Rating: 
Summary: Keepin the facts Straight
Review: First of all, I would like to say who wrote the Editorial on "The Chamber" must not have been paying attention to the book. Adam was a young lawyer who was trying to save his grandfather, not his uncle from death row for killing two 5 year old boys and injuring their father, not 2 men. "The Chamber I thought was a book worth reading especially if you are into the suspense and great details about ones past and future. Along with the suspense and great details Adam and his Grandfather, get to know each other more, after they have been apart for 23 years, and they each learn about each others past whether it was about Sam's past with the Ku Klux Klan or if it was about Adams past liveing without a father or a grandfather. It also tells how it was in the south in the early 1950s. So if you are into a good book with esquisite details and this review caught your attention I believe everyone should take the time and read this john Grisham novel.
Rating: 
Summary: thought provoking, but...
Review: The Chamber is the sixth John Grisham novel I have read, and, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed, although it is generally well written and in places he poses some interesting questions.The plot is very 'linear', and there is a particular aspect of the story that seems to start to develop and then just fizzles out (I can't say more than that without spoiling the plot). I found this extremely frustrating. Furthermore, some of the characters are highly caricatured, especially David McAllister and George Nugent, and Adam himself seems almost nondescript. Aunt Lee's problems were overdone. The 'thought-provoking' aspect of the book is the way Grisham describes Sam's reactions to his impending death. For me, this is the strongest aspect of the story, and I couldn't help imagining what it must have been like to be in Sam's position. Towards the end of the book Grisham seems to suggest that Sam is a victim of his bad upbringing, and this seems to cheapen the theme of forgiveness that emerges. The idea that cold-blooded murderers could ever be seen as 'victims' is, in my view, very dangerous and naive. They can be 'forgiven', but their actions should never be 'excused'. If this story is John Grisham's attempt to preach against capital punishment then, in my view, he has failed. Yes, it is useful to be aware of the effect capital punishment has on the offender's family, and also important to understand how easily the process can be exploited by unscrupulous politicians. Grisham has raised these points, and I respect him for that. But he has failed to adequately deal with the other side of the equation - what about the victims of the crime? In this book the tragic Kramers are almost 'brushed under the carpet'. This book seems to be an attempt to address a highly complex issue by means of descriptions of subjective personal reactions, and it fails to do justice to the profound moral issues surrounding capital punishment, which affect society at large. I have not made my mind up about the issue of capital punishment, and this book, although 'food for thought', has not really swayed me in any direction. A better Grisham read would be The Rainmaker ... excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Whaaa?
Review: eh, the book was okay...it took forever to get to the climax, but it was alright.
Rating:
Summary: A decent read
Review: The Chamber is the story of young Adam Hall who stands poised at the brink of a highly promising legal career. It is also the story of Sam Cayhall, racist and murderer, who now sits on death row and happens to be Adam's Grandfather. After deciding to take on his case, Adam heads south to Mississippi to come face-to-face with the Grandfather he's never met, and more than a few skeletons in the family closet. It is there that he meets his Aunt Lee, daughter of Sam and Sister to Adam's Father. As Adam meets with Sam and spends time with Lee, he gradually draws out the truth about the past, both about Sam's brutal crimes and about his own family. It soon becomes clear that some secrets are better left buried. The plot of this book moves along at a steady clip through most parts, but tends to get a little bit hung up on some legal explanations here or there. The average reader who isn't a lawyer won't be particularly interested in the intricacies of the appellate court system. Also a little bit irksome is the confusing way in which Sam Cayhall is portrayed. First he is a brutal racist killer, and then he's a sensitive soul who longs to get to know the family who abandoned him due to his actions. The reader is sent on an emotional roller coaster from anger towards his actions, to sympathy for his circumstance, and everything in between. Some may find feeling even a little bit of sympathy for Sam hard to swallow. The story runs long and has much room for editing, but it is hardly noticeable when the story does such a great job of drawing you in and keeping you truly invested and interested in Sam's fate.
Rating: 
Summary: Depth
Review: Clumsy. A pathetic attempt to convey emotion. Ending was a total disappointment. Plots lines went nowhere. The characters are impossible to relate to and feel for. The point of the book is lost in the cliched descriptions. Someone else could have done better on this topic. For this author, not bad though.
Rating: 
Summary: OK but not a realistic portrayal of a racist murderer
Review: The Chamber is well-written and has a decent storyline. As such, it is a typical John Grisham legal thriller, although, as it happens, it is not one of my favorites. The plot is relatively simple: a young lawyer discovers that a close relative of his is on Death Row for the murders of two young kids, who were accidental victims of an intended murder aimed at a civil rights worker. (The children were the intended victim's children). No question that the bomb was either intended to or likely to kill people. Just not the two kids. The young protagonist then resolves to defend the murderer pro bono to try to prevent his execution. The problem with The Chamber, in my opinion, is that it takes the racist murderer of two small boys, and spends the first half of the novel making this man out to be a wretchedly hateful racist. Now, this is probably accurate in the sense that the people who perpetrated the murders of civil rights workers in the 1950s-1960s certainly were by and large like that. But then, in the last portion of the novel, the novel does about a 150 degree turn and this man more or less becomes a flawed saint, who flails away at the injustice of the death penalty, and we are all supposed to realize that since this "saint" is about to fall "victim" to the death penalty, the death penalty is somehow unjust. It just didn't make sense to me. This guy deserved to die and is precisely the type of wretch that proponents of the death penalty have persuasively argued merit such punishment. The novel would have made its point much more effectively had the person sentenced to death been wrongly convicted--in my opinion this would have made the novel much more compelling. Oh, sure (**very minor spoiler**) it turns out that another person is much more involved in the deaths of the two kids than the convicted person, but that doesn't change my feeling that the convict deserved his punishment, and that this caused Grisham to miss his point by a Tennessee mile. The Chamber is not a bad read for all that, although it is too long and too preachy. Grisham could have made his point much more effectively than he does here, and also written a better and more compelling novel by doing so.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Eductional? Grusome? Great Book!
Review: The Chamber is a book that can't be put down and left unread! It gives you a true look into the racial issues from the 1960's. The detail that John Grisham gives in this book would not be recommended for the "weak" stomach! As you read the book, as The Chamber goes along, the grusome details become very clear. The best book for a true education that's put into novel form to make the story "true to life"! Be prepared! The book is great!
Rating:
Summary: THIS READER IS ALWAYS A HIT
Review: John Grisham's books are never hit or miss, they're always hits and so is this audio version of The Chamber, which centers on young lawyer Adam Hall. Affiliated with the most prestigious law firm in Chicago, Hall jeopardizes his career to defend a death row inmate, a rascist and former KKK member who is also his grandfather. Suspense mounts as Hall investigates a 1967 Klan bombing, uncovers a series of rigged trials, and digs up family secrets that were best left buried. Actor Beck who has performed previous audio thrillers by Grisham gives an able nuanced performance. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Very Boring
Review: I like all of J.G.'s books except this one. I couldn't even finish it!I thought the plot of the story was slow and it put me to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: A long and enjoyable ride!
Review: This book is incredible, it actually makes you feel sorry for a man who is a disgusting and deplorable specimen of an individual. The ending is realistic, not fairy-tale and I respect that. As an author of non-fiction myself, I appreciate a little reality in fiction. Kasey Hamner, M.S., author of "Whose Child?" and "Adoption Forum"
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