BOOK TALK: THE APPEAL

Last night I stayed up late to finish the latest book I have been reading. It is The Appeal by John Grisham. We are big fans of that author and read all of his books. I had bought this one for Darrell for Valentine's Day and had it on my "to read" list for a long time. Last week I finally got to it.

The book is typical Grisham with it being another lawyer/trial book. I loved the first page. It was such an example of writer's craft. The first sentence is a grabber lead: "The jury was ready." It goes on to repeat that phrase at least three times to make it another craft of "Power of Three".

Then the first full paragraph is a true example of description. It goes like this: "After forty-two hours of deliberations that followed seventy-one days of trial that included 530 hours of testimony from four dozen witnesses, and after a lifetime of sitting silently as the lawyers haggled and the judge lectured and the spectators watched like hawks for telltale signs, the jury was ready."

That first page was enough to sell me on the book. I was not happy with the ending. My good friend, Marsha, had warned me that it was not something she was happy with, so I was a little leary. She was right. I am thinking Mr. Grisham had a bigger picture in mind than just that I would have a "happily ever after" ending. I was to learn something about life. If that was his goal, it worked. I did.

If you are a Grisham fan, a Mississippi fan, a lawyer/trial fan...you will enjoy the book. Beware though, you may not be happy with the ending, but you will be glad you read it!