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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVE to ready John Grisham novels, specially the ones about law and court stories. Time to kill was kind of boring to me sometimes, because he used do describe scenes for too long. But the return of Jake Brigance was great and i couldn´t stop reading it. Five stars!
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I love John Grisham's writing. Sycamore Row is about the deep south and continuing racism. There are stories still being told about the mistreatment of blacks in the south. Grisham uses this history to create a modern day inheritance dilemma.
John Grisham is a virtuoso at describing a 1980s Mississippi courtroom. I haven't enjoyed a southern novel as much since Stuart Woods left Delano, GA. Great courtroom drama with old friends - The Brigance Family.
After coming off the grind of reading the [b:The Complete Works of William Shakespeare|764563|The Complete Works of William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371515067l/764563._SY75_.jpg|3000541] earlier this year I was looking for a palate cleanser book and [b:Sycamore Row|17288661|Sycamore Row (Jake Brigance, #2)|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375888633l/17288661._SY75_.jpg|25046757] by [a:John Grisham|721|John Grisham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1650547491p2/721.jpg] definitely hit the spot for that.
The story was engaging and a real page turner. It's not a thriller at all - just a solid story told so well that I wanted to keep turning pages to find out what will happen. If you liked his book, [b:A Time to Kill|32542|A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554303029l/32542._SY75_.jpg|1804929], this is the sequel.
I did have a problem with the ending.. However, the entire novel was very engaging and I enjoyed it very much.
I might seek out another couple palate cleansers like this book to kind of restart my reading. I still plan to work through some reading challenges - most of those are teed up on my currently reading shelf.
[b:Sycamore Row|17288661|Sycamore Row (Jake Brigance, #2)|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375888633l/17288661._SY75_.jpg|25046757] is a great novel and was a much needed reading sidetrack for me. 4 stars.
The story was engaging and a real page turner. It's not a thriller at all - just a solid story told so well that I wanted to keep turning pages to find out what will happen. If you liked his book, [b:A Time to Kill|32542|A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554303029l/32542._SY75_.jpg|1804929], this is the sequel.
I did have a problem with the ending.
Spoiler
It felt way too tidy for me in the end the way [a:John Grisham|721|John Grisham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1650547491p2/721.jpg] tied the pretty bow on this one and everyone lived happily ever after. The bit of realist in me thinks the case would have actually dragged into years of appeals and Lettie Lang would probably have ended up with jack squat in the end.I might seek out another couple palate cleansers like this book to kind of restart my reading. I still plan to work through some reading challenges - most of those are teed up on my currently reading shelf.
[b:Sycamore Row|17288661|Sycamore Row (Jake Brigance, #2)|John Grisham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375888633l/17288661._SY75_.jpg|25046757] is a great novel and was a much needed reading sidetrack for me. 4 stars.
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My grandmother recommended this book to me on her deathbed, and now I've finally gotten the chance to read it. Sycamore Row was my first legal drama, and it was quite the experience. Grisham really knows how to write real characters and real scenarios. Every character and situation is very carefully planned and feels realistic. My only main problem with the book is that it's very slow and focuses too much on build-up. By the time we get to the trial, we're within the last hundred pages of the novel. The release and reveal at the end was hugely impactful and saved the book for sure - it states a lot on the idea of racism in Southern America. However, the build up it takes to get there isn't very well-paced. There were many parts where the novel lulled and fell kind of flat. Overall, a pretty decent read for those who like realistic characters and social commentary, but nothing to really shout at.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Racism, Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol
Minor: Racial slurs
Suicide: The character that sets off the trial's chain of events in the opening chapter hung himself and left suicide notes/a will. This is referred to often.
Racism: Underlying tones of racism against African-Americans is prevalent throughout, in terms of bias from the judge and jury, the townspeople, generational trauma, and past events that happened with Jake Brigance's past. One scene near the end details where a black family is beaten, bound, tortured, and lynched/hung by a group of white people for their land.
Cancer: The character who sets off the trial was suffering with terminal cancer for years. The amount of pain and suffering he was in is gone into fairly regularly as a basis for one of the arguments in the trial.
Alcohol/Alcoholism: Many characters are depicted having a drink or a beer daily at work and after work.
Domestic abuse: One character's husband is very verbally abusive and neglectful.
Racial slurs: One sure-fire use of the "N" word.
It was intriguing to journey with Grisham back to Clanton, Mississippi and revisit Jake Brigance in a story that is vastly different from "A Time to Kill", but I must say I thought the story dragged quite a bit. Nothing really happened until the last 30% of the book! and there were several weird side stories interwoven that I did not think really connected to the main point of the story. As with most Grisham books, there was a giant twist towards the end, although I did not find it all that surprising. All-in-all, I thought this was an enjoyable read but not one of the best I have read by Grisham. It takes some patience to get through, and the payoff isn't quite as good as you want it to be.