A Time to Kill

i share the same thoughts regarding this book as the previous reviewer. dispite this i still found it to be a quite an entertaining read

ridiculous (2/6 people found this helpful)

To kill a mocking bird this ain't

Around about page 100 I didn't want to put this book down, not because it was a `riveting read' or anything, but rather I was waiting for something to happen and the story would take off. I've just finished page 230 (still far away from any trial!) and I've simply given up on this book. Basically it's all way too implausible and incomprehensive for my palette, the premise is just plain ridiculous, I know nothing of the american legal system but i would imagine the truth and the facts of a case should still be somewhat important criteria.
here are some of the things the reader has to accept;
A vodka-soaked judge, a drunken disbarred lawyer, a drunken psychiatrist (who's also an adulterer.) A gangster pimp lawyer. A sheriff (who allows the murderer, convictee Carl Lee Hailey free use of his office to eat and conduct his business. I kid you not!) we have visitors allowed to picnic with felons in the prison courtyard. Carl Lee Hailey kills two men who raped his daughter, he also accidentally shoots a police deputy who has to have his leg amputated yet sheriff Ozzie Walls treats Carl Lee Hailey like a VIP guest. now simply add every southern state balck and redneck stereotype you can think of.
, ...I mean, comon' Grisham are we really supposed to swallow all this crap?

The hero...did i say hero? of the book is defence lawywer jake brigance who has the personality of a six foot mahogany plank. Brigance despises his adversary D.A. Buckley whom he sees as a slick, morally bankrupt, money grabbing, media seeking son-of-a-bastard, yet page after page we see Grishams' Jake Brigance primarally focussed in securing his fees from the defendant. Brigand is also totally media vain, he doesnt give a stuff about the death threats made to his wife and child, he cares more about his case, & the money it will generate by making him famous. He's just the mirror image of D.A. Buckley.

As a reader I just couldnt get past all this incredulity, i hated the long detours which were immaterial to the plot for instance; Grisham introduces the ridiculous named crooked lawyer Bo Marsharfsky who is muscled in by a conveniently benevolant rich gangster friend of the accused to take over the case from Brigand, the sacked Brigand is humiliated beyond words....then a chapter later Lee Hailey is persueded (by Brigands trickery) to drop Marsharfsky and re-hire Brigand. Brigand takes the case and all is well again.
Hmmm.
I quit reading the book because i simply didn't care what happened too the Carl Lee Hailey or the rest of Grishams ridiculous cast.

eric williams

Southern racism (1/1 people found this helpful)

Grisham's first novel did not sell very well when first published but caught up with the success of his second. I did find it a bit slow when the accused sacked the hero lawyer but apart from this and pehaps a rather simple and improbable ending, it is gripping stuff as usual. Basically the book is about race. Can a poor black get away with killing two whites who raped his daughter in Mississippi where whites would get away with killing a black rapist?

A Time for Brill! (3/3 people found this helpful)

'A Time to Kill' was the first novel written by John Grisham and he did so over a number of years as he continued to practice law. It has a much rawer feel to it than his later polished titles and I for one feel that it benefits from this.

Jake, a small town lawyer, has just been offered the biggest case his career will ever see. A 10 year old black girl has been raped by two white men and rather then let the justice system deal with them her father shoots and kills them. Can Jake get his client off? Will race troubles force the small town into a civil war? And can Jake protect his family from a rejuvenated KKK?

With the above ingredients Grisham has produced a novel that stands head and shoulders above the others I have read by him. The story is fast paced and exciting with the actual trial only playing a minor role near the end. Instead we concentrate on the rest of the process and the impact that a large case like this can have on a small town.

Perhaps the best part of this book is the character of Jake himself. A lawyer who is protecting the rights of a black man in a white town should be a pure character? Wrong. Grisham writes him as an arrogant man interested in both his client but perhaps more about his career. I found this refreshing and enjoyed the book a lot more for it.

I would recommend this book to anyone as an introduction to Grisham as it his first and, so far, best novel. Some scenes are violent and there is a lot of racism so bare that in mind. However, there is little to fault this fast and furious read - Sammy recommendation.

I WAS HOOKED ON THIS (4/4 people found this helpful)

It was so real I was full of hatred for the rapists and felt for the victims family. I forgot the fact that this was fiction.

PROBABLY THIS BEST GRISHAM NOVEL TO DATE.
If you are starting a Grisham book this is the perfect start. you will love this story. Will be rooting for a verdict one way or the other I guarantee it.

John Grisham

Reader Reviews:

padlpalda;l (0/0 people found this helpful)

ridiculous (2/6 people found this helpful)

Southern racism (1/1 people found this helpful)

A Time for Brill! (3/3 people found this helpful)

I WAS HOOKED ON THIS (4/4 people found this helpful)

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