It's very easy to be dismissive of John Grisham. With all
those movies constantly pouring out, Grisham has successfully tapped the
popular vein. His books therefore, could be seen as only so much popcorn fed to
the masses. However, this view could only be expounded by someone who has never
read any of his novels. This was my view, my prejudice, before I read 'The
Partner'. I had only seen two Grisham adaptations, the poor 'Pelican Brief' and
'The
Firm', which was brilliant. Before I had seen 'The Firm', I had assumed
Grisham to be some kind of inferior Scott Turow. No doubt the publicity of
Grisham's debut encouraged this view. Publishers like nothing better than to
call their proteges the 'new Pratchett', the 'new Cornwell', and maybe even the
'new Grisham'! So, I had an idea that I would read 'The Partner', and then
dismiss it if it confirmed my prejudiced views. However, like the hero of the
novel, Patrick Lanigan, Grisham has done his homework exceedingly well. Any
notion of a hostile review had to be rejected when I discovered what Grisham
had named the coolest watering hole in Mississippi: Mary Mahoney's. Biased?
Moi? There is also the fact that everyone in the novel seems to have played
soccer at some point in their life, which will endear British readers. In the
same way, Jane Austen pitched for an American audience by having her heroines
play baseball (Northanger
Abbey) Putting glue on the cover was a great marketing idea, as the novel
is impossible to put down. A sign of a good book is how many things you put off
in the race to finish the last two hundred pages. If you're looking for an
excuse not to do that ironing, then may I suggest 'The Partner'?
By the way, what did happen to Scott Turow? My bet's that John
Grisham bought him a pair of concrete boots. Sounds like a good idea for a
thriller to me. If any publishers are reading this, here's the new John
Grisham!
Kevin Mahoney
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