about John Grisham

[i1984]

somebody else told me that he is a very good writer, and have suggest me to read his "The Testament"and "The Client".
i have not started yet, 'cause i cannot find the original books by now,however, i'd like to listen to some of you's opion, what is the writer like, how is his works.

so, if anybody 'd like to talk something about him? :)

[fayefaye]

I haven't read Grisham for ages, but I think the Firm and the Partner were the best. He's a good writer, but after a while his books get a bit repetitive. same ol', same ol'.

[forgot to say A Time to Kill also]

I think his earlier books are better-more original, they seem to get more tired as you go on, I think I read them in the order they were written, up to the Testament, at which point I was well and truly sick of his books. Now I can hardly remember which was which.

[imthefoolonthehill]

ditto... except I went all the way to that stupid one about the gay president.

[fayefaye]

lol. I think I might've read that one too. And they had to cover it up out of desperation, or something. That was a pretty bad book.

[Venus_Severus]

I just finished the brethren. I thought it was so funny, how they cheated gays of their money. I even wrote a follow up story abt Quince Garber!

But the ending was so lame. Lack lustre. I AM getting sick of Grisham too. I've read most of his books xcept the partnew, the king of torts, the street lawyer, bleachers and the last juror. And i am SICK of him

[IWilKikU]

I got sick of him before I even finished "The Client".

[Shea]

I couldn't stand The Chamber, I hated the way he made you feel sorry for the bad guy.

Didn't he write A Painted House? It's a bit of a change from the law books, I enjoyed that one. I thought The Bretheren was rather stupid too. But I'd only read the abridged version.

[fayefaye]

I don't know if he wrote A painted house, but all his books tend to start with the- so I doubt it. Another thing that annoys me about him.

[subterranean]

Im no fan of such novels. It's better to see the movie instead of reading it!!

[Shea]

I totally agree. If I read these kind of novels, it usually audio in my car. I don't have time to waste actually sitting down to read them. My Grandmother does the same thing. She's the one I get the audio books from.

Sometimes, depending on the actor, listening to the books is almost like going to see the movie. I liked listening to By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz. Though I'm not particularly fond of the author, the guy who read it (Stephen Lang?) did a really good job enhancing the story.

[Lara]

The first John Grisham novel I read was the Testament. I enjoyed it. It was light, mainstream, reasonable entertainment. As a former Bookseller, I became aware that Grishams novels follow suit. He has a dedicated following. Those who love his work, love it. When he wrote Painted House, most of his fans were highly disappointed. Not that it is a bad novel, I read it and thought it was good, but it is not a typical Grisham novel and requires an open mind.

[Robert E Lee]

Commercial literature sucks. pointe a la ligne

[Shea]

I think what he meant was that when writers write only to sell a book and not to really expand their talents, it's sort of a waste. Many of Grisham's novels are carbon copies of the others and for some bizzare reason, his fans love them and they sell. It's all about money.

[Shea]

I think the best way to explain it is to compare the law novels to to A Painted House. (Not that I'm an extensive Grisham reader, but every once in a while I read another on the chance that it will be different.) APH had a lot more heart to it. You could almost see Grisham himself. It pulled a lot more at characters and their feelings than any of the other novels. It didn't feel like it was rushed, but rather that it was his spare-time hobby writing style. Some of the best creations come out of hobbies because we put more of ourselves into it.

The first Grisham novel that I read (very grudgingly because I hate not finishing a book) was The Chamber. I loathed it. It completely turned me off of Grisham. But then my grandmother gave me that audio version of APH. That was definately one that I would re-read (-listen).

[Shea]

Not at all! I definately have room on my shelves for those books. I tend to re-read the Chronicals of Narnia or the Anne of Green Gables series every few years. Not that they (especially the Narnian books) are "mindless", but their definately not Hugo!:)

One other Grisham book that I happened to enjoy was Skipping Christmas. Again totally different from the law books.

[Shea]

In my present environment, I'd say between semesters!;) :D But I guess if your going to read one of the law novels, I'd probably read one if I was following a current case in the media. Just because that would be on my mind.:cool:

[Robert E Lee]

Commercial literature is literature meant only to entertain and to sell. There have been good commercial writers like Dickens, but those days are long gone. Grisham's dialogue is cheesy; his plots are rehashed; his books are boring for the literature buff because they don't really go anywhere.

No, I don't try to take a break from literary fiction.

