The Last Juror

Rating:
Summary: An old-fashioned Grisham book
Review: John Grisham returns to the formula which made him famous in his latest book, "The Last Juror". He uses a combination of setting (Mississippi in the newly-desegregating 70's) unforgettable characters, and a plot which has enough twists to keep the reader interested and guessing. In this book a young man named Willie Traynor has talked his wealthy grandmother into buying him a small-town newspaper with a shrinking circulation. He manages to expand the paper's readership by including human interest stories and just enough controversy to keep the Letters to the Editor column full. When there is a brutal rape and murder, everyone knows that is is Danny Padgitt of the notorious Padgitt Family who did it. The dying woman had his name on her lips and Danny had her blood on his clothes. The Padgitts are extremely powerful people in the community and Willie and his friends doubt that he will be convicted. After the trial Danny threatens all of the jurors, and Mississippi laws (which Grisham admits to exaggerating) allow him to be released from prison much sooner than the town of Clanton expects. Grisham delves into race relations, crooked politics, bad laws, and our all-too-human tendency to judge people without knowing all of the facts. This book has a bit over everything and should be a winner with old and new Grisham fans.

Rating:
Summary: Not what his fans want but Grisham's best novel in years
Review: I actually managed to read "The Last Juror" without knowing anything more than it was the "new" John Grisham novel. From the title I assumed that it was about a trial and about a juror for that matter, in a similar vein to "The Runaway Jury," but that is not really the case even though the cove photograph certain reinforces the idea. There is a juror and there is a trial, but there are parts of a larger tapestry told by the book's narrator.

This narrator, who is not the titular figure, was born Joyner William Traynor but becomes known as Willie when he ends up working on a small newspaper in Clanton, Mississippi. Actually he ends up doing more than that, becoming the owner of the "Times" through a couple of simple twists of fate, although he never really graduated with a journalism degree from that "Ivy League" school Syracuse. Will, as he called himself, had his Triumph Spitfire and his long hair, but not much else going for him. However, this person Willie becomes rather interesting as he tries to build up the circulation of his little newspaper in Ford County. After all, even if he hails from Memphis he is still considered a Yankee by the people of Mississippi.

Along the ways he makes a friend of Miss Callie Ruffin, an elderly black woman who has eight children, the first seven of which have earned doctorates; we will learn about why the youngest child does not have his Ph.D. yet in the course of this tale. However, everything changes when the most sensational murder case anybody in Ford County can remember happens. Willie knows this is his big chance to boost circulation for his newspaper. However, this means crossing the family that has been running Ford County behind the scenes for over a hundred years.

Grisham makes the point several times that Mississippi is behind the times more than any other state in the Union and his Author's Note at the end acknowledges that he has mistreated some of the bad and weak laws that existed in the state in the 1970s, the decade in which this story was set. But "The Last Juror" really is about changing times, even if the changes come too late in the estimation of some. What Willie does to not only make Clanton a better place but to become a part of his adopted town is a recurring theme, even if it never seems to be the driving narrative of the novel.

The only real step in the story is when things start happening towards the end of the book and everybody in town assumes they know who is behind, whereas everybody that I know who has read the book (okay, that is just two other people, but all of us agreed) jumped to the right conclusion. Not in terms of who, mind you, but in terms of what was really happening. You would think some of the characters in the town of Clanton would have at least had an idle thought in this direction, but Grisham is being so blatant in ignoring the obvious alternative explanation that it is impossible not to guess what is really going on.

"The Last Juror" is set in the Deep South and has the rhythm of a story told on the front porch. Like many such stories it is about much more than what it is supposed to be about, so those who are compelled to find linear narratives in the novels they read are going to be frustrated, but hopefully not disappointed by Grisham's tale. You may not come to a final conclusion about what this novel is really about until you have read the final page, but there is really nothing wrong with that, even if it swims against the tide of contemporary best selling fiction. This is not a great novel or even a great Grisham novel, but it is a solid yarn, his best in years, and at this point in his career that may well be as good as it gets.

Rating:
Summary: bad
Review: I enjoy Grisham. The man can tell a story! But this time, it was a slow, boring story. This is even worse than Bleachers. It's predictable, it's uneventful,.....
Very disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Who are you and what have you done with Grisham?
Review: I was disappointed with Grisham's latest book, The Last Juror. The book slowly plodded along with no real direction. Not much a story: 25-year-old Willie buys a small-town newspaper and writes about the townsfolk. A man, Padgitt, kills and rapes a woman. Man is not sentenced to death penalty because of a hung jury. Newspaper sales go up. Willie befriends an older black woman, writes about her family, has lunch with her every Thursday. 10 years later, Padgitt is released from jail. Willie sells the newspaper. Black woman dies of heart attack. The end. Come on!!! This book was awful.

