Rating: 
Summary: No direction
Review: I had such high hopes for this book. It started off with a bang but then fizzled. This was like reading a road map but without a destination. Having "The Last Juror" as the title was very misleading because I was expecting all types of twists and turns indicative of previous Grisham novels, instead I ended up just grateful that I checked this out of the library. I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone buy this book. Please help your local library's circulation numbers and check it out. It seems that Mr. Grisham's characters are as tired as he is. Maybe he doesn't want to play the suspense game anymore. If that's the case Mr. Grisham please stop writing novels under the cloak of legal suspense and call it a wrap.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the point?
Review: I am a big fan of John Grisham, but this book has to be his worst. While the characters were enjoyable, I'm not quite sure there was a point to the book at all. There was no suspense, or mystery, or anything worth grasping. It went along at a snails pace and I think this could have been written in 100 pages instead of 355 pages. Don't waste your time or money.
Rating: 
Summary: Still on top!
Review: Grisham is still on top of his game, if you ask me. Sure, this isn't KING OF TORTS or THE FIRM, but then, it's not supposed to be. What it is, is a well-written book, blending styles from A PAINTED HOUSE and some other prime Grisham fiction. No, it's not as fast-paced as some of his other books, but then, we all need to take a break!Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood and A Painted House
Rating:
Summary: Very good, reminiscent of his earlier books
Review: After reading The Brethern, and The Summons, it seemed pretty clear that John Grisham's work was going downhill. A Painted House, Skipping Christmas and Bleachers were all pretty good, but not in his usual genre of legal thrillers. Then, with King of Torts, although I didn't like it as much as his earlier books, I thought he was on the way back up. The Last Juror proves that this is true. With a compelling story, great characters and plenty of courthouse drama, Grishma creates a feeling similar to his earlier books, A Time to Kill and The Chamber. Having never lived in a small town, I don't know how accurate Grisham's picture of it is, however, the important part is he makes it seem beievable, as well as interesting. I think the courtroom and the small town are where Grisham's storytelling abilities really shine, and getting away form that has made his more recent legal thrillers suffer. I'm glad to see him return to it in The Last Juror. I hope Grisham's next book continues the improvement that I have seen since The Summons, which I thought was his worst book to date. Grisham fans, as well as any fans of the genre should enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: The characters come alive in this novel!
Review: John Grisham's latest, THE LAST JUROR, is his first novel since A TIME TO KILL to be sent in Ford County, Mississippi . . . I've never been to the either the fictional setting or state, but it sure feels like I know it from reading this latest legal thriller . . . the characters all come alive, in large part because the author is so talented in using dialogue that helps move the pace along at near-breakneck speed. JUROR is about a 23-year old college dropout who assumes ownership of a once bankrupt newspaper . . . when a brutal murder occurs, circulation increases as all the gruesome
details are reported . . . when the murderer is released after
nine years because in Mississippi in 1970, "life didn't necessarily mean life," all hell breaks loose. I really feel like I got to know Willie Traynor, as well as many
of his colorful friends and acquaintances . . . in addition, I
liked the book's ending . . . Grisham--after a few disappointing
efforts--returns my list of authors whose books I will seek
out when they first get published.
Rating:
Summary: waste of paper
Review: This book was horrible. Predictable, circular, pointless, ridiculous. This is not at all what I expected from John Grisham. Don't waste your time or money. I wish they had a zero star rating. It would go to this book.
Rating:
Summary: This book has been mis-marketed
Review: If you read the description on the back cover, you will get the idea that this is a taut thriller about a convicted murderer seeking revenge on those that put him away. Doesn't that sound exciting? Actually, it is anything but. This is John Grisham's ode to life in a small southern town and his regret for what such towns have lost. While the trial-related story starts off promisingly enough, the trial ends about a third of the way into the book, but the story just lumbers on without direction. Through the eyes of his narrator, a young newspaper editor, Grisham takes the soapbox on issues such as desegregation and a not very veiled attack on Wal-Mart and its effect on small town America, revealing his liberal leanings. The novel should more appropriately have been called "Dinners with Miss Callie" since much of the the book centers around his relationship with a middle-aged black woman from the "wrong side of the tracks." Pages and pages are dedicated simply to descriptions of the southern dishes she prepares. If this is your cup of tea, then by all means, pick up a copy of the Last Juror. But don't be fooled by the marketing campaign.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of his best........boring
Review: I am a big John Grisham fan and have read all his books. I think I only read them out of habit now because I have not enjoyed the last few. This was one of the most boring books I have read in a long time. I think John Grisham should take a few years off and then maybe he would be able to write like he did 10 years ago. I plodded through this book hoping it would get better, not really caring about the characters and finding it very predictable. It never did get better but it did end!
Rating: 
Summary: Different can be better
Review: It is true, The Last Juror is a different style than other Grisham novels. But this is not entirely a bad thing. While his early work had fast-moving stories that kept you reading, the dialogue was often stilted, the characters poorly drawn, and the descriptions hackneyed. That said, they were darn good reads. The Last Juror is a good read too, but if you pick it up expecting him to rehash The Firm, you'll be disappointed, as witnessed by the number of negative reviews. Personally, I was pleased by the developments in his style. I spent Part 1 being sure I had read this book before. And I had; it bears great resemblance to his earlier work. Part 2 is where it becomes poetic, an homage to slow, small-town Southern life, and the improvements in Grisham's actual wordsmithing become evident. Part 3 is the weakest - it feels rushed to wrap things up, and the ending was fairly dull. But I was entranced by his descriptions and pleased by how rich and clear Clanton became. Look, if you want to read The Firm, or A Time to Kill, read them. No one will think less of you. But if you want to chart this author's progress, this book is an excellent example.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to Par
Review: I consider myself a huge Grisham fan. I thoroughly enjoy his writing but I also notice the decline in substance of his material. Lack of new material? Boredom? The Last Juror is not up to par with his first few published books, notably, A Time to Kill and The Firm, books I enjoyed immensely and couldn't put down. This book I was able to walk away from for days without missing it. It was disappointingly predictable and at times, annoying. I was extremely annoyed by the ease of the main character, Willie's life even though he tried to make us think it was so difficult and painstaking at times. Things just seemed to fall into his lap without much effort. Poor Kid <insert sarcasm>. Willie's relationship with Miss Callie although I applaud Mr. Grisham's attempt to prove racial tolerance and acceptance by his main character, I was annoyed by the blatant stereotypes in which he wrote his black characters. Even though he had all of the Ruffin children earning doctorate degrees, you never saw any of them actually working, especially the women. They were always in the kitchen cooking and their husbands were almost obedient little children. The women always rushed to the kitchen to cook or get food and this is one of the typical Aunt Jemima stereotypes of black women (including being extremely over weight). It was not believable to me that Willie would have been as accepted to the Ruffin family as he was in the book, or that he would have taken the time to be a family chauffer or mediator. Willie laud and loathed Clanton in the same chapter and by the end of the book we really wasn't sure how he felt about living there. Not Grisham's best and it seemed he was reaching for a story here. I think its time for me to retire him.
|
