The International Herald Tribune recently published an article with the headline “ John Grisham, Out With His 21st Book, Sees Himself as Entertainer and not Literary Giant.” We can certainly all agree that Mr. Grisham is not a literary giant, but his latest book seems to indicate that he is a little confused about the definition of “entertainer.” He seems to think that the definition of “entertainer” is something along the lines of “fiction writer who gratuitously and invasively inserts political opinions throughout his work of fiction.” Mr. Grisham's latest work is about as entertaining as a poke in the eye. Actually, we are being too generous in referring to The Appeal as a “work of fiction.” The only “work” that Mr. Grisham did in preparing this book was to write down catchy little phrases as they were spewed from the mouth of his hero, Hillary Clinton, and then place said phrases throughout the book. If a litany of ill-conceived stereotypes sprinkled here and there with editorials can be considered a “work of fiction,” then I suppose that The Appeal is a work of fiction.
Prior to discussing the political commentary in the book, we should discuss the actual fictional work. The plot is as follows: A big, mean chemical company located in Mississippi dumped chemicals which made their way into the water supply killing and disabling hundreds of people. Now enters our heroes, a couple of tort lawyers, who sell off their fancy cars and houses and borrow $400,000 so that they can focus all of their time on the case against the evil chemical company. When our heroic couple is nearly out of money, they finally win a multi-million dollar settlement from the chemical company. But the case is appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court, and the evil chemical company does dastardly things in order to manipulate which judges will hear the case when the appeal comes before that court. The supreme court indeed reverses the judgment, the poor inhabitants of Cancer County, Mississippi get nothing but continued suffering and death, and the majority shareholder of the evil chemical company rides off into the sunset on his brand new yacht enjoying his $3 billion net worth but wondering how he will make his next $3 billion.
The stereotyping is appallingly predictable and comical. The evil billionaire, Trudeau, is hard-drinking, is married to his third wife, and despises his children. His trophy wife is blond, narcissistic, anorexic, and has fake breasts. The pastor who is tolerant of homosexual behavior is full of wisdom and kindness, but the pastor who believes homosexual behavior is a sin is portrayed as an ignorant, redneck blowhard. All of the liberal judges are portrayed as individuals who really love the constitution and are looking out for the little guy, while all of the conservative judges are mere tools of corporate interests.
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Prior to discussing the political commentary in the book, we should discuss the actual fictional work. The plot is as follows: A big, mean chemical company located in Mississippi dumped chemicals which made their way into the water supply killing and disabling hundreds of people. Now enters our heroes, a couple of tort lawyers, who sell off their fancy cars and houses and borrow $400,000 so that they can focus all of their time on the case against the evil chemical company. When our heroic couple is nearly out of money, they finally win a multi-million dollar settlement from the chemical company. But the case is appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court, and the evil chemical company does dastardly things in order to manipulate which judges will hear the case when the appeal comes before that court. The supreme court indeed reverses the judgment, the poor inhabitants of Cancer County, Mississippi get nothing but continued suffering and death, and the majority shareholder of the evil chemical company rides off into the sunset on his brand new yacht enjoying his $3 billion net worth but wondering how he will make his next $3 billion.
The stereotyping is appallingly predictable and comical. The evil billionaire, Trudeau, is hard-drinking, is married to his third wife, and despises his children. His trophy wife is blond, narcissistic, anorexic, and has fake breasts. The pastor who is tolerant of homosexual behavior is full of wisdom and kindness, but the pastor who believes homosexual behavior is a sin is portrayed as an ignorant, redneck blowhard. All of the liberal judges are portrayed as individuals who really love the constitution and are looking out for the little guy, while all of the conservative judges are mere tools of corporate interests.
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I never thougth that Grisham is a serious literary writer. As he says he writes "entertainments" that don't go very deep and a just a product of his imagination, albeit often based on real life. IMHO readers who know his work shouldn't approach his work expecting more than what reads like a screenplay.