The Summons

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing ending
Review: I have read many of John Grisham's books. I bought this for a plane trip and ended up reading the entire book in one day, which is unusual for me. This book was intriguing from the very beginning, but I was very disappointed in the ending. I am not going to spoil it for you, but I will say that after it was all said and done, this was not a satisfying read. It's not that I didn't like what happened in the end, it is just that it seemed very contrived and it did not follow from the story that was presented before it. If you love Grisham, then you will probably still like this book, but I'd suggest a re-reading of his earlier works i.e. Time to Kill or The Firm before I would suggest that you read The Summons.

Rating:
Summary: What goes around comes around
Review: What if you stumbled upon Big Bucks and didn't want to share?

Ray Atlee, a professor at the Virginia School of Law, is summarily summoned home to Mississippi by his cancer-ridden father, a former state Chancery Judge. Ol' Dad has never been close to Ray or his younger brother, Forrest. Both call him "Judge". On arrival back at the decaying, family mansion, Ray finds the old man peacefully dead on a sofa. In obvious view is a recently written will naming Ray the estate executor. Both sons are to split the estate's assets even-steven. There isn't much, though, beyond the house and $6,000 in the bank. Mississippi doesn't pay its judges much, and Judge Atlee was famously generous to any and all charities and good causes.

So, how about that 3.1 million dollars - cash - stashed in a bookcase behind the sofa, huh? That'll buy a lot of Moon Pies and Yoo-hoo.

To call THE SUMMONS a thriller is an overstatement. The action, such as it is, proceeds at a sedate pace as Ray shuttles back and forth between Virginia, Mississippi, and New Jersey and grapples with the questions:

1. Where did the money come from?
2. Is the cash marked, or counterfeit?
3. Should he share it with Forrest?
4. Does anyone else know he has it?

Ray decides almost immediately not to declare the money as part the Judge's estate, or share it with his brother, a chronic substance abuser who's been in and out of rehab for twenty years. After all, Forrest would only kill himself with so much wealth, wouldn't he? The reader also learns early on that at least one other is aware of the horde when Ray receives an anonymous note cautioning him not to spend the windfall, and that the IRS is only a phone call away.

THE SUMMONS is basically a morality play about the consequences of banal greed. I say banal because Ray is excruciatingly ordinary, and his decisions regarding the cash stash are probably the same ones you or I would make under similar circumstances.

Until the last twenty pages or so, I was disinclined to award more than three stars. However, author John Grisham closes with a twist that, while not one that elicits an "Oh, wow!", at least satisfyingly makes the point that what goes around comes around and poetic justice is occasionally served (at least in fiction).

Rating:
Summary: Save your time........
Review: As I said........save your time.....boring, plot-less and a total waste of time........I'm skipping novels for a while. Find something else and be glad you skipped this one. They won't make a movie out of this one......the commercials would have more entertainment value.

Rating:
Summary: Gotta love the man of law
Review: As usual a great book by a great author, but i was definitely shocked by the dead ending to it. I really expected something more.

Rating:
Summary: got me hooked on grisham
Review: this book takes wild turns and twist all over the place. harry rex vonner is absolutely funny. i like the way it pulls in other books to its plot. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa++++++++++++++++

Rating:
Summary: A Review of The Summons
Review: John Grisham's The Summons is a very well written book. The word choice Grisham uses is very different than his usual style in this book. He writes about a law professor that lives in Virginia. His name is Mr. Atlee. His father is Judge Atlee from a small town in Mississippi. His father had been a judge for most of his life and enforced strong discipline on Ray and his younger brother Forrest, who was named after the Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Ray is summoned to his father's estate by his father in a written summons, as is his brother Forrest. Ray arrives to find his father dead and when Ray begins to look around the house, he finds over six million dollars hidden in his father's chest in his room. Ray goes through a series of close calls with people trying to get his money even though he never told anyone about the money, except for a small town lawyer in his father's home town. In the end, Ray finds out it is Forrest who has been after his money the whole time. At the end of the novel, Ray and Forrest simply decide to part ways.

This was another elequent book written by Grisham. His work always keeps me at awe. I also continue to notice his fascination with Louisiana and New Orleans, especially Tulane because every book I've read by him has mentioned Tulane. Just an interesting note I thought I'd point out. Overall, it was a very good book, but not Grisham's best.

Rating:
Summary: Another good book, but predictable
Review: This book starts of great and goes strong got about 2/3 of the way. However, as with his last few books, he throws in characters and circumstances so that he can bring a swift conclusion.

All but the last 25 pages or so is good. I wish Grisham would go back to his style he had in the beginning... The Firm, The Pelican Brief... Those were truly great books.

However he rights so well that I can forgive him the kind of lame endings he has had recently. I will be reading the new one soon: King of Torts.

Rating:
Summary: Grisham needs a vacation
Review: I think John needed a little extra cash when he wrote this one. Slow moving, predictable, and generally a long long bore. Gee John, has fame done you in?

Rating:
Summary: Lacking Some Meat In The Middle
Review: Based upon reading countless John Grisham novels in the past, I figured that this one would at least be good if not great. The summary on the jacket seemed quite intriguing.

However, after a fairly descriptive opening that leads Ray and Forest to meet at their late father's home, the story disintegrates into boredom. All you hear about is how irresponsible Forest is with little information on how he turned out that way as a child. Forest was supposedly the big time football hero in high school. It would have been nice if there was a flashback detailing where he fell off the wagon and turned into a seedy young adult. Little is told about Ray's youth as well. As the main star of this novel, you would think there would be a more comprehensive background on Ray who seems to be written about in every scene.

Minimal information is also given about any of the other characters. Its all about resolving this boring Will and the money that seems to be stashed in the late Father's residence. The ending is not so bad. It portrays the implications of sibling rivalries in families. However, the amount of pointless detail between start and finish of this novel borders between unnecessary and excruciating.

I guess every author has his misstep. Whereas the book isn't an outright disaster, it certainly falls well short of his best work.

Rating:
Summary: "The Summons"
Review: I liked this book... but wasn't thrilled with the ending. My favorite Grisham book has to be "A Painted House". Even now - I look back and wonder about details of "A Painted House".