Looking Back - Skipping Christmas

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Fiction

2001 Doubleday

Finished in November 2001

Rating: 2/5 (OK)

Publisher's Blurb:

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded shops, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on the street without a rooftop Frosty the snowman; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences - and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that has become part of our holiday tradition.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Quick read, although at times tedious. Could have been condensed and still made its point. Another departure from Grisham's legal thrillers, yet not nearly as literary as A Painted House. Predictable, sentimental, and anti-climactic. Mediocre. I'm glad I didn't waste my money on this one.

My Current Thoughts:

Christmas can be very hectic and stressful, so I can see the appeal of skipping the holiday. We usually have a large gathering for Thanksgiving, but our Christmas celebration is low-key, which is kind of nice. As far as Grisham's book goes, if you're interested, borrow it from the library. It's not one I'll ever read again. 

Looking Back - The Brethren

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Brethren by John Grisham

Fiction

2000 Doubleday

Finished on July 6, 2001

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

They call themselves the Brethren: three disgraced former judges doing time in a Florida federal prison. One was sent up for tax evasion. Another, for skimming bingo profits. The third for a career-ending drunken joyride.

Meeting daily in the prison law library, taking exercise walks in their boxer shorts, these judges-turned-felons can reminisce about old court cases, dispense a little jailhouse justice, and contemplate where their lives went wrong. Or they can use their time in prison to get very rich—very fast. ...

My Original Thoughts (2001):

It took me quite a while to get interested, but I eventually did. Perhaps I struggled because I took the book to our family reunion and only read a little at a time. The book became more suspenseful after a hundred pages or so, and a big part of the plot was a huge surprise. Typical Grisham thriller that reads like a Hollywood screenplay. Anticlimactic ending, though. Mindless entertainment.

My Current Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Grisham's books, back in the day, but this one doesn't sound like one that I'd like to read again.

Looking Back - A Painted House

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

A Painted House by John Grisham

Fiction

2001 Doubleday

Finished on April 15, 2001

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Fantastic! Started off rather slow (character-driven versus plot-driven), but well worth hanging in there. Unforgettable characters. Touching. Humorous. Seven-year-old Luke is wise beyond his years. Witness to two killings. Loves the St. Louis Cardinals. Picks cotton with his family on their farm in Arkansas. Set in 1952. A quiet story. Subtly suspenseful. A refreshing departure from Grisham's legal thrillers.

My Current Thoughts:

While I don't remember much about the story, I do remember that I loved it. This would be a great book to revisit on audio.

Favorite Passage:

As we left town I thought about the end of the season. Baseball began in the spring, when we planted and when hopes were high. It sustained us through the summer, often our only diversion from the drudgery of the fields. We listened to each game, then talked about the plays and the players and the strategies until we listened to the next one. It was very much a part of our daily lives for six months, then it was gone. Just like the cotton.

I was sad by the time we arrived home. No games to listen to on the front porch. Six months without the voice of Harry Caray. Six months with no Stan Musial. I got my glove and went for a long walk down a field road, tossing the ball in the air, wondering what I would do until April.

For the first time in my life, baseball broke my heart.

Looking Back - The Testament

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Testament by John Grisham

Fiction

1999 Island Books

Read in February 2001

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In a plush Virginia office, a rich, angry old man is furiously rewriting his will. With his death just hours away, Troy Phelan wants to send a message to his children, his ex-wives, and his minions, a message that will touch off a vicious legal battle and transform dozens of lives.

Because Troy Phelan's new will names a sole surprise heir to his eleven-billion-dollar fortune: a mysterious woman named Rachel Lane, a missionary living deep in the jungles of Brazil.

Enter the lawyers. Nate O'Riley is fresh out of rehab, a disgraced corporate attorney handpicked for his last job: to find Rachel Lane at any cost. As Phelan's family circles like vultures in D.C., Nate is crashing through the Brazilian jungle, entering a world where money means nothing, where death is just one misstep away, and where a woman - pursued by enemies and friends alike - holds a stunning surprise of her own.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

It's been a very long time since I've read anything by John Grisham. I enjoyed this novel, although it wasn't quite the page-turner that I expected. I didn't really get engrossed until over halfway through. I was pleased it didn't have a perfect ending. I enjoyed the story of Nate's journey to Brazil in search of Rachel, the missionary and soon-to-be billionaire. Of course, as with most of Grisham's books, it would make an entertaining movie.

My Current Thoughts: 

I have no memory of this book at all!

Looking Back - The Runaway Jury

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
Fiction
1996 Doubleday
Finished on July 5, 1996
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake begins routinely, then swerves mysteriously off course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juror is convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more important, why?

My Original Notes (1996):

Good, but not great. Somewhat anticlimactic. A typical quick read. Light entertainment. 

My Current Thoughts:

I've served twice as a juror and I find the entire process very interesting. I also enjoy watching medical documentaries. Maybe I was a lawyer and a surgeon in two separate lives, long ago. ;)

As far as this novel goes, I really have no recollection of the plot. Typical beach read.

Looking Back - The Rainmaker

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Rainmaker by John Grisham
Fiction
1995 Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Finished in February 1996
Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)





Publisher's Blurb:

In his first courtroom thriller since A Time to Kill, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America-- and exposing a complex, multibillion dollar insurance scam.

In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients", Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is skeptical, he soon realizes the Blacks really have been shocking mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen-- and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys-- and powerful industries-- in America.

My Original Notes:

Excellent! What a page-turner. I couldn't put it down. I think I read it in 3-4 days. Different style from his previous books. First person narrative. I highly recommend this for light reading.

My Current Thoughts:

There was a time when all I read was Stephen King, John Grisham and (shhhh, don't tell anyone), Danielle Steel. I loved Grisham's courtroom dramas and the suspense of the good guys beating the big bad guys. I only had a vague recollection of The Rainmaker's plot, but as soon as I pulled up the description on Goodreads, it came right back to me. Then I clicked over to IMDB to see who starred in the film version. My husband was sure it was Matthew McConaughey, but I knew that wasn't right, but was surprised to see that it was Matt Damon. I know we watched the movie when it came out on video, but I still only have a vague recollection of the details. This probably isn't a book I'll read a second time, but I sure would like to see that movie again.

Looking back, I see that I read almost every book Grisham published between 1989 and 2001:

A Time to Kill
The Firm
Pelican Brief
The Client
The Chamber
The Rainmaker
The Runaway Jury
The Testament
The Painted House
Skipping Christmas

So, basically, 10 of his 28 novels for adults. I tried to read one of his more recent books, but couldn't get interested and felt that the writing structure was too simplistic. Are there any that you would recommend? How many have you read?