Rating: 
Summary: The Testament
Review: John Grisham's book The Testament is a fine novel. Its well defined characters and fast moving plot make it an instant favorite for anyone who enjoys reading. From the scheming ways of a lousy father to the selflessness of his missionary daughter this book is a great read. The settings change rapidly but with good cause and the multitude of circling lawyers changes direction in the blink of an eye making this book one to watch out for.
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Summary: Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This is one of the best books that I have ever read!!! If you like John Grisham, then this book definelty shows him at his best. This book is one to read again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: Sometimes I got tired of the jungle. I wanted to read more about the miserable lives of the Phelan clan (interesting name...felan...fallen) and about Andys life's turn-around.The book spans a little over two months and in that you spend most of your time on the Paraguay River in a swamp called the Pantal. There's really no "Girsham" courtroom drama which is what I think most people expect from one of his novels. If it weren't for the jungle advanture, during which nothing really happens...well, some things happen but we move on quickly) this would be a pretty boring short-story. Good weekend or vacation read, especially if you like South America.
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Summary: Great Modern Redemption Story with Jungle Adventure
Review: People will pooh-pooh the ending and the jaded will say "oh yeah, sure," but I dug this story. After my second reading, I have to conclude that this is one of Grisham's best efforts. Maybe I overidentify with Nate O'Riley, maybe I hunger for substantive spiritual goals, maybe I wish I had a friend like Nate's pastor buddy. For whatever reason, this tale of fall and redemption with its fleshed-out supporting cast just really scratched my itch. Give it a try, and let the taste get into you.
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Summary: One of Grisham's best
Review: This book proves the excellence of Grisham's talent. He makes the most amazing plot that you will ever read. He also captivates you throughout the book with twists and turns. This is one of the many books that everybody would have to read that Grisham has written.
The first chapter was one of the most exciting introduction to a book that I have ever read. After reading the first two pages of the book, I was thinking that it would turn out in a different way. Was I ever wrong about my expectaions? It gave a new twist to the story for me.
I also enjoyed that this was not just another courtroom and legal book that Grisham has previously written. It showed me that Grisham could still think of different ways to keep his readers on their toes. Once you think that you know how he is going to write the book, he goes another way. To me, that is what made this book so exciting. I wasn't expecting the way that he wrote it.
There was really nothing that I disliked about the book. It was a book that I had to keep reading everyday. There was not the usual stopping for a couple of days, then picking it back up and starting again. It was one that I was constantly wondering, what is going to happen next.
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Summary: Gimme the money, Rachel :)
Review: The Testament is primarily about Nate O'Riley's (a lawyer whose career has gone sour due to his alcoholism) 'adventure' in locating the sole heir to an $11b inheritance. Little has been said about Rachel (the heir) & little has been seen about her. However, her presence hovers & influences not only Nate's faith but mine as well. For those who have already read the book, we all know what happened to the money. For those who are about to read the book---well, what happened was really unimaginable! Similar to the The Street Lawyer, this lawyer-story has minimal courtroom scenes & centered on one's morality & faith. However, what rendered The Testament more believable was Nate's struggle to overcome his weaknesses & fears. & although his life was converted (in some sort of way), it was not too outlandish (i.e. living in the Brazilian jungles. But just like any Tom, Dick or Harry's, he continues to live in civiliization with all of its comforts, but only, 'modestly'.
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Summary: This one is well worth it
Review: Sometimes I really enjoy John Grisham. Other times I'm not as receptive. But this time I was hooked right from the first page. Grisham develops his characters with great authenticity as well as the plot.
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Summary: Nothing like true family hatred
Review: A rich old man concocts a plan to remove his family from his will in the most curious way. What's left is a hectic aftermath where the family is suing, and the search for the missing sole heir takes a recovering alcoholic to the depths of the Amazon rainforest. A nice location piece, with action, vivid descriptions, and the usual mixture of Grisham law, is a good read. Grisham mixes in his great mix of characters, a great description of the Amazon and a removed Native American Brazilian tribe, and the intricacies of inheritance laws. While the plot moves quickly, there's not much to capture the attention. The reader shares no sympathies with any of the characters, and some characters are too one sided. At some points, the descriptions get a little dull and overwhelming, especially concerning the family and their lawyers. I'd like this book, but somehow it was unsatisfying. It's got the classic Grisham story telling substance, but it's too long for such a simple plot.
