After a long time its Vintage Grisham!!. Review on Litigators, The - John Grisham

The Author

John Grisham is undoubtedly the numero uno author of legal fiction. He is well known for authoring different kinds of books - thrillers, courtroom dramas, non fiction, short stories. Many of his books have been made into successful movies. Some of his well-known novels include "The Firm", "A Time to Kill", "The Runaway Jury", "Pelican Brief", "The Rainmaker" etc.

The Book

After a long gap, Grisham is back with a hardcore work of legal fiction featuring lawyers, clients, torts and courtroom strategies. All these are bread and butter for Grisham. In the past few novels, he had for some reason ignored his core constituency. But with this book, he is once again back where he belongs.

"The Litigators" is Grisham's 25th novel. Grisham has gone on record that his attempt at humour is usually restricted by the editors, but he has been given greater freedom in this book. And this is evident as Grisham's humorous touch tickles your funny bones.

The Storyline

"The Litigators" refers to three street lawyers The firm of Finley and Figg comprises two lawyers who carry guns to work!! The hero of this novel is David Zinc, a corporate lawyer, who one fine day decides to get out of the rat race and flees his office. How he lands at Finley and Figg and how he lands a job with them, forms an interesting and humurous part of the story.

Finley and Figg handle minor cases like Divorces, drunk driving, etc and none of the lawyers have any trial experience. Yet they find themselves in the midst of a high profile case involving a top pharmaceutical company. And they may have to battle the top lawyers of the company in court. The rest of the story is all about how the litigators handle this case.

Do they win the case? Can David Zinc make a career and will he end up as a loser like his bosses? What happens in the courtroom? To know the answers to all these question, you need to read Grisham's latest novel.

Highlights of the book

a) The start : The book starts off well, introducing the firm of Finley and Figg and its unique members. A parallel track starts with the hero running away from his office in a bid to escape from the high-stressful life of a corporate lawyer.

b) The bar scene at the beginning of the novel is vintage Grisham with a touch of Wodehousian humour. Its the most enjoyable part of the novel, especially as it leads to David reaching Finley and Figg and subsequent events

c) Relationships : The relations between the characters is portrayed brilliantly. The interplay between the lawyers and their secretary, lawyers and clients, the hero and his wife and other characters are well portrayed

d) Reality : As usual Grisham's novels are not just fiction, they show the seamy side of the legal system in the USA. Grisham has done a great job showing how pharma firms manipulate markets and how the law watches over it.

e) Sex and violence : Adequate dosage available, which satisfies everyone. He could have very easily gone overboard, but handles this two critical factors in a balanced manner

f) Courtroom drama : The court scenes are not as brilliant as his earlier novels. But he done good justice. The cross examination scene is the highlight (i won't tell much, dont want to act as a spoiler!!)

g) The hero : The hero's character is extremely well sketched out. Of course, at various places in the novel, you are reminded of heroes from other Grisham novels. But the character of David Zinc, his views on ethics, his struggles are extremely well portrayed.

h) Ending : Grisham can many times come out with unexpected endings. But this novel has an ending which should satisfy everyone. Even those expecting contrarian endings will be fairly satisfied.

Negatives

The negative aspects of this novel are:

a) Old wine : Some may say this is old wine in new bottle. Because there are many plot elements and characters who seem to be have come out of previous Grisham novels. This could have been a major drawback, but Grisham's packaging is good and in the end it comes out as new wine in new bottle.

b) Predictability : Some aspects of the novel were predictable and I could guess what was going to happen. But maybe this is my problem and not Grisham's :)

Summary and Rating

Overall "The Litigators" is a good read and is vintage Grisham. You get to enjoy Grisham's humourous style like never before in this novel. Like a good Bollywood movie, you get to experience the best of everything in this novel - love, humour, sex, violence, court scenes, melodrama, ethical dilemmas - name it and its there in the book!!!.

I would give this book a rating of 8.5/10.

Recommendation

This book is recommended for all Grisham fans and also for all fans of legal fiction and fiction in general.

However if you have never read any novel of Grisham, you may start with 'Time to Kill' or 'Firm' and then read this one.