The Firm by John Grisham

The Firm is one of many John Grisham books that has been made into a film; while I read it, I often thought of the film but I did not feel that having seen the film kept me from enjoying the book fully.

I once started a Grisham book, years ago, and disliked it intensely.  At a time when I rarely gave up on books, I quickly stopped reading it and not only never picked it up again but never felt any desire to read another Grisham book.

However, I did enjoy this book.  I thought some of the ideas he presented were novel.  

I value his power as a descriptive writer.  Even though I was prejudiced against him as a writer when I started the novel, I found myself feeling that I could imagine what the firm's building looked like, on the basis of his description, and even what downtown Memphis looked like.  I thought that I could see the poolside at the Quins' house and the restaurants that Abby and Mitch visited.  

And I found this book exciting.  I did find it thrilling.  Of course, having seen the film, I knew something about the outcome.  But the film's plot was quite streamlined compared to that of the book, and it would have been quite easy for me to feel impatient with the drawing out of the discoveries that Mitch makes, and the actions that he undertakes.  

Reflecting on the book, I realize that I find some plot twists improbable.  I find some other things curious.  An FBI agent is preparing an indictment (do FBI agents do that?) and it's a preliminary indictment because the investigation is not complete.  Among the charges he lists, he "throws" in mail fraud because, he reasons, mail fraud is almost always a charge.  I assumed that this was a jab since Grisham has worked as a criminal defense attorney, and I'd guess that extra charges, no matter how trivial they are, just make extra work for defense attorneys.

Grisham's strength is his descriptive ability but I find his perception to be superficial.  He's excellent in describing what people look like and how the details of their appearance and mannerisms denote their class identity.  I found the attitude of the omniscient narrator calculating and cold, and a shrewd observer.  Perhaps shrewdness, while useful and possibly hard-won, is just not that attractive a quality.