The Appeal by John Grisham Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.74 You Save: $10.26 (73%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Appeal
Book Review: Agreed -- not his best, skip it
Summary: 3 Stars
Having enjoyed Mr. Grisham's novels for years, I was pleasantly surprised to find this one on the shelves the other day. I read the entire first section, which was really good. Started on section two and then skipped to the end of it (tell you anything?) to learn the outcome of the election of a bought-and-paid-for state Supreme. And then skipped to the last three or four chapters to learn the outcome of the appeal that the Supremes were looking at. Yeah, got all the part about the new judge's kid and how that affected the outcome, too.
I did not perceive this book to be an indictment one way or the other on trial lawyers, evil corporations, etc. Instead, this book seemed to me to be a strong indictment of right-wing Christians, and although I'm about as left-wing-Jewish-liberal as you can get, I found the characterizations very unfair and one-dimensionally biased. While there may be corrupt preachers that make millions crying on TV and begging for tithes, such corruption cannot possibly be spread so thickly amongst the everyday church-going faithful as this book might have one believe -- yes, yes, it's just a novel, but some people think that novels at least have a context of truth to them, and I don't think this one does.
That an attorney, and a church-going, family-oriented, God-loving man could be so easily corrupted in the space of only a few months, is stretching it. A ride on a Lear jet and suddenly the dude is voting against his own conscience -- because he left his conscience at the door when he made his first trip to DC to schill for money? Really, really stretching it. This person is a partner at his firm, has an adoring wife, has had no scandals, no affairs, never even smoked pot in college -- and we're supposed to believe that in less than a year he has become a total sell-out and tossed his personal what's-right-and-what's-wrong-o-meter into the crapper?
Love ya, Mr. Grisham, will continue buying your books, but the mark was missed with this one. :-(
Book Review: Agreed, this is not among his best, but...
Summary: 3 Stars
when I finally got hooked more than a third of the way through it, this novel proved worthy of reading to the finish. Some reviewers are upset because the ending is not as optimistic as we might like. Frankly, the power of this one comes when Grisham swears, in an afterword, that his story of how big business corrupts the right-wing religious groups to back politicians who seem to have one agenda but actually are owned by a different group of special interests is pretty darn realistic. It is bloated, and dull in spots, and would make a better film than it does a book. A good movie director could tighten this up and improve it quite a lot. The bad guys here outnumber the heroes, and the heroes don't quite survive, although they live through their drama in a physical sense. If you have an interest in how huge amounts of cash can change our political and judicial landscapes, this is worth the effort.Book Review: Almost not Grisham like...
Summary: 2 Stars
I just finished reading the Appeal. I am really saddened that John Grisham wrote this book.
There are a lot of reviews here that talks about the plot and so on, so I won't repeat it. Grisham has a way of keeping you attached to his books, and this one is no exception. My problem here, is I was looking for something to happen on every "next" page. But nothing did.
I gave it a 2 star, because it is not a boring book.
Book Review: An Insult to Grisham's Once-Loyal Readers
Summary: 1 Stars
After reading "The Appeal", my primary response is an appeal to the publisher to refund the money I wasted on this disappointing, personal-agenda-driven editorial disguised as a novel. Once the undisputed king of the legal thriller, Grisham has unquestionably squandered his reputation with this offering. To the crime of self indulgence, he has compounded the cardinal sin of poor storytelling -- an unpardonable malefaction, coming from an author of his ability and status. Grisham's sell-out here is a shame, and an insult to his once loyal readers.Book Review: Another amazing Grisham page-turner
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Appeal" is yet another one of Grisham's "can't put it down" legal thrillers. This book focuses on the interplay between judicial and political elections (to the extent the two can be separated), corporate money and greed, and the US tort system. I thought that all the characters in the book appeared believable and realistic. I suspect that many of the negative reviews of this book came from those who are more right-wing and do not like the negative portrayals of "tort reform" advocates and business in general. However, I feel that the book is more than balanced as it clearly shows that both right and left wing (and even purportedly moderate) judicial candidates are beholden to various constituencies.
The timing of the book (when released in 2008) was excellent as that was the same term as the "Massey" decision wherein the US Supreme Court ruled that elected judges could not rule in cases where they received large amounts of cash from a litigant. Like almost all of Grisham's books, it's a very quick read and very difficult to put down.
Like so many other Grisham books, the book does indeed leave many unanswered questions about all of the protagonists at the end. There is no "fairy tale" ending and what ultimately occurs is not clear, but I feel that this adds to the book's credibility. I avoided reading any reviews or other "spoiler" descriptions, so until the very last page I had no idea how it would end. I strongly disagree with the reviewers who felt that the book's developments were predictable, to the contrary, I feel that nothing in the book was predictable.
Whatever your political views or what you think about judicial elections, I feel that this book should open your eyes to what really goes on in politics, especially when we have open elections for those who decide matters of so much importance to individuals and businesses. Anyone who's loved Grisham's previous books, and/or is interested the law or politics will love this book.