The Last Juror by John Grisham (2004, Hardcover)

Fans of Grisham will no doubt find a lot to like in The Last Juror, especially those well conditioned to the sparse, even lax, writing style that he and others have made very popular. The novel draws us into the adventures of a young man who goes to work, at age 23, for a small town newspaper and winds up owning it in short order. The heart of the story, however, revolves around the rape and murder of a woman living in the small town, the trial and sentencing of the accused. Fast forward nine years, with a few intervening details thrown into the mix, and the accused is out of jail and threatening the town by just being back in the area, even though no one knows what he's up to.

The characters in this novel, including the narrator, are not sharply drawn and, indeed, are almost forgetable from one chapter to the next. It is written in a style close to a memoir, forcing the narrator to tell what happened rather than letting it unveil itself in the manner of a good yarn. The "looking back" aspect detracts from the internal drama of the story. In other words, and doesn't call on the writer to expand the drama of scenes, since he, the narrator, already knows the outcome. I was left with the impression of a lot a events passing before me, without much chance to experience them or have the insight that must have come to the narrator living through them.

Grisham throws in a thinly disguised version of Wal Mart to give details of what happens to a small town when the big discounter hits the area. This is a worthy effort because he shows how, in fairly short order, local businesses are driven under by the mega competition. Too many people, perhaps, have not considered the impact of their bargain hunting buying habits.

Part of the inspiration for the concluding section of the novel clearly came from the Washington, DC, area sniper events of a year and a half ago. Grisham doesn't over play this aspect, however, which is good, for to do so would have overcome the story with artificiality. I had the impression from the closing third of the novel that Grisham was starting to hit his stride. Enriching elements that could have enlivened the earlier part of the book were rushed into the closing section.

There was at least one glaring error of internal consistency. It happened in regard to explaining what the character Sam Ruffins had done while on the run from a jealous husband with murderous intent. There might have been other errors of this type that a more careful reader could find. Even though the error I discovered was rather small, it is not something one expects to find in a book by an experienced, best selling writer.

This book was not boring and it covers a sweep of southern life late in the 20th century that many will find interesting. The importance of religion in small town life, the easy corruption of small time politics, the lasting impact of racism and segregation are all worthy topics given a breath of life in the novel. Grisham brings out a portrait of a vivid African American woman who overcame racism, something other author's have neglected, or been unable, to do. Her role in the storyline, however, is secondary, except for the friendship between her and the narrator. Still, all in all, for me, this was not a deeply memorable read. Enjoyable at times, yes. I am left with a question: how can something be interesting without being revealing, dramatic without being memorable?

I have to admit, I'm not a huge Grisham fan. I don't dislike his books, but I find them at times overly formulaic. This one took me by surprise. I found it a refreshing story, primarily of small town America in the south. Told through the eyes of a journalist, a courtroom is really only a peripheral (but important) device in this story.

If you love Grisham, you'll love this book. Even if you don't like Grisham, you'll enjoy this book.

John Grisham has just lost it. This book is sloppy and reflects a Grisham who is particularly good at nothing. He's not good at lawyering (some of his legal premises are preposterous, but we've known that forever); he's not good at writing (why does he tell us the same details about characters over and over); his history is fatally-flawed (the Mississippi in this book, set principly in 1970 makes me wonder where Grisham was living during this period) - Goat Roasts and Chitlins as white-folks food in 1970. Huh?? And best, a Glock pistol (not made until 1982) being wielded in 1970. He is too sloppy for his own good. I wish he'd keep up with the little league and stop wasting my time.

This book is fantastic. I loved everything about this book, and it reminds me of one of Grisham's first book. The characters were so real and well-developed. There were really two plots going on in this book, and Grisham does a remarkable job of weaving these two plot lines together.
The author's sense of humor is sharper than ever. The author here in true form doing what he does best, and you get the sense of an author who has all the confidence in the world. There are few contemporary authors in pop literature to compare to this author.

I like most of his books, but this book was really bad. I can't believe that i wasted my time reading this book. The whole plot of the revenge killing came in the last 50 pages or so.