Reviews

The Appeal by John Grisham

ased08's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

ecscoby's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book was so boring and used a lot of stereotyping. Spent a lot of the time rolling my eyes. And the ending?  Terrible. 

anamelon's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.75

alice_wonders's review

2.0

Grisham's latest legal thriller (been a while) involving a lawsuit against a chemical company responsible for dumping carcinogenic by-products into the drinking water of a small town in Mississippi.

So-called big bad company tries to overturn the verdict by buying its own puppet judge to place on the state supreme court.

Interesting premise but not enough character development.

deborahwithanoh's review

I'm not sure this book has any redeeming qualities. The most charitable interpretation of its message is as a cautionary tale/critical commentary on allowing the judicial branch to be decided by election, but if this was indeed the intended message, it couldn't have been delivered in a more boring or soulless way. The book has a real problem with "tell not show"; its attempts at creating "suspense" are pathetic; its characters function more so as plot devices, given little to no interiority and with their presence in the narrative dictated entirely by the needs of the plot, making them difficult to sympathize with or even keep track of. There's one tantalizing moment where a character seems about to experience something resembling an arc, as some kind of reward to the reader perhaps for slogging through the first 90% of the book, but then nothing happens. It's like somebody tried to execute a plot twist but didn't twist hard enough and the plot's inertia of predictability straightened it back out. Complete waste of time, but I'm not sure what I expected.

emerygirl's review

4.0

This is the first Grisham book I've read in awhile. Got to say, it was one of my favorites. I love a book that makes me want to learn more...and I am proud to say that after I finished I researched how the Utah Supreme Court judges are chosen, according to Wikipedia, our judges are appointed. I will sleep better at night.

susan_c's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

drprd's review

4.0

An important cautionary parable. Good, well written, but a little long.

jason_pym's review

2.0

Too didactic to be enjoyable as a novel (money ruins politics etc). Also, using cases similar to Flint, Michigan and the Fentanyl crisis to make a point reads as lazy shorthand - though that's a bit unfair, as this was written in 2007/8 before they hit mainstream media in such a big way.

Way below Grisham's usual standard, a bit of a chore to get through.

jillramsey's review

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A terrible reflection on how money can buy terrible things and cause so much pain.  Some business and legal people can behave so badly all reflecting their greed at the expense of good people and terrible circumstances