Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Grisham...needs to be a movie
Review: Grisham has often been accused of writing books tailor-made for film adaptation. Well, ironically (to me at least) this is Grisham's MOST cinematic book in a long time and yet isn't a movie yet. Here's why I like it (and would like to see a decent film adaptation):1) It has a humdinger of a beginning. Rich guy summons his family for the reading his will. They think they're in clover. Then, he quickly signs a new will, basically totally turning their expectations upside-down and then the promptly commits suicide. And this all happens in the first 20 pages or so! FUN! 2) He leaves his money to someone the family didn't even know existed. A child of his, now working as a missionary in an obscure part of the South American jungle. And to find her, the man's law firm sends a broken-down, recovering alcoholic partner...hardly a like "detective." This character has more shadings than most of Grisham's heros, and would make a great part for a middle-aged actor of stature. 3) Lots of exotic locales. 4) The family members are all extremely unlikeable...they are stock villains, but so darn funny in their befuddlement. Lots of great parts for character actors. 5) A very delicate, unusual love story develops...one that is unpredictable and even touching. Great woman's role here. 6) A typical satisfying ending for Grisham,but this one feels honest and earned...unlike the pat and ridiculous endings for work such as THE STREET LAWYER or THE RUNAWAY JURY. Grisham is still not the most subtle and delicate of writers. His prose veers wilding from over-the-top comic to serious. But this story has an appealing weave to it, and for me was a true "page-turner." I honestly wanted to see what happened next...all the time. As much as I can recommend a Grisham novel, I recommend this one. It's funny, surprising, touching, dramatic and mostly well-written.
Rating: 
Summary: The Testament
Review: The Testament, one of John Grisham's newest novels, is different than most of his previous works. Most of Grisham's previous novels were set in courtrooms and dealt primarily with the law. Grisham shied away from his usual legal thriller writing style with The Testament. This novel does involve several primary characters who are lawyers and the setting is often in the courtroom, however this book also deals with other issues such
as morality, sacrifice, and family issues. This is something that I enjoyed about this book. Another aspect of this book that I enjoyed was the fine job the author did of describing the characters in a way that made them seem like real people. Grisham did a very good job describing the greed of Troy Phelan's relatives who were all trying to get his money.
One of the most exciting moments happens in the first few chapters of the book as Troy Phelan describes his dramatic suicide. "No one has seen me walk in a year. I grab the handle and open the door...I step barefoot on to the narrow terrace which borders my top floor. Without looking, I lunge over the railing." (pg. 20) The theme of this book is that no one ever knows exactly how something is going to end until it happens. I agree with this theme because it relates in at least one way
to my life. When I first moved to Virginia during my freshman year, I did not think I would like it all. Now, my attitude has completely changed and I like it a lot here. In The Testament, one of the primary characters, Nate, is introduced as a recovering alcoholic who has deserted his family. By the end of the book, he has fallen in love with a missionary in Brazil and he decides to stay there with her. This shows the theme very
well. I would recommend this book to others because it has many enjoyable aspects. The characters are complex yet at the same time seem like they are real people,the storyline is exciting, and there is a great twist at the end. The story also grabs readers right from the beginning with some very exciting moments.
Rating: 
Summary: A Critique of "The Testament"
Review: In his book "The Testament" John Grisham tells of a lawyer who is chosen to carry out the instructions of a rich man's last will and testament. This is to find the new hier to his legacy. It also tells of his family's inner feuds to try to claim the fortune for themselves. This book is very well written and the story is superbly told.
Troy Phelan a very wealthy nam, committed suicide upon completing a revision of his will. He made drastic unimaginable changes and left the majority of his fortune and business to his daughter, Rachel Lane, who was unknown to the rest of the world.
His greedy children began challenging his will, and trying to argue that their father was not mentally stable. They believed that they had more rights to his fortune than thier new mysterious sister. As a favor to get him back on his feet, the job of tracking down the new found daughter was given to Nate O'Riley, a washed out lawyer just out of rehab. The daughter was believed to be on a missionary assignment in the jungles of Brazil. Where many obstacles stood in his way.
The author did a great job in portraying the ruthless greed of the Phelan children. They were superbly described and were given very colorful backgrounds and problens. The lawyer was also given a very interesting background and his struggle with alcohol throughout the story keeps you wondering if he will fail or overcome. The journey into the jungle was very exciting. It kept you wondering if he would ever find her.
"The Testament" is a very well written book. It has adventure, suspense, drama, and betrayal. It has the struggle of the children with the lawyers, the struggle of the lawyer and drinking, the adventures into the jungle, and the anticipation of ever finding the mysterious daughter. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. It will keep you wondering what will happen next.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite John Grisham book
Review: I really enjoyed this book it has a good message, and is a great story. The story starts off fast and doesn't slow down. It is a story about a very rich man, Troy Phelan, who has built a company that is worth 11 billion dollars, but in the process he has alienated everyone of his family and friends. Troy commits suicide but just before he does he changes his will and leaves all his money to a daughter named Rachel no one knew he had. The daughter is a missionary in Brazil and the lawyer sent to find her, Nate, is going through struggles with alcohol,the IRS, and family problems. Nates adventures in Brazil are exciting, and his meeting with rachel helps turn his life around. You see on the one hand rachels love of God and detachment for material things and on the other hand the greed and self centeredness of troys children. The courtroom drama is also very good. This is a well written and thought provoking book.
