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John Grisham: The Last Juror

Buddy Knox

Buddy Knox

New Member
"In 1970, one of Mississippi's more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper began to prosper." "The murderer, Danny Padgitt, was tried before a packed courthouse in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a startling and dramatic end when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they convicted him. Nevertheless, they found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison." But in Mississippi in 1970, "life" didn't necessarily mean "life," and nine years later Danny Padgitt managed to get himself paroled. He returned to Ford County, and the retribution began."

Grisham has done it once again. I finished this up the other night and found it to be very enjoyable from beginning to end. For those of you that dig Grisham and have read the book, what were your thoughts? One of the first things that jumped out at me was how rich the setting was. Those of you that have seen/watched A Time to Kill should remember Ford County, Mississippi. I've noticed that he seems to have a deep love for rural/country environments from a lot of his other books, and that is apparent in this story as well.

Grisham's knack for memorable characters and smooth dialogue is also present in this one. How can you not love the warm Ms. Callie? How can you not laugh at Baggie, the drunk wonder. Speaking of drunks, has anyone else noticed that Grisham includes an alcoholic or at least someone who's very fond of the 'spirits' in just about every book? I wonder if that has any significance? hmmmm.

One thing people never mention about Grisham is how funny he is. Therre are several times in every book that I'll laugh out loud. I think it's the matter-of-fact way he words certain things. For example...

(pg. 224) "He owned two nursing homes and a cemetery, and he had the distinction of having survived three airplane crashes. He was no longer a pilot."


There are quite a few funny lines and moments sandwiched into this novel. I love how he knows how to balance the humor. If he included too much I think it could bring down his stories a bit.

The last thing I'll mention is how much i love the feeling of completeness this story has at the end. I enjoyed The King of Torts & The Brethren, but at the conclusion of both of them I felt a bit unsatisfied. However, the conclusion of The Last Juror was beautiful. The last line said so much with just a few words. In one way it ends Willie's days in Ford County, but in another it leaves you wondering just where he might go from there. I think the Last Juror is up there with some of his better works.

I just wanted to highlight a couple of things. If any of you have read it, don't be shy.
 
I totaly agree with you Buddy. This has to be one of his finest. The main characters feel like people you've seen when you drive through those one stop sign towns on a sticky day. You feel sorry for them and admire them at the same time.

Ms Callie was a wonderful creation. It made me wonder if he had someone like her in his life that influenced him at some time or another.

And if you weren't touched by the ending of this book then you shouldn't be allowed to read, it's that simple.

If you liked Killing Time, read it. If you liked Painted House, read it. If you like down-home cooking and sitting on the porch with a glass of lemonaide, read it.


RaVeN
 
I like those round cookies, with cream in the middle, and I also like that fat orange cat that keeps shitting in our yard - should I read it?

Cheers, Martin :cool:
 
I think you're on the wrong thread Martin. Should I supply you the link?

But since you're asking me, eat your cookie but don't cheat by licking the cream out of the middle first like you usually do, then kick Phil's ass for making the nightly deposits. ( If you shine a flashlight in his eyes you'll freeze him in mid-dump)

Once you've brushed your teeth and erased the image of Phil with his trousers around his ankles from your memory , read the book.

RaVeN
 
The Last Juror

Have just finished reading Mr Grisham's latest (?) book and was not too impressed.

Whilst it was readable, it lacked the punch of many of his other novels and I was left with the feeling that it was a bit rushed. I also found the title a bit ambiguous (won't say anymore).

Anyone else have any thoughts on this - my mother wanted to read this and I think I may have put her off but my opinions on books are often very disssimilar to other peoples'.

Should my mother read this or not? NB she liked all his other stuff but has limited time and lots on her 'to read list'.

Ta
 
I guess she could give it a go - if she doesn't like it, she can always put it down.

I just finished this today, and I was quite impressed. I got a bit sick of Grisham when he was first in his mega-popular stage. I read quite a few of his books, and after a while I just didn't get "thrilled" anymore by them. :rolleyes:

But I think The Last Juror may get me interested in Grisham again. :D I must admit, when I first picked it up, I thought it was going to be very one-dimensional, and basically follow just what the blurb on the back cover was about. Instead it was so much more indepth than that. It was more than just a story about a murder trial, and revenge. Infact, that almost seemed to be more of a subplot to the rest of the story - which I thought was more about Willie Traynor finding his feet in life, and his friendship with Miss Callie.
 
John Grisham's The Last Juror

I read the book "The Last Juror" by John Grisham and I have no clue why it is called the last juror. Is it because
at the end Miss Callie dies and she was the last juror or something.
Anyway will someone please help me, and please answer this forum!!
 
:eek: You might want to put spoiler tags on that little bit of info there. :eek: (ie. [spoiler ]text[/spoiler ] without the spaces.)

And yes, I think that is the reason that it is called The Last Juror - because the story really seemed to revolve more around her friendship with the reporter, than the actual case.
 
We let people off the first time, but the next time it'll be the firing squad. ;) We're a very friendly forum, y'know! :D Seriously, don't worry about it. :)

If you want to read a spoiler, just click on the beginning and drag the mouse along and the text will be visible.
 
I am almost finishing the book. This is the first JG book that I've read so I don't know if this is his usual style. Anyway, in this book, the plot is kindda slow but I would not say its boring. I am expecting a big twist at the end so I hope I would not be disappointed.

Overall, so far, nice read. The characters are interesting and the book also allows a young reader an insight into the society before and after the integration of whites and blacks in the county during 1960s and 70s.

You can pick it up for an easy and leisure read.
 
Umm I already read the book..lol.but I didn't understand why it was called that, I do now so I don't need your help anymore but thanks anyway!
 
The Last Juror

I just love this book. It is one of my favorites of John Grisham's. If you have not read any of his books and don't know where to start... read this one. It is a good transition into crime drama if you haven't read any like these. It isn't all about the court room drama though. He writes the story from the view of a newcomer, who is a newspaper owner in a small town. Read this book. It's great!
 
I really liked this book! I was fascinated with the depictions of running a small-town newspaper, and the story kept me hooked from beginning to end, and I was sorry for it to end-there are precious few books nowadays that make me sorry to see the ending.
 
The book is my favorite of all time by my favorite author. The book is alot unlike most his crime thriller. The crime and trial was there to just give a base to the story. The crime really did play second fiddle to the story of Miss Callie and and Willie. I really wish that Grisham would do more books like this.
 
I liked this one. I've read a few Grisham books and this one is up there. I'm currently reading Playing for Pizza. It's much lighter (so far anyway).
 
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