Mary Beth Pringle does an good job at capturing the style and format behind John Grisham's fiction. However, her feminist training and backgroud tend to impact her objectivity. Although she attempts to give an "alternative critical perspective" on each of his novels, she seems to give her analysis, from a feminist perspective, throughout the book. Her feminist views take away from the overall quality of her work. Otherwise, it is a fair analysis of Grisham.

Dr. Pringle is an interesting and informative author. Whenever I read Grisham, I have a copy of her book right next to me. If you like Grisham, Pringle's view on his books is second to none. Get this book!

Now I know why literary criticism is important. Pringle's book taught me lots about Grisham's works and the legal thriller genre.

I loved this book. All of John's books are great. This book I could not put down. I fininshed it in 3 days. It has been very well written and never seems predictable

Ciertamente es mi titulo favorito de todos los publicados por Grisham, puesto que soy estudiante de derecho me he identificado muchisimo con Rudy Baylor Personaje principal en Legitima Defensa, pues es un pobre estudiante con muy buena calificaciones y con deseos de salir adelante, es mas, la parte donde conoce a Kelly me parecio tan real, sobre todo cuando le encuentra en la joyeria y lo invita al cine, es increible es realismo con que Grisham lo describio, es el mejor autor de historias legales, mezcladas con un sutil toque de sensualidad en todas y cada una de las damas con que tropiezan los personajes en todos sus libros, tengo toda la coleccion y espero ansioso su ultimo A PAINTED HOUSE, en espanol.

The idea of "the best of the Oxford American" brings out a lot of expectations. This magazine has been the home for a lot of special writing. This book provides some of those moments. I especially enjoyed the narrative of the small town photographer burdened by the unwelcome insights of his coworkers and the blank misunderstandings of his Disney World roadtripping friends. I think that the criticism by Tony Earley would have made just as good an introduction to this book as did Rick Bragg's more metaphorical observation that this writing is "heavy on the salt."
I would recommend this book for anyone that wants to read about the South as it actually is -- unique, history-addled, and genuinely "salty".

This collection of works--fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reportage--by the biggest names writing in or about the South is a real treasure. For those already familiar with "the New Yorker of the South" it will remind those what have made the magazine so special for so many years, and for those who have not discovered the magazine, BOA will be a great introduction to the best in Southern belles lettres. The book, like the magazine itself, is a little trad and not good on commenting on the lives of blacks, gays/lesbians, and immigrants to the South, but there is much for everyone to enjoy here.

We tend to categorize Grisham’s novels into three groups: fast-paced thrillers, like the “Pelican Brief” and “The Firm”; slow paced dramas, like “The Chamber” and “A Painted House”; and a middle group of “message stories” that mix the characteristics of the other two. “Jury” falls into that third class, featuring mostly courtroom drama but with the intrigue of jury tampering and manipulation thrown in for good measure. It’s also a bit of a “preachy” book as Grisham uses some 500 pages to tell us how bad smoking is (like we didn’t know?). The story deals with a wrongful death case brought by a smoker’s widow against a big tobacco company. While the timely (especially in 1996) premise gets our early attention, there’s probably more details than anybody ever wanted about jury selection and processing, which slows the story down quite a bit. To many readers, the outcome will be worth the wait, as the latter part of the book bristles with suspense.

This is the author’s seventh book of (now) 14. To us it is neither his best nor worst, but a very typical, reasonably good entry in this best-selling genre Grisham practically invented (apologies to Perry Mason!).

Grisham is excellent at setting up suspense. The pacing of the book is remarkable as each new chapter reveals a bit more of the story. The supporting characters are particularly memorable. Hoppy, the husband of juror Millie, goes through such anguish in the real estate scam set up by the tobacco company that it really touches your heart. But feeling the inside of characters is where the novel seems to fall more into pop fiction than significant literature. Nicholas Easter, the lead, seems more like a mechanism than a man. We're not given enough inner life to see if he's madly in love with Marlee and motivated by that love; or if he's simply the disillusioned law student trying to write the wrongs of big tobacco. We see what he does and are riveted by the rush of events, but we don't feel what he feels. The character of Fitch, the dirty-dealing, jury-tampering intelligence of the tobacco companies is drawn appropriately sinister and dark. We see enough of him to be intrigued, but also miss enough of the man inside to really qualify him as an arch villain. This book works well as a page-burning suspense novel. With a little more insight into human nature, it might also have been a remarkable book. Enjoy Grisham for his command of pacing and sturcture; he is a master!

Grisham is a trial lawyer, yet he is not afraid to reveal through tightly-wound fiction, the seeminess of the legal culture. Runaway Jury is another Grisham classic. In this book, he manages to educate the common man to yet another side of the law--corporate malfeasance--without boring the reader to tears. In fact, his witty and humorous characters make the Runaway Jury a delightful read.

