I have just finished reading my first John Grisham novel and I was most impressed. I have also watched the movie and was somewhat less impressed. It was not a bad film, just weaker than the book as many films are.
The book opens with a scene depicting the brutal rape and torture of a ten year old black girl by two white men. It is very distressing to read as it is very detailed and graphic and almost led me to put the book down. However I persevered and I am glad I did.
The aforementioned white men are arrested and put into jail. they are taken to the court for the pretrail matters and the black girls father shoots them both dead, also wounding a deputy. The focus of the novel is on the trial of the father for the shootings.
Characters
Carl Lee Hailey - The black father on trial for shooting the two white men who raped his young daughter. Carl Lee spends most of his time in jail awaiting trial and so does not feature often in the novel. He is a devoted family man and although not well off strives to provide well for his wife and children. He is torn apart by his daughters brutal treatment and shot the rapists as he believed they would be set free because they are white.
Jake Brigance - Carl Lee's lawyer who previously defended Carl Lee's brother for murder and got him off. He is a young ambitious white man with a wife and daughter but it seems his main passion is his failing law practice. The Hailey case will be the biggest of his career and
will make or break him.
Ellen Roark - A law student commited to stamping out the death penalty and bringing justice to black people as well as white. She offers her services to Jake and helps him by researching the legal background relevant to the case. She also provides him with a welcome friend after his wife and daughter leave town.
Harry Rex Vonner - Jake's friend, also a lawyer who deals with divorce cases and has a lucrative career. He lends legal and moral support to Jake throughout the trial.
Lucien Willbanks - A disbarred lawyer who tutored Jake and helped him to become successful. He is now a drunk but his vast experience is called upon to help Jake defend his client to the best of his ability.
Ozzie Walls - The black sherriff of Clanton, Ford County, Mississipi where the story is set. Ozzie is friends with almost everybody and helps Carl Lee see his family in the time before the trial. He also has to deal with the Ku Klux Klan when they begin their antics.
The Klan - These men are obviously against Carl Lee, being black and having killed two whites. They show up and cause chaos burning crosses in peoples gardens, threatening jurors, rioting in the streets and attempting to harm Jake and his associates.
Judge Noose - The judge residing over the case. His legal obligations are overshadowed by threats from various people and his dicisions affected by this. This then affects the trial, for example he refused to grant a change of venue even though the people involved in the case were being threatened by the Klan.
Rufus Buckley - The district attorney who is representing the state. He is a typically self obsessed smarmy creep who it seems would go to any lengths to please the public and win the case. Rather cliched but welcome in the novel as someone to really detest.
The verdict
Well obviously I'm not going to tell you the outcome of the case, more my verdict on the book.
The book was at times difficult to follow because several characters were introduced in close succession and then mentioned later on without a little something to remind you who they were, but perhaps this is just my bad memory. Overall it was easy enough to read with explanations of all the legal jargon throughout so that ordinary people are able to understand the technicalities. John Grisham is clearly knowledgable about the legal system and the politics surrounding such cases. He obviously writes from experience going into great detail without alienating the reader.
It amazed me how much of the preperation for trial involved detailed research into the backgrounds of the prospective jurors and witnesses rather than legal research. The outcome of the case it seemed depended on whether or not the jury could sympathise with a father protecting his family or whether they simply saw him as a black murderer. It also seemed more important for the oposing sides to discredit each others witnesses than it did for them to provide credible ones to begin with.
But this book not only gives a wonderful insite to the politics and procedures of American law, it also tells a gripping story of a family torn apart by such a tragic event. A story of a father who, in an effort to protect his family may cause them to fall apart as if he is convicted he will certainly face the gas chamber. He is obviously guilty by law, as he shot the two men in cold blood, but will Jake be able to convince the jury to send him home to his family who need him more than ever?
Another side to this book is the racial prejudice that is present throughout. We see black people who detest whites, and whites who detest blacks, with the extreme being the Ku Klux Klan. We also see people who see past race and believe everyone should be treated equally and these people seem to have the most trouble in the town. Jake has his life threatened on several occasions by the Klan for being a "nigger lover".
These issues are all dealt with realistically and I found that throughout the book I felt as though I was there with the characters, sharing all the fear and pain, the apprehension and doubt, and most of all the compassion and love for a little girl and her father who so desperately wanted to protect her.
I felt something for all the characters, some I loved, others I hated, some I was afraid of, but there wasn't one person that wasn't brought to life and nobody I felt indifferent to.
So can Jake prove to the jury that Carl Lee was legally insane, and enable him to go home, or will Rufus charm the jury into finding him guilty as sin and send him to the gas chamber? As Lucien states, this is a strange case because either way justice will prevail. If Carl Lee gets guilty then a murderer will be brought to justice, and if he is found not guilty then the rapists will have been brought to justice and a loving father not punished.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers as although it is not really a thriller, it has similar qualities. The suspence is held throughout as you wonder if Carl Lee will be given the death sentance or not. There are also enough incidents involving the Klan to provide action. There are even romantic issues as Jake's marriage suffers his devotion to the case, and Jake and Ellen become ever more friendly with each other.
Do be warned that this is not for the faint hearted. The opening scene is very graphic and upsetting and there are references to the rape throughout the book. The powerful descriptions, however distressing, really add substance to the narrative and bring the scenes to life making them feel very real. Many points in the story stirred my emotions and the ending brought me to tears.
I will definitely be reading more books by this talented author and recommend this one highly.
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