The Street Lawyer

Rating:
Summary: I understand where the negative comments are coming from but
Review: ...I still liked reading this one. It's one of Grisham's lesser works and a bit too preachy but if you're not looking for anything special it WILL keep your interest. A good, rather mediocre read that's entertaining and not like Grisham's other works, which says something...

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: Dive into the world of homelessness in Washington DC? It could have been interesting but it's not. Rather, the book tries to pin guilt and point fingers. Grisham can do better than that!

Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt
Review: Grisham has created characters that you'll care about. It was an interesting story on homelessness and how one can go from riches to rags instead of rags to riches story. If you enjoyed this story, then I know that you'll love the novel, LUST OF THE FLESH by Beverly Rolyat. A gripping, compelling pageturning novel of an district attorney who finds himself involved in love, lust, betrayal, murder, mystery, deceit, suspense, romance and sex galore. What a juicy novel. Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: Is this book really written by Grisham??
Review: I really love most of his works, especially like 'The time to kill', 'The firm' which are both great novels.
Fast gripping and good plot. Enough explanation for each character's situation and motivation. Each character got soul, and personality.
But this one, 'The street lawyer', it's a failure, I would say. Characters are not realistic, and not attractive at all. For me, Michael(the main character)is just a loser who got "paper-thin" character. I needed to straggle to understand and follow his thinking trail through the whole book.

Grisham could have done much better job than this.

Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: I stopped reading John Grisham because I thought the books got formulaic, but I recently picked up The Street Lawyer and was pleasantly surprised. It was admittedly predictable, but I related to the main character and the plot is engaging. I also thought it portrayed big law firms accurately (although cynically :) ) This isn't classic literature, but it's a quick and interesting read.

Rating:
Summary: The Street Lawyer
Review: I thought The Street Lawyer was an excellent book. It starts off with a great beginning that really grasps your interest, and then never lets go. It has a great story, and moral. It really makes you think about what is important in life. Grisham does and outstanding job of portraying the big law firm lifestyle, and then does and even better job of getting into the lifes of the homeless and pro bono "street lawyers." He really brings the life of a homeless person into a new view in this book. Homelessness is not just about being without a home, it is the lack of so many things the majority of society takes for granted, such as running water, the saftey of walls to protect from the viscious wether elements, and most importantly food. Grisham really demonstrates this lifestyle of surviving whatever life puts in your way.

Rating:
Summary: A Fairy Tale!
Review: It is conceivable to believe that a high-powered young lawyer will have an epiphany and will join a firm that helps the downtrodden, but that so many of these street people have a sense of integrity and responsibility is just not credible. Neither is it credible when a major law firm relents and aids, at least in spirit, the people who they have so recently despaired of. Not one of Grisham's best, although it was a good read.



Rating:
Summary: Not Much There
Review: Paper-thin characters populate Grisham's legal story about a big-shot Washington DC lawyer who finds a conscience and becomes an advocate for the city's homeless. The plot is a predictable formulaic story of, yawn, personal redemption and reexamining one's prejudices. The author seems to wear his own preconceptions a little too close to the surface when he repeatedly reveals his own latent racism and fear of the poor. The book is a page-turner in a pop novel sort of way, but if you think you've figured out the ending about halfway through, well, you have. No need to read further.

Rating:
Summary: Ok, Nothing special
Review: The Street Lawyer is about a young lawyer, who comes close to death when a homeless man holds him hostage, and his sudden changes of lifestyle and thinking. He quits his current job as a hot-shot lawyer after is encounter and becomes extremely into helping the poor. When he finds out about some wrong-doing at his old law firm, he steals a file that tells all. He thinks he got away with it until he gets into a bad car crash and the file is found by the wrong people. The main character is Michael Brock, who begins the story a lawyer in an unhappy marriage. After his encounter with the crazed homeless man, he realizes that homelessness is a problem in Washington DC, where he lives. He joins a small firm that helps only the poor. He and his wife later separate and he moves into an apartment where he sleeps on the floor in an attempt to relate to his customers. Obviously, the book's title is The Street Lawyer because that is what he becomes. I didn't like this book because it was over-the-top dramatic and preachy. I have never read a book by John Grisham, and I guess I was expecting much more. The ending of the book is the worst part; it simply cuts off on the part that is remotely interesting. Before I read this book, I hadn't thought of poverty being in the streets as much as it probably is in the US, and this is the only thing I've learned from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad - but also not his best
Review: This book had a very decent start (in fact it was excellent). However, once the book started to get going it started to drag.

This book reads pretty fast, and makes you think a little bit about the plight of the homeless, etc. However, it gets a little "preachy" through the text.

All in all, it's decent - but that's about it.