Grisham weaves complex plots. A powerful jury fixer, Rankin Fitch, is brought low by a cunning law student and his girlfriend, who manipulate the process to reach what they believe is a justice. Tobacco companies who have a motive. Lawyers who prop up a widow, waiting at the trough for their big payday.

Most poignant and inspiring in this book is the power of common citizens, avidly pursued by powerful interests who are frustrated in the end by the humanness of the jurors. Their independence leads to a common sense of justice.

You're led to believe that the jurors can be swayed, but in the final hour, they think the matters through and come to a conclusion. Unwilling to be pawns, they become players and make history.

Grisham has once again produced a masterpiece. Add this to the collection of his works already decorating your nightstand.

ESTE LIBRO TE HACE SENTIR COMO SI ESTUVIERAS AHI VIVIENDO LAS SITUACIONES CON EL PERSONAJE. LO UNICO MALO ES QUE ES MUY LENTO Y NO DESARROLLA. LAS HISTORIAS ERAN DIVERTIDAS Y MUY DETALLADAS. ES UN BUEN LIBRO PARA EL QUE LE GUSTAN LAS HISTORIAS RURALES Y CON MUCHOS PERSONAJES.

This is a book of suspense in which, once again, Mr. Grisham keep us reading and reading one chapter after another. Eventhough this is a fiction book, I think that the lawyer's environment is not very far, or not far at all, from what he presents, showing us the hidden intrigues within the lawyer's firm. I encourage you to read this book, it's great!

Though the book was a bit predictable, I liked the writing style and the simplicity of it and loved the plot. I always learn something more about the legal profession when reading Grisham's books. However, he doesn't provide enough character development about co-leading good-guy characters (Eva, Sandy). The way Patrick got out of all his legal troubles was not very realistic but fascinating escapist fare nonetheless. The ending seemed as though he couldn't come up with something better or couldn't decide how to end the story, so with no clues whatsoever along the way, he severed the story abruptly before it was due to end. A clue or two along the way would have made the same ending satisfying and believable, but to have a character suddenly become a totally different person in the last two pages of a book or else to have the character disappear altogether left me feeling duped and pissed off at the author for his lack of planning and feeling like he didn't really do his job all that well after all. With all the thought that went into this book to set up the elaborate plot, I think Grisham could have put a bit more thought into either creating a believable ending or leaving clues along the way. I don't think any reader likes to be 2x4'd at the end of an enjoyable book, which is what the lack of clues makes this out to be.

Quite a few years ago, there was a television show called "To Tell the Truth" in which a celebrity panel, egged on by a celebrity moderator, would try to guess which of three guest panelists, when quizzed about their lives and circumstances, would turn out to be the actual named person. The game always ended in the command "Will the real 'John Doe' please stand up", at which point our suspense was relieved and we all got to congratulate or commiserate on our own candidate of choice.

And so with our now famous author, some times I feel like saying "Will the real John Grisham please stand up." In Partner, this is not (to my mind, thankfully) the slow-paced dramatist of book one, A Time to Kill, or book five, The Chamber, the latter of which I predicted would never be a movie (wrong!) for its dullness and lack of intrigue (right!). Nor is this the social commentator proselytizing in The Rainmaker (wife abuse is bad) or The Runaway Jury (smoking is bad), although at least these two gave us moderately satisfying page-turners. Nope -- the good news is that our clever creator of Pelican Brief, The Client, and The Firm is back, with all the complexities of plot, action and thrills, even an ironic twist at the end, to captivate our imaginations and keep us up until three in the morning with no regrets. And make no mistake, this movie will be a barn burner -- the only question being how many millions more will it dump into the Grisham coffers.

By now, you may have heard snatches of the plot. I hate to spoil the story, but the gist is that a successful young law firm partner "dies" in an accident, only to be discovered years later hiding abroad with close to eight figures in stolen loot. [Relax -- all that becomes clear in chapter one of forty-three, so I'm hardly giving away the plot...] What follows are the intricacies of legal maneuvers and one-up-man-ship by our hero, as he masterminds his own extrication from prison, while gradually spinning the whole incredible yarn through various conversations meted out carefully enough to keep us turning pages into the wee hours.

So, for me, the best John Grisham has indeed stood up -- with riveting story telling, political and social insight into the mechanisms of lawyering, and a tale that engrosses from start to finish. Can't wait for the movie !