Like most readers, I read for fun. This book was not fun. What happened to the Grisham who wrote simple-minded, super-fast reads such as The Rainmaker, The Client and The Firm?

Rating:
Summary: An old-fashioned Grisham book
Review: John Grisham returns to the formula which made him famous in his latest book, "The Last Juror". He uses a combination of setting (Mississippi in the newly-desegregating 70's) unforgettable characters, and a plot which has enough twists to keep the reader interested and guessing. In this book a young man named Willie Traynor has talked his wealthy grandmother into buying him a small-town newspaper with a shrinking circulation. He manages to expand the paper's readership by including human interest stories and just enough controversy to keep the Letters to the Editor column full. When there is a brutal rape and murder, everyone knows that is is Danny Padgitt of the notorious Padgitt Family who did it. The dying woman had his name on her lips and Danny had her blood on his clothes. The Padgitts are extremely powerful people in the community and Willie and his friends doubt that he will be convicted. After the trial Danny threatens all of the jurors, and Mississippi laws (which Grisham admits to exaggerating) allow him to be released from prison much sooner than the town of Clanton expects. Grisham delves into race relations, crooked politics, bad laws, and our all-too-human tendency to judge people without knowing all of the facts. This book has a bit over everything and should be a winner with old and new Grisham fans.

Rating:
Summary: What happened to Grisham?
Review: I think John Grisham usually writes excellent legal thrillers, but this one was horrible. He seemed to be very wordy without having a point. He dragged things on, the conclusion was poor and unfullfilling for all the time put into reading the plot. The characters were likable, but just did not seem to go anywhere.

Rating:
Summary: Can you say, "BOOOOOORING?!!!"
Review: I used to LOVE John Grisham, but I found this book extremely boring and yet the perfect book to bore me right to sleep every night. I only needed to read one page each night before I was out. I can understand his other books centered around Christmas and family life being more sensitive and about feelings and stuff, but when the title comes right out and says, " The Last Juror" and there's a picture of a Jury table on the front cover I expect it to be as fast-paced and exciting as all of his other law books. I was very dissapointed. The summary on the inside flaps actually built it up that way, which is why I forked over the money to buy it. But, like many movie trailers, most all of the exciting parts were in the summary and the book, for the most part dragged and dragged. If you are looking for a typical fast-paced John Grisham book do not get The Last Juror. You will be highly dissapointed!

Rating:
Summary: Give the guy a break
Review: Okay, we've established that this is not the page turner "The Firm" or some of the other Grisham books are, so can we move on? This is a well-written book with closer leanings to Grisham's "A Painted House" or "Skipping Christmas." So what if the author wants to change styles and paces--let him! If you come to this book with an open mind, I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.

Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood and Bleachers

Rating:
Summary: Amusing read, but not the usual Grisham page-turner
Review: Grisham's experimentation with new styles and voices has been an interesting journey for his readers. This side trip back to Ford County was his first since The Chamber, cast as a first person account of a young man's pursuit of himself.
The characters were interesting, and the dialog as genuine as Grisham readers have come to expect. One thing I have enjoyed about Grisham's legal novels has been his realistic depictions of many ethical dilemma faced by his protagonists. In The Last Juror, numerous ethical challenges await the young editor whose voice tells the story. The reader is never sure that Willie recognizes that he is straying, which would not be so problematic if we weren't left to doubt whether Grisham recognizes them either. He seems very comfortable with the editor as advocate and participant. Willie makes several decisions that seem unlikely or at best ill-advised that Grisham seems to support.
The book was enjoyable, but I was never tempted to sit up all night to get it finished. On the bright side, I intend to add it to a list of extra-credit readings for my journalism students and challenge them to resolve Willie's problems in ways more appropriate than those he chose.

Rating:
Summary: Just not what I expect from Grisham
Review: Ok I am not saying this is a bad book - it does hold your attention and there is a little twist at the end but it is just not what I have come to expect from Grisham. I expect more law talk, suspense and action - this bordered on Chick Lit. There is nothing wrong with talking about people's feelings but that should be in a book by Danielle Steele not Grisham.