A review by mysteriousbibliophile
Ford County: Stories by John Grisham

emotional informative reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.0

John Grisham’s law background definitely shines in most of these short stories, providing credibility to his fiction and a greater immersive and captivating experience. And my goodness, they are excellently written. 

As a side note, the average rating above is because of more personal preferences rather than the excellence of the writing and storytelling, as well as preferring other short stories over others. 

My Review 

It’s a pity I didn’t read this in a physical or kindle copy... I would love to have included examples and quotes in this review. But then again, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure to experience Grisham’s wonderful storytelling voice that was perfect for the tone and atmosphere of the stories. I’m not saying he’s a narrator for 5 star voice acting, but definitely a 5 star storyteller you could listen to continually and never be tired of. 

I’ll be straight up. I’m going to subject you to some subjectivity and then the objectivity. Trust me, there’s a reason. 

I didn’t like ANY of the characters. Also, they are absolutely miserable and/or messed up with the plethora of issues in their lives. Furthermore, some of the themes I think Grisham was conveying I disagreed with. 

Nonetheless, each one was brilliantly well executed! My goodness, he’s definitely quite the storyteller! And in such few words! Again, I wish I could pull examples from them because they are worthy of such exposure. And EACH character and EACH story are so very different and unique and familiar and simple but wonderfully conveyed through the written word by his style of writing. 

To my understanding, this collection of stories simply portrays the different lives of very believable stories that make you think that some people are like these characters. That is the whole point I believe that he was trying to do. These people are miserable, don’t have peace, happiness and fulfilment in their lives, and are very unlikable and disagreeable. Also, the stories are meant to be simple and complex at the same time because that’s what life’s like for some. Yes, my subjectivity comes into play with the rating but that’s because I’d rate each short story differently and also, I can appreciate something that doesn’t align with my values and biases. 

Even though my life is far removed from the way of thinking of these characters and their situations, the two that hit home more for me were Fetching Raymond and Michael’s Room. They’re my absolute favourite. In fact, I was moved by a scene in Fetching Raymond to the point I had teary eyes. These two had more of an impact on me even though I know nothing of such experiences. I’m having difficulty expressing what it was exactly about these two, but even if I did, it would horribly spoil the stories. 

And all I’ll say about the writing is this: relaxing, reflective, and effectively will cause you to ponder. 

Recommendation/Conclusion

I most definitely recommend this collection of short stories for whoever wants to read fictional accounts of very believable people’s lives, even though the character’s are unlikable and sometimes are involved with illegal activities. 

I’m very excited to read more of John Grisham’s works, and probably will be buying and keeping them. I know I would like to keep Fetching Raymond and Michael’s Room on my shelf, similar to how I’d like to display Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King on mine.