I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. This is a book that is told at you, with pivotal moments happening off-page or simply summarized. All the important parts are yadda-yadda-ed over and there is just page after page (650 of them) of filler and completely inconsequential nonsense.
I thought there would be something to do with the moral choice Carl Lee makes, and we'd hear different perspectives on the killing, but that isn't even attempted. Grisham has decided that Carl Lee did a good thing and literally everyone who is "good" is in agreement. There is zero nuance to any character in this book, they all unwaveringly share the author's opinion or they are literal klansmen with basically nothing in between. The police treat Carl Lee like a friend, and don't even make him wear handcuffs when transporting him. There are several times when he might be confronted with the morality of the killing, but it just never happens. This reaches comical proportions when a reverend visits Carl Lee in jail and he just talks like everyone else patting him on the back. A reverend tells a double murderer that he did a good thing, and the only thing that differentiates him is that he punctuates some sentences with "my son."
The trial isn't anything. You don't learn anything new, no real arguments are presented, there are no twists, and important parts of the trial are yadda-yadda-ed over (Grisham's fingers are tired by this point, I guess). Who is the jury? He spent many pages on jury selection but I still don't really know, and it's not like they really deliberate anything, anyway. 12 Angry Men this is not. Oh, and the pivotal moment when the jury comes together? It happens off-page. It's explained what happened afterward.
And the writing is just terrible. It's almost literally 650 pages of "Jake did this, then Jake did that, then Jake did another thing, then Jake made an out of place and unfunny joke that Grisham thought was hilarious, then Jake and more Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake." I wasn't expecting Shakespeare, but it was bad.
I thought this book was supposed to be good. I've heard so many good things about it, the movie did well, and it's written by a lawyer so I thought it would at least feature some cogent legal arguments, legal trickery, twist and turns, courtroom drama, but… no. None of that. I'm honestly confused as to why so many people like this book. I can't think of any redeeming qualities. Grisham has many, many books that sold very well, are they all like this?
by daikatana