The Broker - John Grisham

...given a new identity by the CIA and then left as a sitting target, it was actually more of a look into Itallian culture and language for myself. How I came across the book: I am in a book club at work, and this came up on our reading list. If you have read my review of The Pact by Jodi Picoult and the following Jodi Picoult reviews you will know that the first book that I read from our list I thought was excellent and have now been reading every ...
...by this author. The Characters: The characters are quite believeable. The main characters is Joel Backman/Marco Lazzeri, an ex-lawyer, recently pardoned from a 20 year prison scentence who believes that he is being given a whole new identity in Italy to help to keep him alive and safe. We see most of the story through his eyes, how he adapts to his new life, how he learns the language, the sights which he sees, the people he meets, and how he plans ...

lynh17 13.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

...than remaining at large in the real world. This is the life of Joel Backman, a once powerful broker, who people believe has obtained secrets that could compromise the world's most sophisticated satellite surveillance system, JAM. Backman is surprised when he is visited in jail and is informed that the outgoing President intends to grant him a pardon for the crime he has plead guilty to. Backman is suspicious of this development, but when he is put ...
...the pardon. Though acutely aware that something is not right about this pardon, nobody is aware that it comes as a result of the CIA exercising an enormous amount of pressure on the soon-to-be ex-President. Backman is smuggled out of the country and halfway across the world to Italy and is given a new identity and a new name. Much to his amazement, Joel Backman is renamed Marco Lazzeri and has become an Italian national - even though the only words ...

Delicate_Orchid 31.01.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

In the Author's Note there is the following disclaimer: "It's all fiction.. I know very little about spies, electronic surveillance, satellite phones, smartphones, bugs... If something in this novel approaches accuracy, it's probably a mistake" and also: "Im more terrified of high-tech electronic gadgets today than a year ago". Reading this makes me ask my self, Why then did you write this book? Well further in the Note, we find that it was his love ...
...endless) amounts of story where the main character is just learning and repeating Italy's language. You end up thinking.. I should keep reading because? The Story The Broker is the survival story of a man named Joel Backman. He was an extremely powerful person who had political connections like no one else and could "open any door in Washington". Sitting at this high position and making ten million dollars a year, he came to be known as "The Broker". ...

zenmachado 17.12.2005 (18.12.2005) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

...feel one is there. The bulk of the story involved the main chatracter, Joel (or Marco), trying to come to terms with the Italian language, in an attempt to pass himself off as an Italian Canadian. This is in order to hide from the various factions who are determined to kill him in revenge for a double-cross some six years previuosly. Although Grisham goes into great detail with this part of the story, it does become quite tedious and sometimes ...

boozecruise 03.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

...a bit longer. Its the tale of a high class broker who loses everything in shady circumstances and ends up being hidden away from his family and possibly his future killer(s) in a govenment cover up. You follow him on his journey from prison to small villages and towns in Italy, but it seems to lack pace and i lost some of the 'thrill' of the book becsue of this. Apart from some handy Italian phrases i didnt feel i got anything from this book. Definitely ...
...and never quite delved into the mind of the main character Joel Blackman - apart from the fact that he was slightly afraid and enjoyed Italian clothes. It felt like you were skimming the surface of the charcter and his transformation from high roller to passive submissive was a little over exaggerated. Worth a read if you are intrigued by the possability of govenment and a hint of Italian life, otherwise id unfortunately give this one a miss. ...

takanoa 07.12.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

Lets start at the beginning, thats where all stories should start right?. You know a beginning middle and end, well this book has all three! Great character introductions and story plot at the beginning. good continuation with story and keeps you interested. An end of story tieing up all loose ends putting a smile on your face. So what happens? well Ill try and tell you without giving away too much because after all I am recommending this to ...
...complicated at all and considering the Author John Grisham has wrote lots of novels around this subject so you could call him a somewhat expert it it all kept simple and easy to understand. And baisically the book is about the authors two fav subjects, goings on in the white house and a small little town in Italy. His character gets A pardon by the president and is hidden away in Italy where he has to try and blend in and learn how to speak, talk, ...

d155408 13.02.2006 (16.02.2006) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

...country. Several secret services around the world are hunting for him and if he wants to survive he must learn to live as if he would be an inhabitant of such a country. These are the ingredients of the a spy story told by Grisham. In order to give more taste to the recipe, the author mix everything with the smell of an Italian atmosphere. In fact, for the most part of book, the story is located in Bologna, which is a quite small town in northern ...
...an Italian. It is possible the follow the protagonist under the porticos along the narrow streets of Bologna, surrounded by ancient buildings made of red bricks. In the meanwhile, it is possible to guess the taste of the town called "The Red", for political leanings and the red buildings, "The learned" for its nine centuries old university, and "The Fat" for its rich cuisine. From one side I loved this book, because tells the town where I lived ...

sbx72 23.09.2005 (26.09.2005) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

The Broker is an exciting, action packed fiction and page-turner of the top class. I found it as enjoyable as most of his previous titles. I enjoyed this book as a good thriller which left me on the edge of my seat. The characters are masterfully depicted, and so too is the plot. John Grisham's portrayal of international conniving, espionage, conspiracies, betrayal, corruption in government, mystery, suspense, murder and sex are the ingredients that ...
...the pace, any reader will certainly finish the book before he/she realizes it. As someone who lived in Europe and Italy in particular, John Grisham's tItalian setting was perfect. I also loved the way he wrote about food in the book. The fact that international espionage is not his field, I give credit to Grisham for making this story remarkably believable. Even though it wasn't entirely credible, it had a lot of credibility. I recommend this book ...

judy.-.son 04.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

...book is gripping and exciting. The plot is easy to follow and it is generally a nice, comfy read. This makes it ideal for holidays or train journeys. However, the plot ended very abruptly and was not as thrilling as earlier hints indicated. The Italian parts are nice but the intimacy as far as relationships and characters are concerned is poor. This does not take away from the imaginative flair of the plot and, in general I enjoyed it. Grisham ...
...refreshing from all of the silly romantic comedy, down on the farm books you see set in Italy. The descriptions of Italy, and Bologna in particular, are detailed and informative and it is evident that the author spent a lot of time researching the book. It is touches like this which make it special and also, it isn't weighed down with the legal side, which is very positive from an author with a legal background. The characters are interesting and ...

richardscotney 23.04.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

WIthout damaging the plot too much, the summary is that it is about a broker who stumbles onto some vital information and the CIA wants him killed. He gets a presidential pardon and is sent to Italy to be under a CIA protection programme. You'll have to read it to find out what happens to him as various countries try to hunt him down and how he responds. As with books of this sort, it would be wrong to tell you what happens as it totally ruins the ...
...read the other comments. However, I would give my view on what I thought about it: I would personally read the book only if there were no other books lying around. It is readable, page-turning, but not overly exciting like Dan Brown's books. He writes in his usual style which is getting boring after you've read all his other books. In my opinion, this is neither a book for language nor for plot. Character wise, he writes about Joel Backman trying ...

playera13 31.01.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham

I bought this book in the airport while delayed for 5 hours. I couldn't put this book down!! This book was what I would call a suspense/thriller. It had me on the edge of my uncomfortable seat for hours. The only thing I would complain about is when the broker is in Italy it doesn't really talk much about the financial situation of Backman. He is in Italy for months but can afford to hang out in coffeeshops for hours on end on 200euros a week! Also, ...

kimshimshim 02.03.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Broker - John Grisham