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autogeek 's review for:
The Appeal
by John Grisham
I read this several years ago but am just now getting around to reviewing it. I was reminded of this now due the political climate in the US and due to Trump's ability to shape the US supreme court for decades to come. With that context, I think this is a very important and interesting book.
When I read it, I thought this was a rather depressing and pessimistic book. Even the fact that Grisham stated this novel was inspired by similar real-life cases failed to soften my stance. I still felt the book was quite far-fetched and overly pessimistic. But now though, I no longer think that is the case. It is still terribly depressing and scary, but it is no longer unrealistic. If anything, it is now maybe a bit optimistic compared to the real-life.
Yes, most of us read books for escapism, to get lost in a world where good unfailingly triumphs over evil. But perhaps once in a while it is good that books such as these are written to shake us out of our naive idealism to the scary reality of modern politics, lobbying, justice system and the interplay between them. I wish I had taken this book more seriously when I first read it and I wish more people gave this book some serious thought instead of simply being turned off by it for being depressing.
When I read it, I thought this was a rather depressing and pessimistic book. Even the fact that Grisham stated this novel was inspired by similar real-life cases failed to soften my stance. I still felt the book was quite far-fetched and overly pessimistic. But now though, I no longer think that is the case. It is still terribly depressing and scary, but it is no longer unrealistic. If anything, it is now maybe a bit optimistic compared to the real-life.
Yes, most of us read books for escapism, to get lost in a world where good unfailingly triumphs over evil. But perhaps once in a while it is good that books such as these are written to shake us out of our naive idealism to the scary reality of modern politics, lobbying, justice system and the interplay between them. I wish I had taken this book more seriously when I first read it and I wish more people gave this book some serious thought instead of simply being turned off by it for being depressing.