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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Sycamore Row wasn't my favoirte John Grisham. It wasn't as much of a "page turner" as what I am used to from him. I loved Jake Brigance and wanted more from his character, like what we got in A Time to Kill. Writing was wonderful, but the story was slow until towards the end.
It was just OK. It wasn't a page turner like I'm used to from Grisham. It was actually pretty predictable. I did like revisting the characters from a Time to Kill.
Excellent read, even if I did see the ending coming.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-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
My second read in the Jake Brigance series, and the book was well written and enjoyable (although troubling content). It is slow, and a couple of times it was a bit too slow. The ending was fairly predictable, and ended rather abruptly after a long, slow story. Will look to continue the series with the third book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A gripping story of racism in 20th century Mississippi!
Seth Hubbard is a wealthy white man. In fact, he's one of the wealthiest that Ford County, Mississippi, has ever known. But, in his final days, ravaged by the pain of terminal lung cancer, he revokes his previous will, carefully crafted to evade the predations of the IRS, and hand writes a holographic will leaving all of his money to his black housekeeper whom he has known for less than three years. In the process, he heartlessly, vindictively, quite cruelly and to all appearances, entirely capriciously disinherits his son, his daughter and all of his grandchildren. After mailing the will and explicit instructions as to how to deal with it to lawyer, Jake Brigance, he summarily kills himself by hanging. The questions, of course, are obvious. Did Seth Hubbard, given the pain he was certainly suffering and the effects of the drugs that he was taking, retain testamentary capacity and, even if he did, had he been unduly influenced by a wily black woman to change his will in her favour?
The USA of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century would probably like to view itself as a post-racial society. But John Grisham's SYCAMORE ROW, a superbly told, moving and completely compelling story, portrays deep south rural Mississippi as anything but. The drama of the civic trial testing the validity of Seth Hubbard's will manages to be at once banal and work-a-day as well as totally gripping. And the conclusion, well, you'll have to read it for yourself. You'll realize that John Grisham could not possibly choose the enormous cop-out of having a mistrial declared without killing the novel entirely so you'll also be aware that he had to choose one side or another.
How he achieves that in a way that will leave fans of both sides of the issue satisfied is amazing. Grisham's dénouement will not only please you but it will move you and, possibly, just possibly, it will move the USA toward that post-racial society that has so far remained just a societal dream.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Seth Hubbard is a wealthy white man. In fact, he's one of the wealthiest that Ford County, Mississippi, has ever known. But, in his final days, ravaged by the pain of terminal lung cancer, he revokes his previous will, carefully crafted to evade the predations of the IRS, and hand writes a holographic will leaving all of his money to his black housekeeper whom he has known for less than three years. In the process, he heartlessly, vindictively, quite cruelly and to all appearances, entirely capriciously disinherits his son, his daughter and all of his grandchildren. After mailing the will and explicit instructions as to how to deal with it to lawyer, Jake Brigance, he summarily kills himself by hanging. The questions, of course, are obvious. Did Seth Hubbard, given the pain he was certainly suffering and the effects of the drugs that he was taking, retain testamentary capacity and, even if he did, had he been unduly influenced by a wily black woman to change his will in her favour?
The USA of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century would probably like to view itself as a post-racial society. But John Grisham's SYCAMORE ROW, a superbly told, moving and completely compelling story, portrays deep south rural Mississippi as anything but. The drama of the civic trial testing the validity of Seth Hubbard's will manages to be at once banal and work-a-day as well as totally gripping. And the conclusion, well, you'll have to read it for yourself. You'll realize that John Grisham could not possibly choose the enormous cop-out of having a mistrial declared without killing the novel entirely so you'll also be aware that he had to choose one side or another.
How he achieves that in a way that will leave fans of both sides of the issue satisfied is amazing. Grisham's dénouement will not only please you but it will move you and, possibly, just possibly, it will move the USA toward that post-racial society that has so far remained just a societal dream.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Brilliant story with breathtaking twists I would say. The book portrayed all the hardships faced by the black folks in the Deep South by showing us the aftermath of a handwritten will left by a wealthy Mississippian white man wherein he gives all his money to his housekeeper leaving nothing for his blood except his brother.
It was an ok book. Had a lot going on throughout. Felt like a squirrel because it seemed to jump around a lot.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No