Though I have only read two books by John Grisham, I am already hooked! His wide vocabulary, use of description and great talent for dialogue keeps the reader interested. "He closed his eyes fiercely and clamped his teeth together in a determined effort not to scream, but gave up after a split second and let out a piercing shriek that was heard through out the cabin." Grisham's huge imagination is a key factor to why his description and imagery is so realistic and his choice of words will awe and fascinate you! The other novel written by John Grisham I have read is "A Time To Kill", which is just as pleasing and well written as "The Partner". It is no wonder that both of these books are #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! His love for writing is more than evident in both of his books. Grisham's talent for dialogue is more than wonderful and amazing. He uses it as a tool to make the book more interesting and realistic. His dialogue is just right, and not confusing at all! If there was one thing I could possibly think to critcize him for, I would, but this book is so well written, so well liked, and so magnificent that if he were to change anything in this book, it would probably do more harm than good! Rating this book I would have to give it a 10 out of 10! His humor, imagery, dialogue and witt makes this one of the best books I have ever read!

I live in Jonesboro, Arkansas, a city that figures prominently in the plot of this book. Having grown up within a few miles of the setting of this book, I can say that Mr. Grisham tells a wonderful story that paints not only a house, but also paints an accurate picture of growing up in a simple Southern culture that is fading into history. "A Painted House" is more than just a story of a farm family struggling to get by...it's the story of a culture where a young boy is forced to deal with the pressures of keeping secrets and telling lies. Personal secrets build on family secrets...lies are told to cover secrets...and the young narrator finds himself caught between his desire to protect his family, and the fear of hell fire. Readers accustomed to the action, suspense and drama of Grisham's previous works might not enjoy this one as much, but I found it to be a great story, and a great word picture of the culture I know well.

If you're expecting the usual John Grisham novel with big-city murder and action, you're half right. There's murder and action, all right, even a little sex thrown in, but it's told from the viewpoint of a 7-year old cotton farmer's son in slow-paced 1952 Arkansas.

Unlike most stories set in the South, this one does not feature wrenching black-white conflict. However, the characters clearly react to their places in society, whether they're hill folk or farmers, Mexicans or Americans, Methodists or Baptists, or even fans of baseball's American or National Leagues.

At its core, "A Painted House" explores themes of growing up, culture clashes, and a realization that the world isn't always going to be exactly as you think it will be. It's a well-told story, filled with characters that seem like old friends three pages after you meet them. It's a good book and a fine story; however, I wish the ending were not so abrupt and so cliche. But it's well worth that minor disappointment.

For some reason, John Grisham decided a while back to try his penmanship on something other than legal thrillers. This is the result, and what an achievement it is.

A Painted House is destined to become an American classic. Set in the middle of the last century in Arkansas, it is the story of Luke Chandler who lives in a cotton farm with his family. During harvest season, a truckload of Mexicans come a give a hand to the farming family. What follows is a tale of betrayal, first love, racism and lost innocence. Grisham takes us to a world far away in time and place and brings forth, in vivid details and impacable prose, a rollercoaster of a literary feast. I cannot praise this novel enough. Buy it and read it. I'm glad that Grisham has found the courage to deviate a little from his usual fiction and a write a story obviously very close to his heart.

I love John Grisham. I've read most of his work and most of them are excellent. The Chamber has to be his worst book. It's a nice tale about a death row inmate, along very similar lines of "Dead Man Walking" - but there is no intrigue or plot twists, or anything else that makes for a page-turning suspense novel. I kept waiting for something out of the blue to happen, and nothing did. I even had thoughts of things that might happen, trying to guess a potential plot twist, and nothing happened. You are introduced to characters who appear throughout the story, which you expect to become a huge player at the end of the story, only to find them dissapear without a trace. Grisham seems to be building another suspensful, mind blowing story and then 3/4 of the way through the book almost every sub plot disappears never to resurface. When I got to the end of the book I thought I was missing a few chapters because there seemed to be som much left unsaid. I would strongy urge you to stay away from this book - or at least if you read it, don't expect a suspense novel, just a nice description of what someone goes through when on death row.

The Chamber: Adam Hall is a Chicago attorney who takes on a case that could destroy his life. His racist grandfather Sam Cayhall is sitting on death row for the fatal bombing of an office building in the 1960's that paralysed a man and killed his two children. Adam senses there is more to the story and while the nation waits for his execution, Adam tries to uncover the truth with the help of many people including his own aunt who at first wants nothing to do with him or Sam, but she eventually begins to sense a need for closure and so she begins to talk of life with a father like Sam. As he gets closer to the truth he puts his life on the line. Grisham has tackled racism before, but never quite like this. Here we have a character that isn't sorry for what happened all those years ago. Making the main character someone that we cannot like makes it hard to have to read material like this, but Grisham makes the novel work and doesn't become to preachy. The only problem is that the book is really long and I think that the books content could have been trimmed. Besides that it is still another sure fire hit from the master writer.

John Grisham produces another great book here. It starts out with a bombing gone awry. One man meant to only bomb a building, but instead kills two innocent children and destroys another life. Thirty years later, one of the bombers in sitting on death row, a former Klan activist, waiting to die when his unknown grandson appears as a lawyer in hopes to rescue him.

