Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Grisham does it again
Review: The Client, by John Grisham is a good, very entertaining read. Grisham does a nice job of writing with the main character, an 11 year old boy named Mark Sway. Mark is very intelligent, yet at times he also shows his youth. Grisham does a good job of mixing Mark's youthness and older like qualities, and doesn't rely on either too much. Reggie Love, Mark's lawyer, is also a wonderful character, who you can really sink your teeth into because of her troubled past and hopes for the future. The Mafia is additionally displayed well. Some of Grisham's works are kind of predictable, but to me, the Client really wasn't. Sure, Mark will probably make it through all this madness, but the question asked till the end was, HOW? I gave it 4 stars though because I did have a couple of minor complaints. After the intial exciting chapter, the book to me dragged a bit for a time, picking up solidly though shortly. I also felt the ending was a little too subdued, and would have like to have known more (what happened ultimately to all the characters involved). No, John Grisham's works are not classic literature, and The Client certainly isn't an exception. Yet for those of us who just enjoy a very entertaining, meaty, page turning, excellent read, John Grisham knows how to push all the right buttons. And with The Client, Grisham certainly does that.
Rating: 
Summary: The Client
Review: With the one two sucker punch of "The Firm" and The Pelican Brief" it wasn't surprising to learn that Warner Bros Pictures paid allot of money to adapt the next Grisham novel into a movie. Thing is he hadn't even written it yet. The 4th book from the magnificent author is a suspenseful story about a child in danger and a female lawyer who must protect his rights and ultimately his life. Mark and his little brother Ricky were sharing a forbidden cigarette in a weedy lot outside of Memphis when they first saw the shiny black Lincoln pull up. Inside a man is trying to kill himself, but Mark keeps stopping that from happening. When he is caught and dragged inside the car Mark is scared, but the lawyer does not harm him. He kills himself with a single gunshot wound to the head. His last words are what make Mark a wanted man as a shady District Attorney Roy Foltrig tries to pry the vital information that Mark has locked inside his brain. Mark hires a lawyer for one U.S. dollar named Reggie love a lawyer all of six years who takes his case and then ultimately endangers them both in a last ditch gamble to end the terror. The films pulse is maddening and the suspense is relentless as are the film's villain's, members of a mob family determined to kill Mark to keep him quiet. The novel takes a big risk in centring the story around an 11-year-old child, but it pays off big time. A great thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: Expected so much more
Review: Rather disappointing after the fast pace and cliffhanger action of The Pelican Brief. I don't mind stereotypes and ham acting (see, I keep thinking about his books as movies) but I want some thrill and suspense to compensate. I have no use for flat characters in an amateur kid psychology novel. Halfway through the book I decided to quickly read ahead and see how it finished and I'm glad I didn't waste more time on it.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham Prevails Again
Review: I am no stranger to the writings of John Grisham. After reading A Time to Kill I really took a liking to his style of writing, but after reading The Client he has become one of my favorite authors. As a possible future criminal justice student, this book is was right up my alley due to it's setting in a law atmosphere, yet, held the suspense needed to keep my attention throughout the book.
At the beginning of the book Romey, a lawyer defending an accused murderer, is sitting in the woods and commits suicide by shooting himself in the mouth. As Romey committed suicide he is watched by two young boys Mark Sway and Mark's little brother, Ricky. Before Romey commits suicide he talks to Mark about how his one client, "the Blade" was guilty of murdering Senator Boyette. Romey, also went on to say that the body of the senator was buried under Romey's boat in his garage. After Romey committed his act, Mark went straight to the police with his information. All the while, the mafia is aware that Mark knows the story behind the murder and threatens the young boy and his family. Mark gets scared about talking to the FBI and refuses to speak a word. He is thrown in jail but soon hires a lawyer, Reggie Love. Mark only trusts Reggie and tries very hard not to tell the feds anything about what he heard in the woods from Romey. Reggie, although a young lawyer, does a very good job at keeping Mark from having to tell the FBI much about what he heard as well. Mark decides to go see if the body is really where Romey said. Mark convinces Reggie to go with him. They find the body under the boat, however, "the Blade" and his buddies are there as well. To find out if Reggie and Mark escape without harm from the Mafia or get killed you will have to read the book.
