We're back in John Grisham's favourite location, a courtroom, where the issues are complex and the participants are at the top of their game. As the novel opens we are introduced to the clerk of the courts, the litigants and the judges. All suitably attired, of course - the clerk is in pyjamas, lavender shower shoes and a somewhat comical wig; the judges swathed in pale-green church robes. After that…hang on, did we say pyjamas? Well, clearly this is no ordinary courtroom. In fact we are in Trumble, a minimum security North Florida federal prison, and inmate Justices Joe Roy Spicer (a justice of the peace in Mississippi), Finn Yarber (formerly Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court) and Hatlee Beech ((Texas Federal Judge) are the "Brethren" of the title, presiding over possibly the most curious courtroom in the history of American jurisprudence. They meet weekly and settle disputes between prisoners. Not surprisingly, the rules of evidence also leave much to be desired (see the "Legal Point" below): Short pleadings; no discovery; quick justice; decisions on the spot; no appeals; no administration of the oath. Lying is not only the norm, but very much expected. None of this is unusual considering the extra-curricular activities of Their Honours - not wanting to leave prison without a war chest, they have hatched a scheme to blackmail unwitting responders to pen pal advertisements in a gay magazines. They pretend to be an attractive and available guy named Ricky, a fictitious participant in a drug rehabilitation program, and then threaten to expose those who respond unless they cough up a sufficient bribe. These illicit funds are then funneled into Caribbean banks. Another story line concerns a presidential election. The head of the CIA, Teddy Maynard, wants a little more out of the budget to deal with those (still) pesky Russians, who despite the thaw in the Cold War seem headed for a military coup. Unfortunately the public and their elected legislators do not share his enthusiasm for a budget increment in these peaceful times. Typically, the CIA looks to do some double-dealing to extricate themselves from the clutches of these peace-loving fools running the country. What better than to get their own man in charge of the whole shebang - yes, in time honoured thriller tradition, they find an appropriate Congressman prepared to do their bidding. Enter Aaron Lake, representative from Arizona, who may get a kick along from some well orchestrated terrorist actions that will have the voting public retreat to Cold War paranoia. He's the perfect candidate, a clean-cut American boy who's a hawk on defense. Guess what? Straight and narrow Lake may not be as "straight" as he appears, particularly given his correspondence with Ricky the fictitious gay pen pal. And Maynard had better find the identity of the blackmailers before his elaborate scheme comes to a nasty end. The connection between the two plots is well executed and creates an immediate tension. Mostly, we wait to see where the inevitable intersection will take place. The setup is perfect - a presidential contender, worthy adversaries and a ticking clock. Unfortunately the resolution leaves a lot to be desired. There is some relief that the sanctimonious tone of some of the earlier efforts, where (shock horror) a lawyer discovers that the legal system is corrupt, has been abandoned in favour of straightforward malicious characters. We liked the ads that are made for Lake's campaign: bombs exploding, and the candidate saying "Lake, before it's too late". Justice Hatlee Beech is a particularly well drawn character. There is not a lot of sheer fun here, a la "The Firm", although it's a lot more fun than the lamentable "Street Lawyer". Teddy's a little too impressive to be real: "He'd dodged bullets, hidden under bridges, frozen in mountains, poisoned two Czech spies, shot a traitor in Bonn, learned seven languages, fought the cold war, tried to prevent the next one, had more adventures than any ten agents combined…"Wow, when does he get time to sleep? Every character in this book is irredeemably evil and unlikable. This isn't good versus evil; it's just all evil. Congressman Lake never reveals his motivations, or lets the reader into his clandestine correspondence. You may be disappointed with the less than explosive ending. There isn't much in the way of exposition here - more often than not Grisham tells us what we need to know.The plot doesn't justify the book's length. It's a court without rules at Trumble prison e.g. quick justice, decisions made on the spot and no opportunity for an appeal, not to mention an inclination to allow witnesses to lie. There's a certain attraction to this anarchy - after all, if television courtrooms are anything to go by, too much law interferes with the pursuit of justice. Or does it? Think of a game of footy without the rules; or chess where the pieces can be moved at will. Interesting, but it would not provoke a reasonable contest. In Australia, as in the U.S., we have an "adversarial" court proceedings. This is a contest between warring parties, but it's played according to well-worn and (usually) strictly enforced rules and codes of conduct. The judge is the umpire, the ultimate arbiter of the rules. Witnesses are sworn to tell the truth, and if they don't, they can be charged with a very serious offence; not all evidence is admissible, for instance, you can't give evidence about something said by another person to prove the truth of your own statement. And unlike the Trumble court, most decisions can be reviewed or reconsidered by a higher court, usually on the ground that there has been an error in the application of the law by the judge in the lower