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John Grisham turns out one book a year. It's always highly anticipated. It always
marches up the charts. While some novels have been "flatter" than others, they
have always been great page-turners. He tells a story like a lawyer. There are facts. They
are not embellished, but, rather are presented and then woven together to tell a good
tale. The story is almost a collection of snapshots or vignettes. When they are all laid
out, they tell the story like a scrapbook. Here we did this. Then we did that. His voice
is not folksy, it's matter-of-fact. And, somehow, it just works.
Of his most recent work, THE TESTAMENT is written with the most ease. The narrative voice
is comfortable; it's not laden with the urgent angst of characters aiming to prove
something which was so much a part of THE PARTNER and THE STREET LAWYER. It lacks the
killer edginess and anger. Maybe this is some insight into where the author is in his own
life, right now. There is a spiritual quality to this book.
THE TESTAMENT does retain the trademark character found in each of his books --- a person
who improves himself because of something he learned that changed his life. The story
traces what the character has heard and, then, how he acts upon it. It is pretty simple,
but from this setup, a compelling story emerges. The character here is Nate O' Reilly, a
man on the rebound who is in search of something to believe in. He doesn't find one thing,
but he does find himself.
Like THE STREET LAWYER, the book opens with the disappearance of a pivotal character whose
absence impacts the rest of the tale. Without giving the plot away, I will say that this
is the story of one man's last will and testament and the affect it has on his family, and
the lawyers who are charged with probating it.
While everyone has heard stories about the reading of wills, few novels have ever focused
on the meaning of the word "testament." This word is pivotal to the story since
what Troy Phelan testifies to in the will unleashes secrets, exposing his heirs for what
they really are --- both good and evil.
Grisham always teaches me one legal term I never knew or explains a process which I found
rather vague. In this book, it is the holographic will --- a document wholly in the
handwriting of its author. This will drives the book, but the testament is what is at its
soul and core.
There are some wonderful images of the Pantanal region of Brazil which capture the flavor
of the area vividly. The book drew me to a map in the same way that, many years ago, Paul
Simon's music with Urubamba made me want to learn more about Peru. Obviously, it's an area
that's special to Grisham as his Author's Note at the end attests. "Carl King, my
friend and a Baptist missionary in Campo Grande, took me deep into the Pantanal. I'm not
sure how much of his information was accurate, but we had a wonderful time for four days
counting alligators, photographing wildlife, looking for anacondas, eating black beans and
rice, telling stories, all from a boat that somehow grew smaller. Many thanks to Carl for
the adventure."
Exactly as I said. A man with a story that he had to tell. A really simple thing that just
works.
--- Reviewed by Carol Fitzgerald (CKCF@aol.com)
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