The character development in this book was flawless. One was let into Mark's world and saw why he was such a strong character. He was not willing to back down to the police. He was so strong from his background having an abusive father and motherless home. One was even told a lot about insignificant characters. I did not feel that this story was very believable. I do not think that an eleven year old trailer living boy would be as smart as he was portrayed in this book. He acted as if he new the law like the back of his hand. Very unlikely even for a boy of my age to know the law like this young chap did. However, believable or not the story was still good.
The ending was so predictable is was embarrassing to Grisham. It was no surprise at all what was going to happen to the boy. From the get go Reggie, although a young lawyer, should have thought of the ending before. It was pretty elementary. If the boy was as smart as he was, he should have known what he could do as well.
Overall, I thought the book was really good. It was boring at times and the ending brought the book down some. However most of the time the pages went by quickly. I found myself not wanting to put the book down. I understood the words used in the book about law, however, I do not think that many teenagers would know all the words unless they have had a law class. Due to this I do not recommend The Client to teenagers. Rather, this book would appeal to people in there twenties to forties due to its judicial aspects. I give this book a rating of a 4.0 due to my interest in the law yet not a 5.0 due to the ending and unbelievable aspects. Yet again Grisham prevails as a great author.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging, Yet Unrealistic
Review: The Client by John Grisham is most definitely the kind of book you can't just stop reading, even if your tired. From the very first chapter, the plot is enticing to the point that you find yourself just having to read on to find out what will happen next.
The main character, 11 year old Mark, starts the story by trying to be a good guy. Ironically enough, his good intentions only lead him to trouble with both the authorities and the outlaws. And the more he runs from one side, the closer he comes to the other. Finally, as he twists and turns to escape from the situation all together, he finds himself forced to make the impossible choice between life on the run or life in prison. In addition to attention-grabbing, I also found the story to be funny in certain parts and still touching at others.
However, by the end of the story, I thought the actions and emotional stability of the boy became too unrealistic given he was supposed to be only 11 years old. I also felt that although the boy's dilemma was resolved, certain other important characters and their situations where not dealt with to full conclusion. I suppose Grisham could have wanted to leave room for speculation, but, more likely, I suspect he thought the implications he gave to the conclusions of these other affairs were sufficient. I think, though, the book would have been better had he followed through with every aspect of the plot and its characters. Hence, I rate the book at 3 stars despite the fact that in all honesty I couldn't put it down until I finished it.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham, You Could Do Better
Review: Grisham writes good books, but this one is exceptional. This is an exception to his other books. This book is INCREDIBLY unrealistic. This book is very good, but unrealistic. Don't let my opinion change your mind. If you want this book, go ahead. Just be prepared, it is not realistic at all.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book was set in a little town. This was a very well written book about a teen who watches a man kill himself. This is not such a big deal, until they find out that he is defending a man on trial for the murder of Senator Boyd Boyette. The little boy and the murder are the only people now that know where the body is buried. The boy is being threatned and questioned by many police officers. The boy has grown up in a trailer park with his mother and his little brother. He hires an attorney. The attorney defends him and then she outsmarts the authorties. They tried to question him without the consent of his mother. The ending of the story is the best. It was a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: This is a cool book!
Review: I really thought that this was a cool book! I had seen parts of the movie first and I think that that might have made it seem more real. I really enjoyed this book and I recomend it to mystery lovers!
Rating: 
Summary: unimpressed
Review: I'm a college student studying abroad in Germany, and starved for some english reading material I picked up The Client in a bookstore here. I had never read any Grisham but there isn't much english selection in German book stores. Frankly, I was unimpressed. The story is halfway decent, but Grisham has no identifiable style to speak of. It reads like a 3rd grade essay on the pyramids. The characterization is forced and contrived. There's not one character with any depth, and even their names are ridiculous. As a study abroad student I can't help but feel ashamed that our country somehow made this book a bestseller. If you have a reading level above that of a 10 year old, pick up a John Irving novel, or even a Harry Potter book! Save yourself from the mind-numbing nothingness that is John Grisham.
