John Grisham is as good as he is prolific. His numerous foray into the world of courtroom thrillers and beyond have filled up many bookracks. But, thankfully he hasn't compromised the quality of his writing. Year after year, he continues to deliver excellent courtroom thrillers, tying it up with vivid tales of corrupt institutions, corporate greed and the vices of law practices to which any reader would have been happily unaware. Although his first book, A Time to Kill wasn't popular initially, his next novel The Firm brought him worldwide recognition. And finally, his previous works also got the attention they deserved.
Each and every novel of John Grisham are undoubtedly the benchmarks in the genre, but today I'd like to pick my favourite and gush over it a little. Although it is very difficult to single out his best novel from the likes of The Firm, The Partner, The Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill, and so on, I have picked a favourite.
It's The Rainmaker.
Surprisingly, it's neither his most popular nor his top-selling. Furthermore, the movie also performed dismally at the Box office. But why I prefer it to others and have in fact revisited many times, is simply because Grisham ventured outside of his comfort zone and experimented with new themes. John Grisham usually centred around the personal conflicts brought upon by human greed and fueled by the conducive system. Usually set in sombre tones, his books were more about justifying the need for moral righteousness and the dissection of a system that ultimately made all of us corrupt. He was focused on exploring the dark side of the law and its effect on an individual.
By contrast in The Rainmaker, Grisham decided to simply have fun. The main character Rudy Baylor is funny, usually ready with quips and the moral compass not always pointing in the right direction. Despite the experimentation with new themes, the novel is a perfect balance between a light feel-good story and complex, layered thriller. It has a little bit of everything, a classic courtroom brawl where you'd ooh! and ahh! at every encounter of two opposing lawyers, a romance so fulfilling it deserved its own spinoff and to top it off a genuinely relatable protagonist- an ambitious youth alone in the big bad world fighting by his teeth and nail. The struggles Rudy faces echoes with every one of us. The age-old struggle of the underdog against a powerful will have us rooting for Rudy. The qualms about doing everything the right way and hurdles faced by the protagonist resonate with the youth of today, who despite having a qualification feel they are not ready for real life. And justifiably so.
Fresh out of college/Universities, after spending years learning how to work with the ideal, just and fully functioning system, we are massively under-equipped and overwhelmed to battle the crooked and uncompromising system out there. I have taken the liberty of putting my favourite paragraph of the novel out here. Although written for a lawyer, I think it applies to all of us.
''Law school is nothing but three years of wasted stress. We spend countless hours digging for information we’ll never need. We are bombarded with lectures that are instantly forgotten. We memorize cases and statutes which will be reversed and amended tomorrow. If I’d spent fifty hours a week for the past three years training under a good lawyer, then I would be a good lawyer. Instead, I’m a nervous third-year student afraid of the simplest of legal problems and terrified of my impending bar exam".
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ReplyDeleteYou never cease to impress us.
Thank you for your kind words. It really means a lot.
DeleteYour description is intriguing. Will definitely read the book!
ReplyDeletePlease do.
DeleteI hope you'll like it at much as I did.