The Chamber
by John Grisham
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Book Summary Information
Author: John GrishamEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-12-27
ISBN: 0385339666
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Delta
Book Reviews of The Chamber
Book Review: A very good novel as long as you aren't expecting big thrills and you can live with Grisham's heavy handed moralizing
Summary: 4 Stars
First things first: The Chamber is not a legal thriller. It isn't a thriller at all. This is a character-driven novel about a young lawyer who decides to defend his grandfather, a Ku Klux Klan member who is on death row for the racially motivated bombing of a Jewish business that resulted in the death of two young children in the 1960s. In defending his grandfather, the young lawyer is forced to confront his families ugly past.
Readers expecting thrills in the novel are apt to be disappointed. Grisham does appear to be setting up for some action involving the mysterious co-conspirator to the bombings, but these `hints of action to come' never quite materialize. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In many ways a typical thriller ending would have felt disingenuous to the tone of the novel. It is clear though that Grisham felt a need to at least flirt with thriller elements in order to create the impression that something 'action packed' could happen. This may frustrate readers looking for some page-turning excitement at the end.
All in all, I enjoyed The Chamber. Grisham does a good job of fleshing out complex characters, in particular, the young attorney protagonist. Despite the novel's length (my paperback version clocked in at 676 pages) it makes for compelling reading. I'm not sure I'm convinced it needed to be quite as long as it was, but Grisham has a writing style that I find very readable. He has an ability to provide great insight into legal wrangling without losing the interest of his reader. I was quite fascinated to learn about all the maneuvering that goes into the final stages of a death row case.
One thing though that no one could ever accuse Grisham of is having a subtle touch. The Chamber may have been the start of a trend where Grisham began to infuse his novels with a heavy moralistic hand - a trait that eventually made it necessary for me to stop reading his novels. Our hero protagonist gives up the trappings of corporate lawyering in the end to take on the thankless, low-paying job of defending death row inmates and our death row grandpa starts off as a surly bigot but he comes to see the error of his racist ways. In fairness to Grisham he does a reasonable job of making these progressions gradual and plausible (after all, a man on death row is more likely to see the error of his ways than most people). Unfortunately I'm not a fan of sentimental stories and tales of redemption so I found it a touch too syrupy for my tastes at times. Grisham clearly isn't a supporter of the death penalty and he lays out his arguments against the practice a little too heavily in the novel (and I'm a left-leaning tree-hugging Canadian opposed to the death penalty so I can only imagine how execution fans will respond to Grisham's point of view).
Still, the sentimental side to the novel wasn't as painful for me as it could have been. Despite its high page count, I found the pages turned quickly and I enjoyed each opportunity I had to read the novel. I enjoyed learning about death row legal maneuvering and I thought the characters were well developed (even if I would have preferred a little less redemption and noble sacrifice). This is a very good novel provided you aren't looking for big thrills and you can live with Grisham's heavy handed moralizing.
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