John Grisham's 'The Last Juror' worth a look
I really enjoyed reading John Grisham's book, "The Last Juror," and I recommend it to anyone out there with a taste for a page-turning thriller.
Before I get into the meat of this thing, I have to admit that before reading "The Last Juror," I had never read anything by John Grisham. Like everyone else on the face of the planet, I knew that he was an extremely popular writer. I'd just never gotten around to reading any of his bestsellers.
A couple of month's ago, during a news-writing seminar in Monroeville, University of Alabama journalism professor, Bill Keller, recommended the book to The Journal's newsroom staff. Keller said that the book really captured what it's like to work for a small town weekly newspaper in the south and that we'd all be able to relate to many of the characters in the book. Out of curiosity, I decided to veer from my normal reading habits to see just how close Grisham managed to hit the truth. (In the end, I thought that he hit very close to the mark.)
In a nutshell, the story is about Willie Traynor, a 23-year-old college dropout and cub reporter for The Ford County Times in Clanton, Miss. Soon after he starts work, the newspaper goes broke and with the help of his rich grandmother, Traynor purchases the newspaper for $50,000.
A month later, the story of the century breaks loose - the brutal rape and murder of a beautiful young widow and mother named Rhoda Kasselaw. The killer, Danny Padgitt, is a member of an infamous family of crooked drug smugglers, killers and highway contractors.
Usually those who oppose the Padgitts turn up dead in the swamp and face down in a ditch somewhere, but that doesn't stop Traynor from reporting Padgitt's crime and subsequent trial.
Traynor launches a one-man crusade to make sure that the murderer is brought to justice. When the jury brings back the guilty verdict, the town is relieved to see that the Padgitt family's grip on the town didn't sway the jury. When Padgitt is dragged out of the courtroom, he vows to get revenge on each of the jurors.
Nine years later, when Padgitt is released after serving less than a decade in jail and someone begins killing off the members of the jury one by one, Ford County once again finds itself in the grips of the renegade Padgitt family. (I better stop right there, so as not to spoil any of the rest of it for you.)
The thing that I like most about the book, aside from what it shows about the inner-workings of a weekly newspaper, is that the story has the rhythm of a tale told on the front porch. Like many such stories, it's about much more than what it's supposed to be about, and there's nothing wrong with that. "The Last Juror" is no "Huckleberry Finn," but it's a good, solid yarn. In the end, if you enjoy a good story, then I recommend this book for you. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the book an 8.5.
Before I get into the meat of this thing, I have to admit that before reading "The Last Juror," I had never read anything by John Grisham. Like everyone else on the face of the planet, I knew that he was an extremely popular writer. I'd just never gotten around to reading any of his bestsellers.
A couple of month's ago, during a news-writing seminar in Monroeville, University of Alabama journalism professor, Bill Keller, recommended the book to The Journal's newsroom staff. Keller said that the book really captured what it's like to work for a small town weekly newspaper in the south and that we'd all be able to relate to many of the characters in the book. Out of curiosity, I decided to veer from my normal reading habits to see just how close Grisham managed to hit the truth. (In the end, I thought that he hit very close to the mark.)
In a nutshell, the story is about Willie Traynor, a 23-year-old college dropout and cub reporter for The Ford County Times in Clanton, Miss. Soon after he starts work, the newspaper goes broke and with the help of his rich grandmother, Traynor purchases the newspaper for $50,000.
A month later, the story of the century breaks loose - the brutal rape and murder of a beautiful young widow and mother named Rhoda Kasselaw. The killer, Danny Padgitt, is a member of an infamous family of crooked drug smugglers, killers and highway contractors.
Usually those who oppose the Padgitts turn up dead in the swamp and face down in a ditch somewhere, but that doesn't stop Traynor from reporting Padgitt's crime and subsequent trial.
Traynor launches a one-man crusade to make sure that the murderer is brought to justice. When the jury brings back the guilty verdict, the town is relieved to see that the Padgitt family's grip on the town didn't sway the jury. When Padgitt is dragged out of the courtroom, he vows to get revenge on each of the jurors.
Nine years later, when Padgitt is released after serving less than a decade in jail and someone begins killing off the members of the jury one by one, Ford County once again finds itself in the grips of the renegade Padgitt family. (I better stop right there, so as not to spoil any of the rest of it for you.)
The thing that I like most about the book, aside from what it shows about the inner-workings of a weekly newspaper, is that the story has the rhythm of a tale told on the front porch. Like many such stories, it's about much more than what it's supposed to be about, and there's nothing wrong with that. "The Last Juror" is no "Huckleberry Finn," but it's a good, solid yarn. In the end, if you enjoy a good story, then I recommend this book for you. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the book an 8.5.
posted by Lee Peacock at 4:03 PM
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