The Appeal by
John Grisham My review
rating: 2 of 5 stars
I read this in April after Justice Nehring (Utah Supreme Court) told me he was listening to it on CD during his commute each day. Three quarters of my way through it, he told me it was not worth finishing. He was right.
Talk about much ado about nothing. The novel starts strong, provides an interesting conflict, and than (spoiler alert) completely drops the ball. Not that the bad guy has to lose and the good guy has to win every time, but the characters are skewed and distorted so much to the extreme that everything is black and white, not the gray that is the real world, and STILL the bad guy comes out on top.
One is left to believe that there is no real justice, that our political system leaves zero opportunity for the common man to be heard or represented, and that all persons wealthy are superficial and power hungry.
Sorry, but that's not the real world. Nor does it make good fiction. I was left feeling both condescended and disappointed. Does Grisham really think we are so stupid?
On the other hand, a conspiracy theory always makes for fun fiction...for a few pages. Eventually, things have to resolve, and i'd like to feel good about the resolution.
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Meet Daniel and Brittany
The challenge that began with "Have a nice life, Daniel Burton" is progressing with favorable results. Surviving and thriving on lively discussions about books, Abby, or the post-grad school world, the Burtons show signs of excellent health and familial success.
Dan and Britt met on a hot July 4th in 2005. Shortly after inviting her to join him for a panoramic view of the Independence Day fireworks, and not long after her denial, Daniel and Britt agreed to break the ice over ice cream. They soon realized that they were both book geeks, decided a permanent union was worth evaluating, and were married just over a year later on another beautiful July day.
After graduating with a law degree from both he and Brittany's alma mater's rival, Daniel is corporate counsel at the Woodbury Corporation, a commercial real estate management and development company in Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, and far more interestingly, Brittany is raising a new generation of Burtons as full-time mother and family creative director. Abby is two and a half, and #2 is on the way, with arrival expected in late June of 2011. The Burtons look forward to many years of exploring canyons, creeks, and mountain tops, swapping novels, notes, and ideas, and enjoying great discussions about people, politics, and their family.
Daniel and Brittany are both graduates of the 2002 class of Brigham Young University. Abby is gunning to graduate from diapers, sooner than later.
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1 comment:
Hey guys! We're going private and I don't have an email address for you. Could you shoot me an email at maryjnewton@gmail.com? I want to stay in touch!
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