court. Of course, in Grisham's Trumble this is a moot point, because there's no law as such in the first place. You know that bank that John Grisham was laughing all the way to? - he bought it!! He's the Bill Gates of legal fiction; the Rupert Murdoch of thriller writers; the Stephen Spielberg of…..well, you get the idea! By any standards, he has achieved a remarkable success, so much so that his publishers proclaim him the world's best selling author. He was born in Arkansas (pronounced "Arkansaw"), the same state that Bill Clinton calls home. He got a degree in accounting (handy now that he has all that money to count!) and (tick, tick, tick…) yes, Law, from the fabled "Ole Miss" (a University in Mississippi). Now, most lawyers go on to practice in a pretty dull routine - surrounded by wills and land titles, they spend their days buried in more paper than a recycling centre. This might be good enough for your everyday hack, or even your ego-driven corporate type, but Grisham had different ideas. Like the actor that longs to direct, there is an author deep inside many trial lawyers. In some ways it goes with the territory - after all, most legal arguments are a fiction in themselves. You strut the stage of the court, pulling the threads of a plot together to make a persuasive story. Isn't that what they say a novel is from the reader's point of view - a willing suspension of disbelief? In other words, if you connect the dots, and make it seem real, the reader will go along for the ride. And as any trial lawyer will tell you, that's pretty much the same thing you want from a judge and jury. Grisham was born in 1955, which makes all those baby-boomer lawyers with a mid life crisis all the more sick with envy! He worked as a criminal and personal injuries lawyer for 10 years, and as a sideline, got himself elected to the State House of Representatives to boot! But it was not law or politics that really challenged his overactive intellect - in 1984 he started to write his first novel, and three years later "A Time To Kill" was finished. By the time that first novel was published he was well into "The Firm". He could not have imagined how this enterprise would forever change his life, and would set the trend for the new wave of legal fiction. And if he saw himself as the alter ego of Mitch, the hero in "The Firm", who better to star in the film role than Tom Cruise? For this he can thank Bill Thompson, who also "discovered" Stephen King - how's that for a track record? "The Firm" went on to sell a ridiculous 15 million copies in the U.S. alone, and stayed on the bestseller lists for nearly a year. From there it was one roller-coaster success after another. Each new novel goes straight to the top of the best-seller list, to be closely followed by a hit movie. "The Pelican Brief" was published in 1992, "The Client" in 1993, "The Chamber" in 1994, "The Rainmaker" in 1995, "The Runaway Jury" in 1996, "The Partner" in 1997, "The Street Lawyer" in 1998. It seems like an annual event nowadays - if it's Spring, there must be a new Grisham on the shelves! Often the paperback is released at the same time as the new hardcover - and they both occupy the number one spots on their respective best-seller lists. In 1998 Grisham produced his first original screenplay, the interesting "Gingerbread Man" directed by cinema luminary Robert Altman. In fact Grisham has seen some talented directors cast their eye over his stories, including Francis Ford Coppola ("The Rainmaker"). Grisham is married with two children, and divides his time between homes in in Mississippi and Virginia. Apart from writing, his great passion is baseball. The "Brethren" may be locked in a prison, but it is within their power to alter the course of American history and change the outcome of a presidential election. This is a creative device that should have paved the way for another Grisham blockbuster plot. Unfortunately we never get to share in a killer denouement, because the novel goes pretty much off the rails. We don't particularly care what happens to the main players, which inevitably diminishes the tension that should have had us barracking for an heroic character (perhaps it's a satire?). Sure, these guys can get a president elected, but ultimately everything they do is self-serving, and frankly there's not a likeable one amongst them. This isn't to say that there is nothing of value here, and to a large extent, it depends on your expectations. Grisham has written a few superior thrillers, but even at his lamest, he knows what his devotees want. Although this novel conspicuously lacks a social conscience, glaringly different from the preachy tone of its predecessors, there is sufficient pacing and plot twists to keep an avid Grisham groupie occupied for that weekend at the beach. And the texture is rich, from the opening scene in the prison to life on the presidential trail. Perhaps it is disappointing that more was not achieved with an excellent premise and an ingenious intersection of the two plots, but there will be plenty here for the faithful. Trouble is, a few months after you've read it, there won't be much left to remember - of course the same might be said for most of our entertainments. It's a take-away special for legal thriller fans - like most take-away, it's best not to linger. In the end, not one of Grisham's better efforts. Want us to tell you when we review another book ? Read this: The legal information contained above is intended to be general information about the law. It is not a substitute for legal and other professional advice. Lawscape Communications P/L does not accept responsibility for loss to any person, who either acts or does not act because of this information. |