Despite being a really big fan of John Grisham, I was mightily disappointed in the last effort I read “The King of Torts” (see previous review). It’s probably mainly for that reason that until now I had avoided picking up another John Grisham novel. However, at Christmas time, my husband ... Read review
A young mother was raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. The ... more
trial of Danny Padgitt came to a dramatic end when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they convicted him. Nevertheless, they found him guilty. But nine years later he was out, and the retribution began.
Advantages: Well crafted good story, good plot and strong characterisation Disadvantages: Loose ends are tied too neatly
...I was mightily disappointed in the last effort I read “The King of Torts” (see previous review). It’s probably mainly for that reason that until now I had avoided picking up another John Grisham novel. However, at Christmas time, my husband always buys me books and there’s usually a pretty good chance of a Grisham book being in with them, as it’s the only name that appears to stay in his memory!
This year he gave me “The Last Juror”. ... ...then I’ve been mulling over the story and how to present my thoughts in this review. There were bits I liked and bits I found a little hard to believe, but I’m pleased to say that overall I feel that this book marked the return of John Grisham into the genius, energetic storyteller that I always believed he was.
I like the way that Grisham always has one central character and that the story and all subsequent plot lines revolve around ... more
Despite being a really big fan of John Grisham, I was mightily disappointed in the last effort I read “The King of Torts” (see previous review). It’s probably mainly for that reason that until now I had avoided picking up another John Grisham novel. However, at Christmas time, my husband always buys me books and there’s usually a pretty good chance of a Grisham book being in with them, as it’s the only name that appears to stay in his memory!
This year he gave me “The Last Juror”. It’s now about three weeks since I finished it and since then I’ve been mulling over the story and how to present my thoughts in this review. There were bits I liked and bits I found a little hard to believe, but I’m pleased to say that overall I feel that this book marked the return of John Grisham into the genius, energetic storyteller that I always believed he was.
I like the way that Grisham always has one central character and that the story and all subsequent plot lines revolve around this person. “The Last Juror” uses the same formula. The central character in this novel is a 23 year old College dropout, Willie Traynor, who through a series of lucky breaks (including a VERY rich Aunt) takes ownership of a Mississippi County Newspaper (based in the town of Clanton), “The Ford Times”, after it goes bankrupt in 1970.
Real “news” is rare in Ford County, a small area in Mississippi and the previous newspaper editor had become skilled in crafting the most beautiful and in depth obituaries, and paying no real heed to general content. So Willie sets about turning the paper’s fortunes around aided by the shocking murder of a local woman by a local man from a well known (for making “moonshine”) and grudgingly respected but notoriously dishonest family. Traynor pens the majority of the journalistic content and focuses on reporting on the subsequent trial in full and gruesome detail, making himself friends and enemies in equal measure. Willie’s reporting becomes a campaign for justice and some people argue that the local man arrested for the crime will not get a fair trial in Ford County as a direct result of biased reporting. However, he sticks to his principles and reports what he thinks is true and fair and based on fact, although sometimes stretches this to the absolute limit, assisted by the arrogance of youth.
The main story focuses on the trial and its result, so to say any more relating to this aspect would spoil the story line and I won’t do that. More murders follow and suffice to say this is definitely worth reading.
Some of the sub plots benefit from the painting of colourful characters that Grisham breathes such life into them so they become utterly believable. Baggy Suggs is the only paid reporting staff on the newspaper at the point that Willie Traynor takes it over. He has his own unique system of what we would call gossip mongering or “networking” that is gained from consuming copious amounts of alcohol in proper and not so proper drinking establishments. But it’s the way that Grisham describes these characters that make them seem so real, they almost remind you of someone you know.
Harry Rex, a local lawyer, introduces himself to Willie after an incendiary device is planted in the Ford County Time offices, by walking into his office with a Smith & Wesson 38. He tells Willie that he’s a “crazy sumbitch” who needs a gun and is a character whose ancient, wrinkled and stained khaki suit says to the world that he didn’t give a damn about anyone. Rex is described by Baggy as “one of the meanest divorce lawyers” in the county. The friendship develops as Harry coaches Willie in the use of the gun and invites him to several barbeques and other parties.
My favourite character is Miss Callie Ruffin, a black woman in the “Lowtown” area of Clanton (where all “coloured” people live), and one whom Willie strikes an unlikely bond with that goes way beyond the realms of friendship. The friendship develops after Willie hears a local story about a remarkable couple – Calia and Esau Ruffin. Married for 40 years they had eight children, seven of which had PhD’s and were now College Professors. Willie calls at the house and talks to Calia, whom he is subsequently told to address as “Miss Callie” and expresses an interest in talking to her about her extraordinary family. He is invited to lunch and the friendship goes from strength to strength ending up with Miss Callie being more akin to a surrogate mother to Willie. As a result, The Ford County Times runs a feature on this family, the first time that the paper had run a story on a “coloured” family, other than an obituary, so it was a substantial risk, especially since the Civil Rights movement had only really started to make an impression in the Deep South a few years previously, around 1967.
