Rating: 
Summary: Best Grisham yet
Review: I've read all of his books and this one is the best yet. The storyline is great and the ending is totally unpredictable. I had to read it twice because I couldn't believe my eyes. It's definitly one to add to your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good Book
Review: Troy Phelan is one of the richest men in the world. He is worth 11 billion dollars and is soon to die. He has many children and he has to split his estate evenly. He has a meeting at his house and his family makes sure he is mentally competent so he can sign his will legally. He passes it and signs his 11 page will. Soon, he starts to write a note.(Actually a new will) He finishes it and jumps off the balcony and kills himself. This will says to pay off all his families debts then give the rest to a girl who became a missionary and moved to Brazil.(An unknown daughter) All of the children go out and buy all they want because they think hundreds of millions of dollars will be at their doorstep soon. The lawyers set out to find Rachel to tell her of her award. They decide to send a man, Nate, whose life is in total disarray, who has just gotten out of Rehab(Alcohol & drugs, not the first time). He goes to Brazil and finds Rachel(Troy's daughter) with a remote tribe. After some time, he becomes a part of the tribe and he gets a brand new life. He gets to start over. The testament, which means the final will, is a fitting title for this book because it's all started by a will written by one of the richest men in the world. This leads to the change in Nate's life. This book was a mediocre book. It was slow moving at parts, but Grisham's description of his characters was excellent. Also, it is quite unbelievable that someone can forget everything and their life turns out for the best.
Rating:
Summary: The Testament Is a Life Affirming Story of Human Transformat
Review: Mr. Grisham's writing is filled with a wondrous sense of expanding awareness. His characters are exposed to realities beyond their own current grasp and they are evolved by those new truths. This story leads the character to what is really important in life, the affirmation of life. Thank you Mr. Grisham. Bill Douglas --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
Rating:
Summary: Immaculate
Review: The Testament was the first book I ever read by John Grisham. The novel captivated me and carried me on a pleasant journey. When it comes to books my fastidious nature sometimes forces me to overlook impeccable material. After reading "The Testament" I've been on a Grisham binge to read everything he has touched. If you have seen the movies this does not preclude the suspense and enjoyment you'll encounter by reading the novel. From my experience, books are often significantly better than the movie. Read "The Testament" you'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre story, but interesting travel adventure description
Review: The very beginning of this book starts out great and then goes downhill pretty quickly. The aspect of travel to South America keeps the book afloat, but the characters are nothing special. I read the hardcover version and on the inside flap it said something to the fact that 'Nate O'Riley's latest release from rehab was going to be "murder"'. Considering there is no murder at all in this story, I found this to be misleading and dissapointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant start, but no idea for the rest
Review: Another story from Mr Grisham about the volunteers fighting for the idea and about the lawyers willing to give up their millions for this idea and I will never buy his book anymore. Great beginning with the old millionaire creating his intrigue, but then... big disappointment - there is no intrigue at all (exactly like in the "Street lawyer"). No idea how to develop the plot. Looks like Mr Grisham has just fallen in love with the Brazilian forests and wanted to write something about that. I was reading it and waiting for something to happen and suddenly... I got to the end. Where is the plot, intrigue and suspense from the "Pelican Brief" or "Partner"?
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Page-Turner
Review: Wow! This book had me until the very end. What a page turner! I was home sick one day and I put away the entire thing in one sitting! The first fifty of so pages, where Troy Phelan speaks in the 1st person, are unbelievable. My favorite Grisham.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing...
Review: The idea is an intriguing one. Multi-billionaire Troy Phelan is old and lonely. He built his fortune while neglecting his wives and children. Now, losers all, they are just waiting for him to die so they can divide the money. He has one last surprise in store for them, however. A surprise will leaves everything to an unknown, illegitimate child who lives as a missionary in Brazil. The legal maneuvering as Phelan's lawyer battles the family over the estate is entertaining and satisfying. It's difficult to feel much sympathy for this bunch and their conniving lawyers are even worse.Other aspects of this tale are less satisfactory. The selfless missionary, Rachel, lives in the Pantanal while pursuing her desire to foist her religious convictions off on a bunch of stone age natives. The lawyer sent to find her, Nate, is a weak personality. He, too, has devoted his life to his career while neglecting wives and children. He is also attempting his fourth recovery from binges on drugs and alcohol. Poor Nate! He's stuck in the same rat race as all the rest of us, but he just can't cope. Nate finds Rachel in the Pantanal. The Pantanal is not the Amazon rainforest. It is a huge, swampy area located further south. If you are expecting a jungle adventure, you are in for a disappointment. The journey has its difficulties, but they have more to do with storms and mosquitos than hostile natives and dangerous carnivores. I really didn't find it all that harrowing. Nate is taken with the relaxed pace of life and the natural beauty surrounding him. Who wouldn't be. On the other hand, these laid back people live in sqaulid, miserable conditions. The life is only idyllic as long as you don't get bitten by a poisonous snake or become sick and find yourself in the local hospital. Then it's pretty awful. Nate drifts along, does what he has to, and ultimately comes out smelling like a rose, just as Rachel assures him he will if he just trusts in God. How nice. Pretty hard to swallow, though. If you or I just sat around and waited for everything to come out the way we want, we would end up as homeless people. Grisham is a competant writer, and he does his usual capable job of developing his plot. At times, though, this story is just weak. Rachel, predictably, doesn't want the fortune. She can't even get enough money to buy the drugs she needs to treat the natives, but fails to see the advantages of her good fortune. Understadably, she wants to avoid the complications, but, for someone who really wanted to help people, it wouldn't be hard to find a way around the difficulties. I have read several of Grisham's other books. I have generally found them interesting and fast-paced. This one was often slow, the characters silly, the outcome obvious and too easy.
Rating:
Summary: Do We Have to Wait for the Sequel to Learn the Ending?
Review: Grisham strecthes his writing muscles by leaving behind his familiar Southern courtroom and takes the reader on a trip to Brazil. An eccentric billionaire looking to die, a burnt-out litigator just out of rehab and a woman who left the modern world to work in Brazil are all brought together by the secret of the Testament. Promising start leads to entertaining content, which turns down a dead-end street. I think the conclusion of this book (or lack thereof) could have been better thought out.
Rating:
Summary: Thriller........
Review: All of John Grisham's books have been bestsellers. This novel is a most definite page turner. I like the ways he describes how the Brazilians live. John Grisham definitly wrote this book with an intriging plot that will get and hold your attention. In this book there are many twists and turns and everything else that could possibly happen. This book is very fast paced. Over all this book kept my intrest. Don't be fooled by the title you don't know what it means until the end....
|
