This being my only Grisham book, I can't speak to the first complaint. I do feel as if the book was long, maybe longer than it had to be. Yet on the flip side, I think the pacing of the book and its length mirror the death row process. So in that sense, it almost seems appropriate.
GR friends that have read this seem underwhelmed. Most awarding only 3 stars. But I liked it. Really liked it. Grisham is a phenomenal writer.
n How could Adam ever reconcile the past with the present? How could he fairly judge these people and their horrible deed when, but for a quirk of fate, he would have been right there in the middle of them had he been born forty years earlier?...If Sam was lynching at such an early age, what could be expected of him as an adult?...How in God's world could Sam Cayhall have become anything other than himself? He never had a chance.n
This is my first John Grisham novel, purchased for a dollar at a local consignment shop. It's the story of a young attorney who decides he wants to represent a grandfather he only recently learned he had and who is on death row for his part in a KKK killing decades earlier. Although the grandfather was only an accomplice in the crime he was convicted of, it turns out that he had participated in several other murders, adding a layer of complexity to the story.
In many ways, this reads like southern Gothic fiction, which I generally enjoy so it's no surprise that I liked this as much as I did.
In addition to exploring racism in the south, Grisham tackles the morality of the death penalty and also seems to be delving into the topic of "free will." For those reasons alone, I thought this was a compelling read.
The argument made against the death penalty is a familiar one, that state condoned killing is cruel and immoral and doesn't really solve anything. Interestingly, I'm reading one of his earlier books called A Time to Kill where he makes a moral argument in favor of a father charged with killing two men who brutally raped and beat (almost to death) his ten-year old daughter.
Both arguments, while seemingly at odds with each other, are strong and thought provoking.
The two criticisms that seemed to appear in many of the less enthusiastic reviews I read are 1. This is much different than his other books and 2. It was way, way too long. This being my only Grisham book, I can't speak to the first complaint. I do feel as if the book was long, maybe longer than it had to be. Yet on the flip side, I think the pacing of the book and its length mirror the death row process. So in that sense, it almost seems appropriate.
GR friends that have read this seem underwhelmed. Most awarding only 3 stars. But I liked it. Really liked it. Grisham is a phenomenal writer.
