Sunday, December 31, 2006
The Client
by John Grisham
Government is something given to humanity by God, yet sometimes it can be so frustrating that one wonders whether government is a blessing or a curse. The Client is an excellent illustration of government gone awry. The story is about an 11-year-old kid named Mark Sway. He's a poor kid, living with his mom and kid brother in a trailer park in Memphis. One day when he and his brother, Ricky, are out in a deserted lot, they encounter a lawyer from New Orleans, who has driven up to Memphis for the express purpose of ending his life. Mark impulsively thwarts the lawyer's attempt to asphyxiate himself, only to end up getting caught. The lawyer drunkenly threatens Mark's life and ends up revealing his reason for committing suicide. He has a client who is a Mafia hitman, and that client has revealed the location of the body of his latest victim. The D.A. needs that information to get a conviction and the pressure has just gotten to be too much for him. He tells Mark the location of the corpse, assuming that Mark will die with him. But a combination of the lawyer's drunkenness and help from Ricky allows the kid to escape. The kids run home and Ricky, overwhelmed by the experience, shuts down. The police and other organizations try to help the family, but when word leaks out that Mark knows the location of the body, the government's attempt to protect the family is hampered by the desire to find out the information on the missing corpse. Normally I don't care for the precocious kid character, but Mark is vulnerable enough to make me like him. Also, since one of his foes is dull bureaucracy, I can't help but root for the guy. Overall the characters aren't as well-rounded as in other John Grisham novels that I've read, but I'm still glad I took the time to check this one out.
LibraryThing link
Government is something given to humanity by God, yet sometimes it can be so frustrating that one wonders whether government is a blessing or a curse. The Client is an excellent illustration of government gone awry. The story is about an 11-year-old kid named Mark Sway. He's a poor kid, living with his mom and kid brother in a trailer park in Memphis. One day when he and his brother, Ricky, are out in a deserted lot, they encounter a lawyer from New Orleans, who has driven up to Memphis for the express purpose of ending his life. Mark impulsively thwarts the lawyer's attempt to asphyxiate himself, only to end up getting caught. The lawyer drunkenly threatens Mark's life and ends up revealing his reason for committing suicide. He has a client who is a Mafia hitman, and that client has revealed the location of the body of his latest victim. The D.A. needs that information to get a conviction and the pressure has just gotten to be too much for him. He tells Mark the location of the corpse, assuming that Mark will die with him. But a combination of the lawyer's drunkenness and help from Ricky allows the kid to escape. The kids run home and Ricky, overwhelmed by the experience, shuts down. The police and other organizations try to help the family, but when word leaks out that Mark knows the location of the body, the government's attempt to protect the family is hampered by the desire to find out the information on the missing corpse. Normally I don't care for the precocious kid character, but Mark is vulnerable enough to make me like him. Also, since one of his foes is dull bureaucracy, I can't help but root for the guy. Overall the characters aren't as well-rounded as in other John Grisham novels that I've read, but I'm still glad I took the time to check this one out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, JohnGrisham
// posted by John @ 5:09 AM 
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