Rating: 
Summary: A GREAT NOVEL!!!
Review: The classic John Grisham novel, A Time to Kill, is a transfixing story of the violent effects of racism in the deep south. Carl Lee Hailey is a southern, black man, whose daughter was beaten and raped by two racist hillbillies. He extracts his revenge through another act of brutality as he guns down the two rapists in front of hundreds of witnesses. In an attempt to free himself from a fate of prison or death, attorney Jake Brigance brings forth his efforts to help the apparently doomed man.
This was a very graphic and powerful story. Grisham focuses on the racial inequality to show how a black man in that situation would be treated. The events throughout the entire story, show the anger of the man whose family was shattered by ignorance. I believe that the best feature is the intense detail. Although at times a bit gruesome, the writing can truly make you feel engrossed in the story along with the characters.
There are plot twists concealed in the midst of what would appear to be a straight-forward story line, which prove to make things a great deal more interesting than merely providing a predictable set of events to thumb through. The book is severely hard to put down due to the
If there are any flaws they are well disguised. The only detail to be considered a flaw is that while Carl Lee murdered two men in his state of rage. Anyone with a family member forced to endure such an inhumane experience, would probably feel this way as well. Though his feelings toward those men were comprehensible, did they bestow a right to take their lives? This is the primary focus of the story line; however, the fact that Carl Lee was black makes you wonder if he was white, would the murders have even been an issue. Overall, the story was good and the writing was amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone!
Rating: 
Summary: John Grisham's view of the races: whites are evil
Review: It's sad a talented storyteller (though not writer) like Grisham should choose to make his fame on a book that pretty much labels white people the devils (and blacks, angels). Ever since the Reagan years it's been fashionable for writers and movie producers to trash white people, as if all whites are inherently evil, murderous, devilish, stereotyped, and incompetent. If you agree with Grisham's view of the world, please enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Icredible
Review: "A Time to Kill" really challenges the American legal system. Ideals and morality are put up against racism and prejudice. Has you rooting for Brigance the whole time. Outstanding book.
Rating:
Summary: His First, and His Best
Review: John Grisham has written some good books and some bad ones. A TIME TO KILL, his first novel, is not just good--it is great. As such, it stands alone among his work both for theme and for style.The story is a compelling one, about a black man in a small Southern town, a town bigoted by definition, who openly kills the two white men who have raped his daughter. The plot is exciting. Grisham grapples with moral issues as to right and wrong. The consequences of acting as both judge and jury in exacting justifiable revenge, but a revenge that nonetheless is in direct contradiction to civil law, is examined from many perspectives. This book shows that Grisham is a fine lawyer, and that he also is a lyrical writer.
Rating: 
Summary: An incredible first book
Review: Overall this is an incredible book as the first one from any author, but I like other books from Grisham better. The book becomes very slow after the first 100 pages, and the ending is rushed a bit. IMHO, if would be better if 20 more pages could be spent on ending, but 100 pages cut in the middle.
Rating:
Summary: Suspense with a purpose
Review: A Time to Kill by John Grisham is truly a 5-star book. Grisham tells the story of a young lawyer fighting for the life of a man who murdered his daughter's rapists. Being a unique story line, any reader could be grabbed by a description but the book itself is what truly shines. Every detail is crisp and accurate. Grisham's characters are incredibly life-like and he makes you pray for their best resolution. Every page makes you want to read the next. Every chapter brings you closer to the resolution but doubles the suspense. Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. Grisham truly shows that he is a master of courtroom suspense and that he knows what he's talking about. Along with having an incredible plot, Grisham also sends a great message with this book. He reminds people that even though slavery has been abolished in the U.S., racism still exists all over the world. Jake, the lawyer defending Carl Lee, sets out not only to get a boost in his career, but also to prove that a black man can recieve a fair trial in a predjudiced court.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: This was the second Grisham book that I ever read, and I have since read them all, and this is still the one that sticks out as the BEST book to date. I couldn't put it down!!! It was full of wonderful characters and unbelievable emotion that pulled me in and made me feel that I was sitting on the courthouse steps waiting for the verdict. Grisham does not make you feel as if you are violating a sense of morality by being glad that "...an eye for an eye..." was successful. The most memorable "scene" for me was when the KKK, NAACP, and all of the townspeople and most of the state were converging onto the courthouse to hear the verdict. As a reader, you could smell the civil unrest. It was so well written that my stomach got tight, and I literally had to take a breath and walk around the room before I could continue. When the verdict was read, I cried. Yes, there is a very good screen version of this book out, but do yourself a favor and read this book. It makes a movie in your mind that you will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: MY KINDA PERSON
Review: I WOULD DO EXACTLY WHAT THIS MAN DOES IF IT WAS MY FAMILY. A GREAT ENDING. A MUST READ
Rating:
Summary: A Time to Kill
Review: A Time to Kill is one of John Grisham's best selling books. It takes place in Ford County, in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The book is about two white men who raped a black girl. When her father finds out who raped her, he kills the men and accidentally shot an officer. He was convicted for two capital murders and aggravated assault on an officer. It's the biggest case in Ford County in twenty years. Everyone gets involved in the case, from family and friends, black people who doesn't know the family, the Klu Klux Klan and reporters from all over the nation.
The main character in this story is Carl Lee Hailey. He is the father of ten-year-old Tonya Hailey, who was raped by two white men. He kills the two white men and is put on trail. Some other main characters are Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard, the men who raped Tonya, Ozzie Walls, the sheriff of Ford County, and Jake, Carl Lee's lawyer.
The book had some gruesome parts in it, but other than that it was a very good book. I liked the book because there were a lot of things going on. I don't like books that are just on one thing. Also, I liked the book because it was very detailed, expect the gruesome parts. Lastly, I liked it because it was about the law. I like to hear other people's opinions and in this book, you get a lot of opinions.
I would definitely recommend this book to another person. I wouldn't recommend it to children because some parts of the book was not PG13. I would recommend it to someone who is interested in the law or just anyone that wants to read a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Fast paced drama
Review: I saw this movie a few years ago and after reading the book, I couldn't believe just how much more descriptive the book is. Some sections are actually quite disturbing.
On a hot summer day in Clanton, Mississippi, two rednecks beat and rape ten year old Tonya Hailey. After hearing about what has happened to his only daughter, Carl Lee decides to take justice into his own hands by killing the two rapists.
Carl Lee is then brought to trial for the murder of the two men. Everyone from the Klan to the NAACP gets involved.
|
