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Summary: Where There Is A Will, Grisham Finds The Way
Review: After 'The Partner' & 'The Street Lawyer' I was fed up with John Grisham' s flat formulas. Someone loaned me a worn paperback of 'The Testament' on a long flight and it revived my interest and trust in Grisham.'The Testament' is rich in setting and character. I particularly liked the in-depth perspective of the main character, Mr. O'Reily. He was flawed, but more real than many of Grisham's more recent catalysts. The legal matters in DC provided decent tension. The ending and satisfaction were better than most Grisham epics where the author can't usually finish stories. The river descriptions get a bit tedious and Grisham is continuing to be preachy - an unfortunate trend that began in 'The Chamber' and reached a peak of misery in 'The Street Lawyer.' In total I enjoyed 'The Testament' and I may buy 'The Brethern' rather than borrow it.
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Summary: The best Grisham I ever paid for!
Review: This is the first Grisham book that was not handed to me by friends or family; I actually went out and bought this one. And, it was worth every penny and more in terms of excitement, thrills, and plain old enjoyment. I could not put this book down; I even dragged it on a trip to France so that I could read it in the morning and at night, and preferring it to some of the sightseeing options in Paris. On the flight back to the US, I was amazed to find the traveller next to me reading the same book, with the seemingly same level of intensity that I had. Upon my return home, someone I know actually ended up trying to recommend the book to me.(!) The ending, quite surprisingly after going through the action-packed adventures of the rest of the book, was an adrenaline disappointment. However, in as much as I would not avoid an investment because it returned "only" 19% instead of 20%, I wouldn't recommend avoiding this book simply because "only" 95% of it is engrossing.
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Summary: Grisham doesn't know how to end his books
Review: The testament began with a very imaginative idea and it got me interested but like all other books of Grisham, he doesn't know how to end it. His books usually have no climax. Towards the middle of the book, it was a struggle to finish it because it was going nowhere. This is just the same for 'The Partner'. I have only read 2 of Grishmas's books and it makes me wonder why his books are always on the bestsellers list.
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Summary: This Book has a Bit of Everything
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had adventure, suspense and growth of the human spirit all eveloped under Grisham's usual legal framework. Although I agree with other reader's that this book differed greatly from alot of Grisham's other works (with a strong spiritual undertone) I found it to be a nice addition to the plot, not an annoyance. The fact that people can be so closed-minded about the addition of a "deeper meaning" component to a character's journey in a novel is, in my opinion, upsetting. Nontheless, I liked Nate and enjoyed being along for the ride emersed in the jungles of Brazil. Very interesting. I also thought the Phalen children and their lawyers were a scream. You hated them and wanted to see them get nothing, yet at the same time can understand how they could have become that way. Great novel. Fast read!
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Summary: Amazing details.. I want to visit Brazil now!
Review: Although this is only my 2nd Grisham novel that I have actually read (I love movies... and they are quicker) it was incredibly good. His way of describing landscapes and different people is awe striking. This book was very good, although it had it's dull spots where you simply wished you could skim it over, the exciting parts were worth the wait. Also, the jumping back and forth between the court room and with Nate in Brazil kept my attention (I admit it, I have a rather short attention span) I would reccomend it for anyone-- don't worry about not understanding something, for once again, Grisham is a miracle worker at describing difficult things.
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Summary: Not up to usual Grisham standards
Review: I am a great fan of the works of John Grisham, so when this new book came out I immediately wanted to read it. I went into the book expecting the high drama and suspense of Grisham's other books. The book's beginning had me intrigued and I read on. There were delightful possibilities for danger and suspense throughout the Pantanal region of Brazil. The only ones that the hero, Nate O'Reilly stumbled upon however were fierce storms and tropical diseases. Alligators, anacondas, and blood thirsty lawyers were mentioned time and time again but never with any effect. I expected a chase and a race to find Rachel Lane. But no one really seemed interested. Nate was left to his own devices to find her in his own sweet time. The characters were likable and well developed but this is the novel's one and only selling point. Grisham had the opportunity to make this as exciting as his past novels have been, but he fell short. The ending was especially disappointing. It was higly anticlimactic and seemed rather too convenient. How wonderful that everything just magically fell into place and that both the lawyers in DC and the missionary in South America would come to exactly the same conclusion. There were no surprises or twists and turns. The ending was straight forward and short. And, I might add, boring. Frankly, it left me cold. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I was secrectly hoping that Nate would return to the Pantanal, find Rachel and he would stay there with her (since he longed to escape his old life). This seemed to be hinted at in all of Nate's longings both for a new life and to see Rachel again. But Grisham seems to have taken the easy way out and provided us with an ending that neatly sums everything up in 5 pages. Neat but boring. Definitely not his best work. For a good exciting read that will make you want to keep reading until you reach the end I suggest either The Pelican Brief or A Time to Kill, both excellent Grisham works.
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Summary: Disappointment
Review: I'm disappointed. I finished reading The Testament about twenty minutes ago, and I'm still waiting for it to get interesting. I've read all of his other novels to date, and this one is the dullest. A Time To Kill and The Chamber were simply amazing...The Runaway Jury was incredible until the very end (could have had a much better finale, in my opinion)...but The Testament was simply disappointing as a novel coming from Grisham.
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Summary: A big disappointment.
Review: I have read all Grisham's books up to this one and have been so diappointed with the last two. The Street Lawyer and the Testament are real yawners. Usually I keep my Grisham novels, only loaning them out to trusted friends, but these two I quickly gave away. The Testament dragged on, the characters were very flat---either good or greedy with no interesting nuances.
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Summary: Neither a good travel nor a good legal story...
Review: I have read other books of Grisham, and this one is not up to his usual standard. Apparently he has been to the Pantanal, and this so impressed him that he thought he should write about it. The story is predictable and uninteresting.
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Summary: Grisham doesn't know squat about Canada.
Review: This novel contains an exhaustive description of the Panatal region in South America, yet John Grisham refers to a woman in the story being born in an igloo in Newfoundland, Canada. How can Grisham know so much about one area of the world, and so little about another? Try doing some just basic research on your friendly neighbors to the North, John. You may just find we live in a modern society, and that igloo's are what American's only think Canadian's live in.
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