The Appeal: John Grisham

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Mr. and Mrs. Payton were again both reaching for their client, who was overcome by the sheer weight of the verdict and trying pitifully to sit up. Wes whispered reassurances to Jeannette while repeating to himself the numbers he had just heard. Somehow, he managed to keep his face serious and avoid a goofy smile. Other calls went to other lawyers, then to the reporters, and within minutes the word was on the street and spreading rapidly. He shouted it again as he ran to The Pit, where the rest of the firm was frantically gathering. Wes Payton was already there, and when his wife, Mary Grace, rushed in, their eyes met in a split second of unbridled fear and bewilderment. Two paralegals, two secretaries, and a bookkeeper gathered at the long, cluttered worktable, where they suddenly froze and gawked at one another, all waiting for someone else to speak. In the immortal words of MR. Gekko "greed is good". No matter how much you have you always need more.

The Appeal by John Grisham | Waterstones The Appeal by John Grisham | Waterstones

To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it’s political dynamite. Suddenly Darby is witness to a murder–a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds that there is only one person–an ambitious reporter after a newsbreak hotter than Watergate–she can trust to help her piece together the deadly puzzle. A candid look into the seedy underbelly of campaign finance in the U.S. It's no secret that in this country, money and politics walk hand in hand, with Big Business barons leveraging their own interests against those of the people and, at times, basic procedural justice. It is this systemic prioritization of corporate well-being over human well-being on which Grisham wishes to shine a light. Question number three: ‘For Chad Baker, what amount of money do you award to his mother, Jeannette Baker, as damages for his wrongful death?’ Answer: ‘Five hundred thousand dollars.’” Of course, you want the bad guy to get his due here. Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't. But Grisham leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable and perhaps a little guilty for playing into the game of big political campaign spending...naively believing everything one hears on t.v. about a candidate and his or her record based on a thirty-second commercial that takes sound bites completely out of the context in which they were meant to be be heard. He even makes one a bit uncomfortable with the idea the a judiciary is elected and that a judge would feel beholden to those who paid for his or her election. And in the end, I liked that he gave me something to think about.

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In a plush Virginia office, a rich, angry old man is furiously rewriting his will. With his death just hours away, Troy Phelan wants to send a message to his children, his ex-wives, and his minions—a message that will touch off a vicious legal battle and transform dozens of lives. Because Troy Phelan’s new will names a sole surprise heir to his eleven-billion-dollar fortune: a mysterious woman named Rachel Lane, a missionary living deep in the jungles of Brazil. Mary Grace scribbled a note about the wink, but in the fury of the moment she could not read her own handwriting. Try to appear calm, she kept telling herself. One day at the Dessoto County courthouse, Grisham was inspired to start a novel. Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill

The Appeal - John Grisham

La Apelación cuenta la historia del litigio de un pueblo perdido en Misisipi contra una empresa química acusada de contaminar descaradamente la tierra, y por consecuencia, el agua potable por años. Arranca con la sentencia del juzgado local y sigue con la impecable estrategia que sigue el dueño de la compañía para revertir el veredicto en la corte suprema del estado. In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom. The right to a fair hearing before an impartial judge, untainted by money or special interests, is at the heart of the nation’s justice system and the rule of law.” NY Times, June 8, 2009 I found this book compulsive and disturbing. This book is a work of fiction but I have no doubt that the bribery and corruption as portrayed in the book is real and happens more than we think. Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up in Biloxi in the sixties and were childhood friends, as well as Little League all-stars. But as teenagers, their lives took them in different directions. Keith’s father became a legendary prosecutor, determined to “clean up the Coast.” Hugh’s father became the “Boss” of Biloxi’s criminal underground.John Grisham says THE TUMOR is the most important book he has ever written. In this short book, he provides readers with a fictional account of how a real, new medical technology could revolutionize the future of medicine by curing with sound. Of course Jared Kurtin wasn’t facing financial and professional ruin. Wes Payton certainly was, and he could not keep his eyes from the eyes of the jurors as they settled into their seats. The dairy operator looked away, a bad sign. The schoolteacher stared right through Wes, another bad sign. As the foreman handed an envelope to the clerk, the minister’s wife glanced at Wes with a look of pity, but then she had been offering the same sad face since the opening statements. Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother are sharing a forbidden cigarette when a chance encounter with a suicidal lawyer leaves Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most-sought-after dead body in America. I was amazed at the lengths the rich and greedy will go to to achieve their goals. It just is pure evil. Director Joel Schumacher made this legal thriller, based on John Grisham’s fourth ‘The Client’.With the cast of Susan Saanson and Tommy Lee Jones and a thrilling story-line,the film turned out to be an overall success. Two brothers witness the suicide of a mob lawyer, because of it one of them faces serious mental condition. Mob and authorities are concerned whether the lawyer has revealed their secrets to those kids. The kids face a grave danger as an assassin follows them. They later seek the help of an alcoholic advocate Regina “Reggie” Love (Susan Saanson), who helps them. Critics and audience equally praised the pace, thrilling and chilling atmosphere. Susan Saanson’s performance is considered brilliant as she received nomination for “Best Actress in The Leading Role”. She won the Golden Globe the same year.