Rating:
Summary: The Client - Graphic Characters
Review: Eleven year old Mark Sway witnesses a suicide with his eight year old brother, Ricky, in the woods behind their trailer house. The suicide, Jerome Clifford, was a criminal lawyer who had built his reputation by defending the Mafia. Clifford knew many secrets of his clients and one secret of Barry "the Blade" Muldanno, one of his clients, drives him paranoid enough to suicide. However, before committing this act, Jerome Clifford thrusts Mark into his car and imparts this secret to him. Clifford reveals to Mark that Barry Muldanno is guilty of the murder of Senator Boyd Boyette and goes far enough to tell where the body is hidden. Clifford had been handling this case and the public prosecutors, together with the FBI, had been searching futilely for the body for approximately six months by then. Ricky witnesses this whole scene and goes into trauma. The police find out about the suicide and discover that Mark was in the car and knows about the Senator's case. Ricky is admitted into the hospital and the FBI insists on discussing with Mark about what Clifford had disclosed to him. Mark gets anxious and goes to find a lawyer for himself and his family. Fortuitously, he finds Reggie Love and hires her. Then, the Mafia finds out that Mark knows about the body and threatens him by setting his house on fire. The FBI tries every legitimate and illegitimate strategy to get Mark to talk. However, he, with the help of his lawyer, keeps them off. They put him in jail to intimidate him; nevertheless, he manages to escape and sets up his own plan with Reggie to achieve the best for his family.I feel that the best point of this novel is its character development. All the characters are extremely realistic and believable. Moreover, Mark's character shows his strength due to his unfortunate background along with his innocence as an eleven-year-old child. This appealed to me since I am still a child as well. In addition, I feel Grisham made a good choice about his subject. His books are mainly about law, lawyers, and their serious cases, since he was a lawyer before he turned writer; however, this novel focuses more on the child who has to face all this at such a tender age. Although the novel uses a lot of legal jargon, the language used is not too difficult and the book's emotional aspects increase its quality. I feel that the story is well paced and has a good flow. I love the way Grisham uses the pace to build up the excitement to a climax and keep the reader glued to the book. He increases it gradually making the book more than just thrilling by the climax. However, I felt that the ending spoiled the story. It was too flat and dull by Grisham's standards. This is a small passage from John Grisham's The Client. It shows his writing style and lets you experience some of the novel for yourself. This passage shows a small bit of the interrogation the FBI tries. I chose this passage since it shows how well Grisham is able to characterize his characters with the amount of detail he provides. Truman looked at his notepad, and went first. "Good. You told the Memphis Police that Jerome Clifford was already dead when you and Ricky found the car yesterday. Now, Mark, is this really the truth?" He sort of sneered toward the end of the question as if he knew damned well it wasn't the truth.
Mark fidgeted and looked straight ahead. "Do I have to answer the question?"
"Sure you do."
"Why?"
"Because we need to know the truth, Mark. We're the FBI, and we're investigating this thing, and we must know the truth."
"What happens if I don't answer?"
"Oh, lots of things. We might be forced to take you down to our office, in the backseat of the car of course, no handcuffs, and ask some really tough questions. May have to bring along your mother too."
"What will happen to my mother? Can she get in trouble?"
"Maybe."
"What kind of trouble?"
They paused for a second and exchanged nervous looks. They had started on shaky round, and things were getting shakier by the minute. Children are not to be interviewed without first talking to the parents.
But what the hell. His mother didn't show. He had no father. He was a poor kid, and here he was, all alone. It was perfect, really. They couldn't ask for a better situation. Just a couple of quick questions.
McThune cleared his throat and went into a deep frown. "Mark, have you ever heard of obstruction of justice?"
"I don't think so."
"Well, it's a crime, okay. A federal offence. A person who knows something about a crime, and withholds this information from the FBI or the police, might be found guilty of obstruction of justice."
"What happens then?"
"Well, if found guilty, such a person might be punished. You know, sent to jail or something like that."
"So, if I don't answer your questions, me and mom might go to jail?" The passage above shows many features of Grisham's style used by him for characterization. Firstly, his casual style of presenting his characters' thoughts assists you in connecting with the characters. His method of describing his characters' actions, allows you to clearly imagine the scene. Thirdly, Grisham uses dialogue skillfully for characterization and he truly brings his characters to life. Every character has a different style of expressing themselves to other characters. These small details bring the story to life, construct a bond with the reader, and create bestsellers. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who enjoys thrillers or sentimental stories. Although this is a legal thriller, it is also a story about a poor child and his relationship with his family and his caring lawyer, Reggie Love. Furthermore, it even has underlying themes of love and innocence that show up subtly in many places.
|
