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Summary: This is Grisham?
Review: This is the first Grisham book I have read. It started slow. Around page 80 the story got interesting and remained that way to the end, although nothing was gripping. As a lawyer, I liked the basic story line. However, if this book is typical of Grisham's writing, then in my view his success is in his ability to spin an good story line, not in his actual fiction "writing" ability, which seems to be quite mediocre.
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Summary: All Hail the King
Review: Yes! Finally mr. grisham is back with a juicy book! This book carries the story of a young lawyer faced with ethics, money, romance. The main character is believable and I felt compelled to see the affect of his decisions. I really didn't know how it would end, which was great!
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Summary: not bad...but not the best
Review: I was quite excited to pick up the new Grisham book, but must admit I was disappointed in what I read. I found the book, on the whole, predictable and dry, and while I normally read straight throuogh his books this one I put down halfway through and then only idly picked it up again to finish. In my opinion, it wasn't quite up to snuff and not really worth the read.
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Summary: Another rags to riches
Review: This is a pretty good book, a quick summer read. Book races to the finish with rags to riches, back to rags familiar theme.The main character goes from nothing to a 100 million dollars in less than a year. How do you lose that much money, well read it and find out. Hint, those Gulfstream's are expensive. Gives a decent account of tort law and how these lawyers are the only one getting rich, while the people they are helping are pawns in the game between lawyers and big business.
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Summary: Grisham is still the king
Review: If you've stopped reading John Grisham for whatever reason, it is time that you pick up one of his new ones and continue to enjoy. His writing never seems to stop entertaining and showing the reader another hidden aspect of the law. The King of Torts, though, is a little longer than what I expected. Only after finishing the book did I see the need for the entire length. The King of Torts is a great read and as comfortable as a favorite chair.
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Summary: Easily Misunderstood
Review: I think a lot of readers are missing what Grisham is up to. He is no longer interested in merely contriving a mystery, but in delving into the ambiguous nature of contemporary law and morality. In "King Of Torts" we find ourselves watching--and knowing it's coming--a human traffic accident. And it's never clear which side we're on, even at the end. Do we applaud the hero or condemn him? Would we want to sue a big corporation if we were injured by a faulty product? How much is it worth? Are greedy lawyers the enemy? Well, if they are, who else would represent us? It's not always easy to figure out American justice, but this is a fun way to learn about torts and [waste] a weekend at the same time.
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Summary: Boring-Predictable
Review: I've been disillusioned with John Grisham for quite some time now. His latest books have just not measured up to the earlier ones, which feature thrilling plots and characters that you care about. This isn't one of those earlier books. Frankly, the minute that Clay Carter "sold his soul" for 15 million dollars (in the first few chapters of the book), I could predict the plot and the character development in two seconds. And I was pretty dead on. The rest of the book is a dreary bore; attempting to give the reader a lesson in ethics, integrity, and doing the right thing. The problem is that Grisham is using Clay Carter, who has just taken 15 million for participating in a massive cover up with a big-wig pharmacutical company. With that small problem stuck in my mind, it was totally impossible for me to note or care when Clay suddenly decides to make it all better or do the right thing. Which was basically how I felt about all of the characters, from Clay's shallow, materialistic ex-fiance (real love-give me a break) to Clay's boring, narcissistic father. Take it from me: skip this one, go back and read "A Time to Kill", "The Firm", or "The Rainmaker". It will be time better spent.
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Summary: Smutty, but successful Grisham page-turner.
