The Summons

Rating:
Summary: I don't think this novel is about what we think it is about
Review: "The Summons" is one of those books where you think you know what it is about but then it turns out to be about something else. You may or may not be surprised by this revelation (I was close, but I had the key equation backwards), but either way I have to doubt you will find it a fitting climax to the story. "The Summons" is not one of Grisham's novels involving a complex criminal conspiracy ("The Firm," "The Pelican Brief"), the downfall of corporate criminals ("The Rainmaker," "The Runaway Jury") or even personal redemption ("The Partner," "The Testament"). Instead, it is a fairly simple but intriguing mystery that confronts law professor Ray Atlee: Why is there over $3 million in cash neatly kept in stationary boxes in the home of his father, Judge Reuben V. Atlee of Mississippi? However, this mystery is something of a smoke screen, because ultimately this is a "what if?" story and Ray Atlee is actually the rarest of Grisham heroes; namely, one with whom we can identity. This is because knowledge of the law is ultimately not a necessary part of the character. Instead of going along for the ride, their is a bit more involvement on the part of the reader than normal with a Grisham novel. Time and again I found myself wondering if I would have thought of doing this, that or the other thing, mainly because Ray's legal background was not an impediment to identification with the character. However, that pesky little mystery kept getting in the way of that sense of identification, because I mistakenly assumed--as does Ray--that solving the mystery would make all the pieces fall into place. Consequently, I think Grisham was out to make a point that is more ambitious than is usually his approach. Unfortunately he camouflaged it too well and this ends up being what I would characterize as an "average" Grisham novel. If you have been reading John Grisham's novels, then there is no reason not to read this one, especially since it is a very quick read. But obviously there is concern that Grisham is going to continue to idle along producing a series of potboilers, which, if you stop and think about it, might explain part of the problem, because he does not need to be writing potboilers. Oh, and thanks for digging through these hundreds of reviews to find this one. In the time it took you to do that, you could have just about read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Fun read.
Review: The Summons is a neat and tidy, lawyer novel. It is clever and an enjoyable page turner. Grisham knows how to keep your attention and give you interesting views of the south and it's lawyers.

Rating:
Summary: What happened?
Review: The only reason I didn't give this less than three stars was because I did manage to get through the whole book. Although, I think this might have been more because it was short than that it held my interest. It felt as if John had a book due to his publisher so he just threw this one together overnight. I am an avid John Grishman fan & have all his books but this one was a major bust!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I am a HUGE fan of John Grisham. I've enjoyed every book that he has written and read them all several times. I always look forward to his new novels and buy them the first day they are available. This one, however, was a disappointment. His novels are usually page-turners, but this one had none of excitement, twists or wit that his previous novels have been filled with. It's still a good book, but it wanes in comparison to his others.

Rating:
Summary: A hurry up case there John?
Review: I am a long time Grisham fan, in fact some folks would say I'm a John Grisham Air Conditioner. I must admit that The Summons is not up to John's usual standards. I liked the book, but it lacked to me in a couple area's. One being that I found three typo's (or improper use of english) myself on the first read, which is unlike his last books, and the content didn't stay as interesting as most of his first eight or nine books using main lawyer characters. I'm still glad to see him back writing lawyer books, and will read everyone he comes out with, as I have read all the other ones, and place The Summons at 3 stars which is a little behind all his other works with lawyer characters, and further behind my favorites by him. The Client was six stars and a joy to read at the third reading. Thank you John Grisham.

Rating:
Summary: Keeps you turning the pages
Review: After reading the other comments of so many disappointed readers I was wondering what they expected? I read all of Grisham's books and was also disappointed that his later books just could not match the thrill of his earlier ones. However, the critics warned me his new book would not be so different from the last ones and I still had to buy my copy ... and I sure read it in a couple of nights. I do not think it was so terrible just because it was not a re-print of the firm. It did not repeat any scene from earlier books, had some thrill and some wit and kept my interest while reading. I did prefer reading Grisham's new book over going to the movies or watching TV. Therefore, it has not been as disappointing for me as for others. I guess it really depends on what one expects?

Rating:
Summary: Goodness Gracious!
Review: Dear John. John, John, John...where should I begin? I've been wondering why bookstores around Tupelo have been advertising extremely low prices for the hardback version of this book...now I know why. Could it be the obvious lack of editorial effort (has anyone else noticed the annoying typographical errors)? I thought your wife, et al, read your final copy before publishing? And between chapters, I promise you, no one has forgotten the characters of the novel, so it is not necessary to keep introducing them as if you knew we would put the book down for several days (in disgust) and finally pick it back up to read. I love you John - you're still good for Mississippi even though you left us - but please don't rush to write another novel for whatever reasons - you're too captivating for that kind of racket. Take as much time as you need on the next one, dear, we will all wait patiently. P.S., I loved The Testament and find it interesting that others did not...to each his own.

Rating:
Summary: SORRY FOLKS, I LIKED IT
Review: IT WON'T WIN ANY PULITZER PRIZES, BUT IT IS A NICE, LIGHT DIVERSION. I GIVE IT FIVE STARS NOT BECAUSE IT IS GREAT LITERATURE BUT BECAUSE I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.

I READ EVERYTHING GRISHAM WRITES (EXCEPT THE CHRISTMAS THING), AND MY OPINION IS THAT IT HAS BEEN PRETTY MUCH DOWNHILL SINCE THE FIRM. THIS ONE THOUGH, WAS FAST PACED, AND, UNLIKE MOST OF HIS WORK, IT APPEARED THAT GRISHAM HAD A PLAN FOR ENDING THE BOOK BEFORE HE STARTED WRITING. I ALWAYS ENJOY READING HIS BOOKS. MY COMPLAINT (EVEN WITH THE FIRM) IS THAT HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO END THEM. THIS ONE HAS A THOUGHT OUT ENDING.

Rating:
Summary: Ho Hum, Another By-The-Numbers Grisham Novel
Review: In the days before CDs, Van Halen used to come out with records that clocked in at 15 minutes a side. I would feel ripped off, even though I loved what I heard in those 30 minutes.

Well, John Grisham has managed to write a book that is both too short to seem like much of an effort AND pretty boring. It sticks to one of his standard plots: someone comes into lots of money, through either graft or dumb luck, and struggles with how to handle it. We've seen this in "The Partner", "The Testament" and "The Brethren", to name just a few. Other standard elements include the small hometown in the semi-rural South, the loner protagonist (how come no meaningful Grisham character ever has kids?) and the mega-bucks cheesy lawyer. In short, there is absolutely nothing new in this book. Grisham seems to have written it in between breaks from some other primary activity.

If there's any good news here, it's that Grisham junkies will only need an afternoon to polish off "The Summons".

Rating:
Summary: the summons
Review: He is still cashing in on early well written books.He probably doesn't even write them anymore.His books lately including this one is thin in story mostly. Boring,never really goes anywhere.Lots of pages and words explaining virtually nothing.