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Summary: Great book! Captivating!
Review: I had to read this for a worldview class for my degree and really didn't know how well I would like it. It was easy reading and so interesting, I felt like I was reading it for pleasure!
Rating:
Summary: Like eating candy coated peanuts
Review: Buy this book, buy this book, buy this book. I read it from cover to cover over a weekend and resented anything that interrupted me. An exciting adventure, well described, with building tension and a reasonable and believable ending. A lesson in the condition in the Brazilian rainforest and the plight of aborigines that live there. It even put in a plug for rehabilitation through religous conversion to encourage the addicts among us to enter rehab.. Buy this book, Buy this book, buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Original
Review: An intriguing mix of secularism and religion. Moralistic but not preachy. This story, while having an ending that is slightly predictable, has many intereting twists and turns. As one who has been on mission trips, this book is well researched and realistic. If you are the non-religious type, don't let this book scare you away. You will enjoy it strictly for the story.
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Summary: Entertaining, easy, different
Review: Troy Phelan is America's tenth wealthiest man - a self-made multi-billionaire and head of a huge corporation. However, his family life has not been half as sucessful as his financial one; he has three three failed marriages behind him, and six children to whom he is apathetic to. They scrounge from him and throw their money down the drain. Many of them are in debt, and one is even being investigated by the IRS. However, Troy Phelan is also reclusive, eccentric, old, infirm and lonely. One morning, after he holds a confereence for his family members to witness the signing of his will, he leaps to his death from the 15th floor of his office building. His family circle vulture-like around the lawyers, having smelled the money. However, when Troy's last will and testament is finally revealed, it brings with it a shocking secret that will ensnare all his family, a missionary who has foresaken earthly possessions to work with Indians inthe Brazillian rainforest, and Nate O'Reilly, a burnt-out lawyer fresh out of his fourth stay in rehab as he treks into the jungle in search of Phelan's lost heir. It's hard to classify this book...it's certainly not a "thriller", nor is it really a "crime" novel. More, it's just a book concerning certain themes, all cloaked under humanity and a good plot. Those themes involve many things: wealth, faith, material possession, morality, human strength and human weakness and, finally, greed. It's written in Grisham's usual almost ludicrously easy-to-digest prose, which makes it a quick, enjoyable, none-too-taxing read, with some nice surprises and plenty of legal wrangling along the way. The change of scene from Grisham's normal Southern settings to the rainforest of Brazil is admirable and refreshing, and Grisham describes it well. Certainly, I'd now quite like to visist these out-of-the-way places he describes, maybe even live a similar lifestyle, for a little while, to some of the people in the book... He makes it all sound very satisfying. He also fascinatingly depicts aspects of the lives of native Brazillian Indians who live off the land and the forest, and any ready is bound to enjoy this [probably] new experience. The Testament is nothing out of this world as far as great books go. I'd not leap to reccomend it, but it's satisfying and enjoyable and endearingly different.
Rating:
Summary: Good one!
Review: I stopped reading John Grisham a few years back, but several people recommended this one. So I tried again. I thought the book was very good. Good character development. Nice insight to Christianity without being preachy or insulting to Christians. The ending was a little disappointing, but I think it was very appropriate - everyone got what they deserved. It's worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice
Review: With The Testament, I've now read two Grishams (The Rainmaker). Grisham's book has nothing out of the world in it. Nothing that you have not read in your newspaper. Very true, the feet still grounded. Little space for dramatics, none for melodrama. The Testament begins when a shrude old businessman, Troy Phelan, writes off his children from his 10 billion dollar worth will. He is more concerned with who does not get the moeny than who gets it. He gifts his estate to an illegitimate child of his, who is working as a missionary in the deepest forests of Brazil, among lakes, lagoons, and alligators. The search for Rachel Lane, the missionary takes up the middle portions of the book; easily the most entertaining parts. The conflict between the 7 written off heirs and the will beings the book to its climax.
Grisham builds his story very well, slowly but steadily. Nate O'Riley is a lawyer who takes a flight right out of his 4th rehab centre to Brazil to find Rachel. The similarities that Nate sees in his and Troy's lives and what he eventually learns from his mistakes are the important values that Grishm packs his books with.
The Church, Bible, Prayers do get a bit too preachy, but probably John thought a man out of 4 rehabs needed some of it. The editing of time and place keeps both kind of people interested - the ones who love the court room, and the ones who love the Pantanal.
The end of the book is like the end in The Rainmaker. I do not want to spoil it for those who would want to read The Testament. Grisham fans would surelly enjoy it.
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