The King of Torts

Rating:
Summary: Quick read!
Review: I read many of John Grisham's novels and this one I found to be rather predictable. However, it is a very enjoyable, quick read. Perfect for a vacation read. It was comical and very interesting to learn about "King of Torts"!!

Rating:
Summary: Love Grisham, Very Disappointed
Review: Like most, I've read them all. Very disappointed. 1) No "clever" legal twists; 2) A very weak romance that the reader was not cheering for; 3) Kept waiting for "something" to happen ... it never did.
I'll buy his next book on the first day and hope for more.
Respectfully, Capt. Dave

Rating:
Summary: Bad
Review: I really liked the way this novel started out, but a proper PLOT didn't really develop as I'd hoped. It read more like a biography, where a series of incidents occur--dramatic ones, admittedly--but with nothing that made me turn the pages once I realized it was "follow a lawyer's zaney career." Stuff just kind of happens to the protagonist, with nothing for him to resolve. He makes moral adjustments, but basically because HE HAS NO CHOICE.

Rating:
Summary: Fable better told with Fisherman, his wife & Magic Fish
Review: I tried to keep an open mind. After all, this guy's sold millions of books. But this story is just the old Fisherman, his greedy wife and the magic fish fable, wrapped in lawyer's clothes. The fable though had better characterization, more tension and a more satisfying plot development. Man! I did find it interesting that this protagonist is a victim of the wealth that he hasn't really earned -- Does Grisham feel the same way? Does he feel guilty making so much money for a story that is so poorly told? None of the characters are engaging, interesting or complex. Please give me some ambiguity! And some description of what the character looks like! Minor tags attached to characters do not make them less cartoonish. Such a disappointment. It devolves into a catalogue of rich men's toys. Who cared about any of the characters? And the plot twists were entirely "Random, even more than usual" as the Tarvon deaths were portrayed.

Rating:
Summary: Good entertainment -- fast read
Review: When this book arrived in the mail from the Book of the Month Club, I realized I had forgotten to decline the offer, but, as I have an aversion returning things, I kept it, even though my stack of waiting-to-be-read books is rather high and has some likelier candidates. As it turned out, I was glad I did. Suffering a headache from non-fiction burnout, I picked up "The King of Torts" and, by the end of page one, knew I would not put it down until I finished it. Authors write and readers read for myriad reasons; when the reasons match up the result is satisfaction. Such it was with Mr. Grisham and me: I wanted something interesting and entertaining to read and that is what he wrote.

Not that "The King of Torts" is all fluff. Grisham dissects the world of tort law and examines it from all angles, adding some flesh and blood to the lawyers that everyone -- including other lawyers -- loves to hate. Along the way, he pays literary homage to sources as diverse as Goethe (Faust), medieval morality plays, and William Dean Howells ("The Rise and Fall of Silas Lapham"). Within the first few chapters, J. Clay Carter, II (the Faust character):

- ends a four-year relationship with the love of his life (whose parents are absolutely insufferable),
- leaves his job as a public defender,
- opens an extravagantly expensive law office complete with ever-expanding staff, and
- moves income brackets from $30 thousand a year to more than $100 million.

The impetus for most of this change (excepting the break-up) is a vaporous Mephistopheles who goes by the name of Max Pace (if Mr. Grisham is an opera-lover that name is probably a sly homage to "Der Freischuetz"). Pace goes by as many names as Mephistopheles, and, like that character is a mercurial presence who eventually disappears altogether, leaving the reader (and Clay) to wonder if he really existed at all.

Once in the big-time of tort law, Clay does not handle his newly found wealth any better than do some of his clients and he seems to be a fish out of water in the presence of the other big tort lawyers. Eventually, he finds redemption, though, since he never really completely looses his soul (only a little common sense and a lot of money), the relief is not as palpable as if he had truly faced off with the devil and survived.

Considering the critics and readers who readily criticize Grisham for writing, "just to make money" (as opposed to changing the world?), Clay may, in fact, be Grisham's surrogate. Both paid their dues before joining the big leagues and both endure their share of media criticism. Grisham knows how to pace a novel and develop believable characters and often uses a few well-crafted phrases to insert his literary dagger, my favorite example being his description of Rebecca's mother's plastic surgery ¡V truly wicked fun, and right on the mark. (The self-righteous and pompous head of the rehab center was a close second.)

No, this is not "War and Peace" (or pretend to be) nor did it have the same emotional appeal for me that "Painted House" did, but, as I wrote at the onset, I was looking for interest and entertainment, and that is what Grisham had to offer: a good match.

Rating:
Summary: Letter of the law versus the spirit of the intent
Review: I have read ALL of Grisham's works -- even before he was well known. I usually like his storylines, but according to a National Public Radio interview, Grisham's wife is encouraging him to move his basic storyline away from the concept of "redemption." I hope he doesn't (I need some redemption in my life). Since I heard the interview prior to completing his book, I sensed the ending - and I was correct. Yet, I don't think that people continue to read Grisham to get a surprise. People continue to read Grisham because he is a master of the written word. His words flow like a film and create pictures in one's mind. Thus, the interview didn't damage my reading of his novel.

Without regard to the lack of a surprise ending, I immediately saw something extremely valuable in this novel. As a college professor, I teach a policy course. Policy courses are generally hated by students. One policy concept I try teach is: "letter of the law versus the spirit of the intent." The central theme in the KING OF TORTS embraces this complex concept for which many of my students have difficulty in understanding. In an effort to have students understand, I offered a brief outline of the KINGS OF TORTS (without destroying the story) and recommended they read it. Here, tort lawyers comply with the letter of the law (perhaps some push the envelop a bit much), but it is clear that these lawyers do not embrace the spirit for which laws were designed to protect citizens against unscrupulous manufacturers. Now, students understand what is meant by "letter of the law versus the spirit of the intent" without having to be punished by a lecture from me or the extremely dry writing from our textbook.

In the end, I like Grisham's writing and look forward to his next novel.

Rating:
Summary: informative
Review: If you are unfamiliar with the actions and techniques of tort "lawyers" this is a good read for you. I learned more than I really wanted to about the rampant greed in the "good ole U. S. of A." by people who call themselves lawyers when in reality they are just greedy self-serving billionaires. The story moved along well but, he has written more gripping novels.

Rating:
Summary: Don't even wait for the video
Review: I have read all Grisham's book's and this is by far the worst. What a let-down. Unlike his other legal thrillers there is no character to root for, unless you pick Tequila Watson! Whom I hoped Clay Carter would go back and try to rescue somehow. If any author could have swung a 'save' for Tequila I thought Grisham would have been the man. Sorry I wasted my money.

Rating:
Summary: "Copout"
Review: John Grisham should stop trying to meet his publisher's demands and take some time to write a good book; I'm sure he is capable of writing something other than a "Hollywood-type" book (like hoping to get a screenplay bid - worse he may already have it?) I think it's time that Grisham, Patterson, et al. stop cranking out lousy books. In defense of the book, it was interesting to see how class action suits are put together. Sorry John, please go back and write a great book - I'm sure you are capable of it!

Rating:
Summary: Not great..
Review: My husband and I have been long time fans of John Grisham, so much so that we have bought the hardbacks the day they came out. I'm sad to say that this books ending felt like Mr Grisham just got borred with the whole thing or had to hurry to make a deadline. We are very disappointed, so much so we may wait for the paperback next time.