[Shea]

How would you describe Stephen King? His books tend to be rather different don't they? I've only read The Stand (hated it) and The Green Mile (so-so).

[Robert E Lee]

Originally posted by Shea
How would you describe Stephen King? His books tend to be rather different don't they? I've only read The Stand (hated it) and The Green Mile (so-so).

Yeah, but they're marked by stock characters and stupid dialogue as well as a lack of any aesthetic merit.

[sloegin]

Robert E Lee,

Last time I checked, Dante, was commercial literature. He wrote The Divine Comedy in Italian, though at the time Latin was the language of the elite.

The problem isn't that the present literature sucks. It is society as a whole, has gotten lazy, complacent, and stupid. It all starts with pompous generalizations, like the ones you've made. Because we all know that it is easier to judge something than accept it for what it is.

[Shea]

Originally posted by sloegin
Robert E Lee,

Last time I checked, Dante, was commercial literature. He wrote The Divine Comedy in Italian, though at the time Latin was the language of the elite.

I don't think that's a good example because of Lee's example of Dickens, however,


Originally posted by sloegin
The problem isn't that the present literature sucks. It is society as a whole, has gotten lazy, complacent, and stupid. It all starts with pompous generalizations, like the ones you've made. Because we all know that it is easier to judge something than accept it for what it is.

I agree. Lee is way too judgmental. I would like to know what he's read of King or Grisham before I take his comment seriously.

[sloegin]

Originally posted by Shea
I don't think that's a good example because of Lee's example of Dickens...

It was more the point, that no one really know what the future holds and those that think they do are normally wrong. There are those special few who can see the future, but I doubt Mr. Lee, is one of them.

[Robert E Lee]

Originally posted by Shea
I don't think that's a good example because of Lee's example of Dickens, however,



I agree. Lee is way too judgmental. I would like to know what he's read of King or Grisham before I take his comment seriously.

I read commercial literature heavily while I was in middle school.

Of Grisham:
The Partner
The Street Lawyer
A Time to Kill
The Brethren (I read this one when I was in 9th grade)

Of King:
It
Insomnia
Cujo
Desperation
Rage
Roadwork
The Running Man
The Long Walk
Four Past Midnight
Misery
The Regulators (was that what it was called? it sounds odd. i cant remember)
The Green Mile
Rose Madder
The Gunslinger (first Dark Tower book)
The Stand (unabridged)
The Shining
The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon
Bag of Bones
Dolores Claiborne


There's probably one or two more.

[IWilKikU]

Gee, E. Lee, for hating King so much you sure did read a bunch of his stuff!!! I think that your the only masachist who reads 19 books of an author that he hates on this forum. So if he's so bad, why give him so much of your time? And before the King debate gets back into full swing, take a minute to check the other threads about King that I've posted on and give me some new material. I get tired of people *****ing about the same old problems that they have with King.

[Shea]

I share Kik's confusion about Lee hating King. Since I haven't read enough of King to make and educated reply, I'll shut up about that.

But I recommend you read APH Lee.

Isn't this a discussion carried on through the ages anyway? Even Hawthorn was annoyed at those "scribbling women" who were hurting his book sales. I suppose that only time will tell who are current geniuses are.

[Robert E Lee]

Originally posted by IWilKikU
Gee, E. Lee, for hating King so much you sure did read a bunch of his stuff!!! I think that your the only masachist who reads 19 books of an author that he hates on this forum. So if he's so bad, why give him so much of your time? And before the King debate gets back into full swing, take a minute to check the other threads about King that I've posted on and give me some new material. I get tired of people *****ing about the same old problems that they have with King.

I told you I was a little kid then. I liked King back then. Over the years I've realized it was pure drivel. Comprende?

[Shea]

Sorry Lee, point taken, I over looked it because I just saw the huge list.

My apologies.:o

[imthefoolonthehill]

woh... I'm confused... thats Iwilkiku's post... and shea is apologizing???

*wonders how I am rating on the foolish scale*

*shrugs*

[Shea]

I apologized because I sided with Kik on that point.

[subterranean]

Originally posted by sloegin
Robert E Lee,

The problem isn't that the present literature sucks. It is society as a whole, has gotten lazy, complacent, and stupid. It all starts with pompous generalizations, like the ones you've made. Because we all know that it is easier to judge something than accept it for what it is.


Indeed....


*wondering about the new genre called "Chicklits" which are totally silly, the Harlequins series..which are even sillier..*