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A review by wrentheblurry
The King of Torts by John Grisham
3.0
John Grisham writes easy-to-read books about male lawyers, their female mates and their increasing amount of drama concerning their job.
Stephen King writes easy-to-read books about creepy, weird and/or supernatural occurrences and the people (and their mates) that are affected by them, often set in Maine.
As I was reading this, I realized how similar the two writing styles of King and Grisham felt to me. Both write in a familiar way across many of their books, ensuring that dedicated fans will continue to get what they want. Both tend toward the popular fiction realm and far from the literary world. Both have stories that are easy to get into, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. Both create characters that feel two-dimensional, even fake. Maybe these characters make a decision that seems out of left field, but by the end their personality will have warped back to whatever it initially was.
And all of this just fine, for I liked King for a long time, and I like Grisham (and this title) for its familiarity and ease of reading. This book is about a lawyer laboring away in a dead-end job as a public defender who gets an amazing offer (right after he has issues with his girlfriend) to sue a company for gobs of money.
So begins the quick descent into the world of massive tort litigation--TV lawyers, ambulance chasers, ginormous class-action lawsuits and blurred ethical boundaries. I don't want to give away any more, though this book is about as predictable as they come. I didn't feel better about myself after reading it. It didn't make me question anything, or even ponder something more deeply. But once I finally started reading it, it went quick and easy and enjoyable enough.
Stephen King writes easy-to-read books about creepy, weird and/or supernatural occurrences and the people (and their mates) that are affected by them, often set in Maine.
As I was reading this, I realized how similar the two writing styles of King and Grisham felt to me. Both write in a familiar way across many of their books, ensuring that dedicated fans will continue to get what they want. Both tend toward the popular fiction realm and far from the literary world. Both have stories that are easy to get into, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. Both create characters that feel two-dimensional, even fake. Maybe these characters make a decision that seems out of left field, but by the end their personality will have warped back to whatever it initially was.
And all of this just fine, for I liked King for a long time, and I like Grisham (and this title) for its familiarity and ease of reading. This book is about a lawyer laboring away in a dead-end job as a public defender who gets an amazing offer (right after he has issues with his girlfriend) to sue a company for gobs of money.
So begins the quick descent into the world of massive tort litigation--TV lawyers, ambulance chasers, ginormous class-action lawsuits and blurred ethical boundaries. I don't want to give away any more, though this book is about as predictable as they come. I didn't feel better about myself after reading it. It didn't make me question anything, or even ponder something more deeply. But once I finally started reading it, it went quick and easy and enjoyable enough.