Grisham does another excellent job describing a story, with great mastery and fluidity, of one man's last ditch effort to save his grandfather from death. Even though his emphasis on law is profound, he delves into deeper issues such as family, the question of the death penalty, and other emotional issues that one does see in other Grisham novels (with the exception of A Painted House).

What's really fascinating is that nothing in this book is not black and white. For each issue he brings up, there are good and bad points - each issue is a gray area. He describes the horrors of death row, but then juxtaposes it with the deaths of the two youngsters. Instead of making the main character purely good or evil, he mixes it a bit. Sometimes you wish the inmate would fry, sometimes you feel he's innocent.

Another good point about the book is that it's not a farfetched story, like the Street Lawyer or the Firm, it's a book that could be confused with a documentary. He doesn't revolve action or plot twists, but instead relies on the psychological aspects of all sides of a death sentence.

The only bad point, of which Grisham tends to do a lot, is he is repetitive. Many, many parts were repeated over and over again. This 700-page book could have been reduced to 500-page book without any loss of detail. Pages 200 to 400 just dragged on and on and on. The last 150 pages, though nothing exciting happens, is really intense and emotional, and is what makes this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's a slight departure for Grisham, as he delves into more psychological elements, but it works well.

Has John Grisham finally cut to the heart of the legal profession by asking the question 'what happens to a lawyer when he is put into a jungle'? Nah...But it is very amusing to read about the trials and tribulations of a burned-out, alcoholic former litigator who finds spiritual renewal while struggiling with his affliction on his journey in Brazil. Grisham paints a delightful portrait of this undisturbed wilderness and the legal issues portrayed are very interesting.

I did have a few criticisms, though. First, I disliked the portrayal of the family. In my opinion, Grisham wrote them primarily to act as thematic devices rather then contributers to the central plot. This process created a slew of characters that were very flat embodiments of the stereotype for rich potential beneficiaries (IE: greedy, financially incompetent and socially inept). Also, this is definately not Grisham's most scathing courtroom drama. It strays from his formula for using legal tribulations to create dramatic prose in favor of providing a narrative of spiritual, psychological and physical rebirth and renewal.

But the bottom line is that it is enjoyable, and I would recommend it.

After three books which lacked excitement that was not even accomplished with narrational extravagancies - although that does not say that the "Runaway Jury, The Partner or The Street-Lawyer" were bad books, it just means, that the Testament is a surprisingly fresh wind after a long period of strictly legal thrillers. After having finished reading The Partner I felt almost convinced that John Grisham was rapidly running out of ideas, all lights turned red, self-destruction on hand,T minus 30 secondes, you know what I mean. I've read every single book by JG and there are only two I absolutely don't like. His first, "A Time To Kill" (too long, too uninteresting) and "The Rainmaker" (only touching if you are a lawyer. There are 3 I love. "The Firm", "The Chamber" and "The Testament". The "Pelican Dossier", "The Client" and all books after the Rainmaker are good as well, but consider the first three as classics. The Testament takes you on a hysterical trip into Brasilian swamps, countdown clock ticking restlessly away, you join the hero, Nate, on his mission to find the heir of one very rich son-of-an-out-of-a-window-hopper. Nate's struggling with his booze-addiction, while facing existential failure. His assignment seems to be his last chance. After three books JG finally managed to create a character you could feel and absolutely identify with - even if you're not one of the hard-boiled kinda folks who drink 2 bottles of vodka in less 3 or 4 hours and wake up the next morning - alive! Buy this book in hardcover and put it next to your other JGs - but in a special place. This is a book that really deserves the "laudes".Maybe it is no coincidence that it marks the end of JGs first decade of writing.

I've haven't read any of the other Grisham novels, but when I heard what this one was about, I decided to give it a try - and was delightfully surprised! As a Christian, I am used to Christianity often being ridiculed in secular novels. Not so with this one.

Nate O'Riley, a twice-divorced alcoholic right out of rehab, must find Rachel Lane, a Christian missionary nobody seems to know, amongst the Indians in the Pantanal of Brazil. Almost like finding a needle in a haystack. The reason: Rachel has become single heir to the tenth largest fortune in the world! The encounter is destined to change both their lives forever.

Contrary to some of the other opinions here on the site, I find the ending perfect. John Grisham knew exactly what he was doing, and if they make a movie out of this book, I hope they don't change it. What absolutely startled me, but in a very positive way, was the grasp that John Grisham seems to have of Christianity and Christian missions. He seems to have received much of his information from Carl King, a Baptist missionary friend of his that lives in Campo Grande and has actually taken Grisham into the Pantanal. Finally a bestselling author who really knows what he's talking about (at least regarding information on various aspects of religion)!

So if you're looking for some food for your soul and a possible way of changing your life's perspectives, read this novel! And to John Grisham: keep up the good work!