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Summary: The Testament - exciting
Review: The testament, a contemporary fiction novel by John Grisham, begins in the office of the world's 10th richest man, Troy Phelan. Troy is an extremely wealthy entrepenuer neering the end of his life. Troy is being pressed by his greedy heirs, including three wives and six children, to give all of the inheritence to the heirs. Thinking that this was exactly what was going to happen, all the children and wives gather in a room with cameras and lawyers to evaluate Troy and allow him to sign his last will that would split all of Troy's 11 billion dollars evenly among each of the heirs. As Troy undergoes a scrutinous evaluation by three lawyers, no one can keep their attention on anything but the 80 page will that sits beside Troy's arm. The evaluation is over in less than an hour and everyone in the room watches as troy signs his last will. Everything seems perfect for the children and wives. Each of them would become instant millionares... only as soon as Troy was gone. When everone in the room leaves besides Troy's faithful but greedy butler, and two of Troy's trusted lawyers, the unexpected happens. From his pocket Troy pulls two pieces of folded yellow paper. Staring into the camera, Troy reads his REAL final last will. After he completes this, Troy walks to the nearest window and plunges fourteen stories to his death. The heirs see Troy's lifeless body laying on the ground as they walk out. Shock hits them immediately, but is comforted by the fact that they are now millionares and Troy's death only sped up the process. Unbeknownst to the heirs, Troy's most trusted lawyer Stafford is still upstairs, and though shocked by Troy's death, is even more shocked by what his last will and testament read.
"To Miss Rachel Lane I give all of my estate, she is a missionary somewhere in the Pantanal in Brazil. And to my wives and granchildren - nothing. They have already been adequatly provided for."
The book goes on as Stafford appoints a fellow lawyer colleuge to find Rachel Lane and inform her that she is now the 10th richest woman in the world. Through trials and conflifts of all sort, the lawyer finds Rachel Lane, only to learn that she is not interested in the money. The heirs all contest the will and angrily attempt to regain whatever they can of Troy's money that should have been theirs. With nothing to stand on but an insanity accusation that would render Troy's will invalid, the heirs battle for Rachel's money. Ultimately they only gain a small portion of his inheritance, less than they ever thought they'd be given.
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Summary: Choices as a Writer, Choices as a Reader
Review: In "The Testament" John Grisham writes, "Nate took a large spoonful of stew...then began the story...(he) went from chapter to chapter."
That is how Grisham tells a story and why I, as a writer, chose to read it. I wanted to study exactly how he tells his story, chapter by chapter. One of my writing teachers from UCLA, Michael Levine, once said, "Grisham is a master at setting up scenes." I am a master at taking good advice so I decided to check out his technique.
We all struggle with first chapters. Grisham's is masterful. He uses first person which was a bit of a surprise for a novel in which courtrooms and legal finagling are cornerstones. But what a way to get up close and personal, to draw a reader in. In this chapter Grisham sets up an ideal legal situation, a ploy that sets the tone for the entire book. He also does something very daring. He kills off the person from whose viewpoint the story is being told. Yes, the first person narrator dies at the end of the first chapter leaving the reader wondering what the heck happened and how he is supposed to get from first chapter to last with his aging, recalcitrant first person storyteller dead and gone. Grisham is willing to do all of this in order to get the reader in a stranglehold and never let him go but he risks creating exactly the opposite effect.
In the second chapter Grisham jumps to the more usual third person and never returns. This all works because, though Troy Phelan, the original narrator, has committed suicide, the entire book will still revolves around the machinations that he has set in motion and we still get the third person we have come to expect with this kind of story for the rest of the book. Grisham took a risk when there was a benefit to doing so. I also liked that Grisham used symbols that were unobtrusive. Nate, the alcoholic protagonist who has seen way too much water flow under the bridge is out on the adventure of his lifetime and observes, behind his boat, "a view of the wake and the muddy brown water bubbling behind him." Don't even suggest that this is accidental. It is intended for sure, but it seeps into the reader's subconscious instead of smacking him between the eyes.
Grisham's work is not intended to be terrifically literary. He is short on symbol, metaphor, and philosophy. Some would argue that this is all to the good and it is certainly one of the reasons his scenes move along quickly.
Unlike some of my favorite authors (like John Updike) Grisham's vocabulary is very familiar. It would be unlikely for a reader to find one word (I did; it was "scintilla") that he or she isn't absolutely sure about it. I personally think there is nothing wrong with stretching the reader a bit and I don't think it necessarily slows down any but the most exacting of readers. Grisham, I think, chooses not to do this in the interest of perfect scene structure and a fast-moving story.
I also find Grisham's work short on detail. It is not because he can't do it. In one place he notes that, "blood filled in the mortar cracks and ran in perfect right angles down a gentle slope." Can't get more vivid than that. I think he chooses not to use his gift for seeing detail in order to keep his chapters and scenes moving along. One is sacrificed for the other. Which you choose, as a writer, depends on what you are trying to do. It's pretty much the same when making a choice as a reader. What do you want more? A fast moving story or something to chew on for years to come? Choices. Choices. It's all about choices. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place" --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
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