The Appeal - John Grisham - Books - Review - The New York Times The Appeal - John Grisham - Books - Review - The New York Times

Building a remarkable degree of suspense… Grisham delivers his savviest book in years. His extended vacation from hard–hitting fiction is over.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times Mary Grace stopped writing and looked over the bobbing head of her client to her husband, whose gaze was frozen upon her. They had won, and that alone was an exhilarating, almost indescribable rush of euphoria. But how large was their victory? At that crucial split second, both knew it was indeed a landslide. But then...WHAM! I honestly can’t think of another book I’ve ever read that pissed me off so much at the end. A nice compelling build-up was well-written and fairly absorbing and to be honest I learned a lot about state Supreme Courts and how the appellate process works. That can be a dry subject but Grisham’s style makes it a more enjoyable reading and learning experience.

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Edgar Freemantle is a businessman who loses his arm and nearly his life in an accident. Suffering from memory lapses and rages so terrible his wife fears for her life, he moves to Duma Key, a remote Florida island, to deal with his demons. But here be much nastier demons. He rediscovers his passion for painting, except that the more he delves into his subconscious to create inexplicable works of art, the more he comes to realise that it is someone else's subconscious he is accessing. How this links to an old woman who has lived on the island all her life and has secrets curdled by Alzheimer's is one of the many mysteries solved in the novel's steady course.

The Appeal Excerpt - John Grisham The Appeal Excerpt - John Grisham

In a slow, loud voice, Judge Harrison read: “Question number one: ‘Do you find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the groundwater at issue was contaminated by Krane Chemical Corporation?’ ” After a treacherous pause that lasted no more than five seconds, he continued, “The answer is ‘Yes.’ ” What I really like about Grisham's books is that he always manages to expose the selfish hearts of his characters. He includes their motives and thoughts and lays them bare. It's uncomfortable reading at times because no one wants their deepest feelings plastered on their foreheads. Yet, Grisham's characters are so alive that it's easy to feel the things they would have been feeling, if they existed. I suppose, that's what makes a good story-teller and Grisham is one of the best. Question number six: ‘What is the amount of punitive damages?’ Answer: ‘Thirty-eight million dollars.’ ”

The Appeal

As tensions mount, Hailey hires the inexperienced Jake Brigance to defend him. It's the kind of case that could make a young lawyer's career. The first chapter of THE APPEAL pulled me right in, and it kept me reading for a while. And that’s the best thing about this book. It is immensely readable, if a bit dumb. However, Mr. Grisham (not for the first time) seems intent on preaching his message which this time around is that if state laws call for elections of justices (rather than appointed) then inevitably, large corrupt organizations will buy influence and ultimately lead to massive miscarriages of justice. While I understand and even appreciate the author’s point, the way he expresses it in the form of this novel makes for a horrible reading experience. Indeed, the reader is the true victim of this novel. In a slow, loud voice, Judge Harrison read: “Question number one: ‘Do you find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the groundwater at issue was contaminated by Krane Chemical Corporation?’” After a treacherous pause that lasted no more than five seconds, he continued, “The answer is ‘Yes.’”