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A review by mrfrank
Ford County: Stories by John Grisham
4.0
I am usually a bigger fan of John Grisham's non-legal stories then I am of his legal thrillers. FORD COUNTY is no expception to that rule. You find find any legal trillers here. Instead what you get is something a bit different from Grisham, short stories. Seven of them to be exact and all assiated by their locale, Ford County, Mississippi.
What these stories amount to are everyday people doing not so everyday things. There is a story about a group of small town men sent to the big city. There is a story about a man who gets hired to work as a candy striper in a nursing home. There is a story about a family going to meet their son on death row. That sort of thing but all with that Grisham touch that makes the ordinary seem interesting.
All too often I've read negative reviews of this short story collection. My best guess is they are from those who crave the legal dramas and are not expecting this type of Americana. If you are into books like A PAINTED HOUSE or PLAYING FOR PIZZA you will njoy this. At times the stories feel like shorter outlines of bigger story ideas that he just wasn't able to expand upon. Yet they still work and feel good as short stories. Though some do leave you wanting more.
I advocate for both faces of Grisham. I lean toward the face that isn't lawyerly. That being the case this worked for me. It had that small country town feel like A PAINTED HOUSE. Seeing Grisham tackle short story format was enjoyable as well. Don't let bad reviews steer you away from this one, it is well worth the read.
What these stories amount to are everyday people doing not so everyday things. There is a story about a group of small town men sent to the big city. There is a story about a man who gets hired to work as a candy striper in a nursing home. There is a story about a family going to meet their son on death row. That sort of thing but all with that Grisham touch that makes the ordinary seem interesting.
All too often I've read negative reviews of this short story collection. My best guess is they are from those who crave the legal dramas and are not expecting this type of Americana. If you are into books like A PAINTED HOUSE or PLAYING FOR PIZZA you will njoy this. At times the stories feel like shorter outlines of bigger story ideas that he just wasn't able to expand upon. Yet they still work and feel good as short stories. Though some do leave you wanting more.
I advocate for both faces of Grisham. I lean toward the face that isn't lawyerly. That being the case this worked for me. It had that small country town feel like A PAINTED HOUSE. Seeing Grisham tackle short story format was enjoyable as well. Don't let bad reviews steer you away from this one, it is well worth the read.