Certainly his stories are works of fiction but his portrayal of the legal system and the people who make it up are accurate. Often he does not paint a pretty picture of the legal system or lawyers.
My favourite Grisham book is The Street Lawyer.
In that novel a young man winds up working for a legal aid office and he quickly learns what life is like in the real world of poverty law. He also learns that this type of law is nothing like they prepared you for in law school.
I worked in an office like that for several years. When Grisham describes how the office manager ran the office and considered herself the equal of any lawyer in the office, that is often the case in such a small office.
Another one of his books I like a lot is one called The Litigators. Like The Street Lawyer, the protangist finds himself in a ham and egg law office on the southwest side of Chicago.
The main character has spent several years working in a huge law firm in downtown Chicago and suddenly starts working with lawyers who chase ambulances and who try various ways to make a few dollars inside the realm of the legal system.
The life of the big firm lawyer who deals with Fortune 500 clients that are never seen but only billed is sharply contrasted with the small law firm that deals face to face with clients - often clients with no money.
Several of Grisham's books have been made into movies though personally I prefer to read his stories as opposed to seeing them in a 2 hour movie. The Client was one of his books turned into a movie.
The ability to write such detailed yet enjoyable stories is a gift. I suppose we all have our own special gifts but it is nice when a person has a gift he can share with others.
Regardless of the talent a person may have, it still involves a lot of work and persistence. I have a lot of respect for such traits.
Thanks for stopping by.
1 comment:
A few years back (probably more like ten), I read through all of his books. It would seem that I'm behind again, eh?
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