The Runaway Jury had been sitting on my bedside stand for three months with the bookmark stuck after chapter two when I packed my bags to fly to Korea. I always make it a point to bring a book on flights lest I get bored while waiting to board, so it got swept into my backpack. I finished half of the book on the trip back to the Philippines and half of it in between matches during our badminton tournament.
It’s an interesting read, though it starts off slow in the beginning (hence the 3 months it was untouched). It provides more details about jury selection and bad effects of cigarette smoking and the manipulations of tobacco companies than you care to know. In the end, I understood why my friend who recommended this book had quit smoking after reading it. Though I sort of expected the twist towards the end, the reason behind it still jumped out at me. I did not really like the ending, though, but I suppose Grisham has his reasons for it.
Happy with the first Grisham book I’ve ever read, I moved on to my second the week after that – The Rainmaker. This was a quicker page turner than the first one, or maybe Grisham’s style was just beginning to grow on me. After reading this book, I don’t think any wannabe-lawyer would ever wanna be one. It gave me an altogether different perspective on how difficult a lawyer’s life must be and now I have a mixture of scorn and respect for them. I was not altogether pleased with the ending, especially since I stayed up till 2am just to finish the book, but the rest of the book leading to that was a good read.
When I got hit by second bout of tonsilitis for the year (perhaps I should consider a tonsillectomy), I was bedridden for a couple of days and had time to finish my third Grisham book – The Firm. This one is my favorite so far (though I repeat, it could possibly be because Grisham is just growing on me). It was a page-turner that I did not want to put down and for the first time, had an ending that I was actually happy about. It was also more thrilling and sinister than the first two I read, and gave me the excitement I typically get from Sheldon books.
Three books in three weeks. I don’t think I’ve ever read this much since I started working here. Yep, Grisham is definitely an author to look out for.