Review: In his latest legal thriller, John Grisham tackles the world of mass tort litigation, where lawyers sign up thousands of clients in class action lawsuits. They tap into goldmines by forcing companies guilty of selling bad products to settle out of court, typically raking in millions of bucks in fees themselves because of the sheer numbers. The protagonist is Clay Carter, a nobody at the Office of the Public Defender, who stumbles into a huge settlement that begins a meteoric rise for him to become the king of torts, earning millions. Who is the mysterious contact who is feeding Clay inside information to accomplish all this? Clay's increased richness is combined with an increased nastiness, and it takes some surprises to bring him to repentance "He was ashamed of his greed and embarrassed by his stupidity. It was sickening what the money had done to him." The story-line is quite gripping, probably because we identify with the hero, and his rise to success appeals to our own inate desire for instant wealth. The protagonist has both virtues and vices, and we must both love and hate him at the same time (although the supporting cast of characters is rather cardboard and lame). There is a moral lesson in Clay's changing characterization, as he falls to the very depths of character and greed that he himself first despised. Clay's rise and his fall is didactic, because ultimately Grisham wants us to be somewhat sickened by all the greed of money hungry mass tort lawyers. But while the filthy rich lawyers with their glitzy personal jets and bought women soon lose their appeal because of their nastiness, has the money itself lost its appeal for readers? It could be argued that by the last page, our love of money which made the plot so gripping is still rather intact. And some of the other smut we've encountered in the process isn't quite wiped clean either. At times Grisham is surprisingly and plainly smutty - the unmarried hero is sexually active, and although Grisham doesn't give us all the details of what happens in bed, he doesn't suggest it is wrong either. There are even a couple of sly references to homosexuality and bisexuality that were unnecessary. While the morality tale about greed is crystal clear, it's a shame that Grisham appears to let some other morals slip in the process, or at least fails to make clear the lines between good and evil behaviour in other respects. At the end of the day, like the main character, this morality tale is itself flawed and incomplete. The plot isn't entirely credible either, especially the way in which Clay became chosen as the lawyer elect in the first settlement. But if you can look past these weaknesses, this is another Grisham novel that can be enjoyed for what it is - a suspenseful legal pageturner. This is not Grisham at his best (The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Rainmaker), but it isn't Grisham at his worst (The Summons) either. Let's hope that Grisham has finished his own personal fall, and is on the rise again.
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Summary: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world..."
Review: "...but lose his soul?" This is the central conflict in John Grisham's THE KING OF TORTS. Clay Carter is a young criminal defense attorney working for peanuts in Washington DC's Office of the Public Defender. He is approached by a shadowy figure whose scheme could make Clay rich beyond his wildest dreams. The scheme works and soon the shadowy figure has more, increasingly riskier lawsuits promising even bigger payouts. Clay Carter rakes in millions of "easy" dollars and is dubbed by the legal community "The King of Torts". The fame, money, and influence are not without their dark sides. Clay, naive as he is, initially believes he won't get roped into the trappings of private jets and private islands. He couldn't be more wrong. While not spectacularly written, this novel is a decent exploration of human nature when it's confronted with the Goose and her Golden Eggs. It's hard not to grab all you can get, even if you have good intentions. Clay Carter's character takes on his first class-action suit with noble intentions of righting corporate wrongs, then transforms into a mass-litigator without regard for consequenses, either personally or for the greater good of his clients or defendants. Understandably, he's blinded by huge money. He makes his fortune in less than a year, and when the millions are his, Clay is further blinded by the narcissism of the extremely wealthy. John Grisham crafted Clay in such a way that you can't help but cheer for him (because he was once one of "us") and hope he gets his comeuppance at the same time (because now he's one of "them"). Though Clay puts on his ethical blinders, he never completely kills his conscience. When Grisham pulls back the curtain to the inner-workings of a high-powered attorney's mind, one can see why they do what they do, yet loathe their chosen path. One can empathise with Clay's actions, and at the same time despise him for actually going through with them. While it's probably too quiet a book to make the leap to the silver screen, THE KING OF TORTS is a quick and easy read with some keen insights and fun wit. More than once I chuckled out loud at Grisham's observations of human relations and behavior. I'd recommend THE KING OF TORTS to Grisham fans as well as those few not yet familiar with some form of his work.
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Summary: Credibility
Review: Highly improbable and not worth the effort. Begs for a sequel with a solid comeback such that the first novel makes sense.
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