My main criticism of this novel is that it is too conclusive in many respects. The loose ends are all drawn together neatly to provide adequate, but un-shocking endings, even though the conclusions may not be the ones that you want! However, there are enough suspense and thrills to keep you turning pages at an alarming rate; I really did find it quite a compelling read.
The strength of this book is in its character development, in the pragmatic way in which it approaches a murder trial and a jury selection. Not only do the people come alive in a way that makes me feel they are real, but the scenes are set in such a colourful and vivid way that they take on a life of their own. I’m truly shocked that this story has not yet been adapted for the “Big Screen” as in my view, it’s a winning candidate.
If you’ve ever questioned your belief in John Grisham’s talent, go and read this book now to restore your faith.
Published by arrow books £6.99 ISBN 0-09-945715-6 506 pages
Advantages: People & place Disadvantages: The blurb!
...patient mismanagement and loving neglect the Ford County Times went bankrupt in 1970." Our narrator goes on to tell us that the owner "Miss Emma" is strapped to a bed in a nursing home in Tupelo, and that her son, Wilson, in his seventies, has a plate in his head from "the First War"…and a propos the resultant scarring has laboured much of life under the nickname 'Spot' He has spent most of the last decade or so writing obituaries.
And there you ... ...writer…or is it the art? The ability within less than a page to create an atmosphere. This is the Deep South. The gentle deep south where people are loving, if neglectful…loving, if teasing…people are proud enough to have a County and a County newspaper but not interested enough to understand how their attitudes effect outcomes. This is the Deep South where life - and news - are slow.
But this is the Deep South in the early 1970s…and the times - ...
hiker 27.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Last Juror - John Grisham
...quote one newspaper critic on the cover - 'the juggonaut that is Grisham' rolls on. This most appropriate epithet to the multi-bestselling list topper, describes one who has sold millions of copies of his blockbusters and who is also, a cracking story teller. For someone who wants a dollop of drama with a spoldge of social commentary thrown into their light fiction, then Grisham is the perfect choice. Not being a frequent flier, I cannot claim to ... ...bit of escapism. The Last Juror takes us back to the early days of Grisham's career. Although published in the mid-1990's, when he was at the height of his career in terms of Hollywood's enthusiasm for adapting his novels to turn them into films starring the likes of Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts (it is suggested that he wrote The Pelican Brief with her in mind), to my knowledge this one has never been adapted. Trained as a lawyer before he turned ...
aspebbles 15.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Last Juror - John Grisham
Advantages: A slight return to form Disadvantages: Not as groundbreaking as his earlier work.
...I was let down by the dreadful Bleachers, which proved a big mistake for Grisham (in my eyes at least), as he moved away from a genre which had made his name, and made him a whole host of fans. Luckily enough, The Last Juror, has gone some way into allowing him to redeem himself. It’s not the best that he has written, but is very good. However, he still fails to capture the passion and suspense which was apparent in The Pelican Brief and The Firm. ... ...Mississippi in the early 70’s, and is the first of his novels to do so since A Time to Kill. The lead character is Willie Traynor, a young and naïve journalist from Memphis. He gets a job as a reporter on a small newspaper; The Ford County Times, in Clanton.
The editor is Wilson Caudle, a World War One veteran in his seventies, who loves writing obituaries. Not long after joining the paper, Caudle and his newspaper becomes bankrupt. Spotting a good ...
purplelynne 01.05.2004 (05.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Last Juror - John Grisham
Advantages: Easy and Quick to read Disadvantages: As mr grisham states,liberty taken with laws!
In 1970, The Ford County Times, a small newspaper in the backwaters of Mississippi went bankrupt. To the surprise of the town ownership was assumed by a 23-year-old college drop out named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked as bleak as its not too distant past, until the brutal rape and murder of a young mother by the notorious and secretive Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reports all the gruesome details and the newspaper begins to prosper.
... ...courtroom in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial climaxes with a threat from Danny, that if the jurors convict him he will exact revenge. Despite this, he is convicted and 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.
The murder of Rhoda Kassellow and the trial of Danny Padgitt is merely ...
Squinkle 21.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Last Juror - John Grisham
Advantages: A good effort in comparison to recent works Disadvantages: Weak!
...it is nostalgic. And so, the latest in his long string of novels sees him returning both to the scene of his first, A Time to Kill, and Clanton, Mississippi and the genre of his greatest success with The Last Juror. His brief forays into non-legal fiction, markedly different from his trademark high-tension drama, have fared reasonably well, garnering him new fans of his artful prose, but his name will rightly always be best acknowledged in the realm ... ...back into the drama of the courtroom he has historically so well understood.
Protagonist, Willie Traynor is 23, a college dropout and the new owner/editor of backwater community newspaper, The Ford County Times. Soon after his acquisition of the paper, a young mother is raped and murdered, with a member of a local crime family, Danny Padgitt, the apparent perpetrator. The Padgitt clan wields significant influence over the county and has a history ...
divinekarma 10.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Last Juror - John Grisham
In 1970, one of Mississippi's more colourful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college drop-out, 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 courtroom 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. About the AuthorJohn Grisham is the author of seventeen novels. The Last Juror is his first novel since A Time to Kill to be set in Ford County, Mississippi.
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