The Appeal [Paperback]

John Grisham (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Delta / Dell Publishing; 1ST edition (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385342926
• ISBN-13: 978-0099481768
• ASIN: 0099481766
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (722 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,238,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, John Grisham was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby--writing his first novel. Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.That might have put an end to Grishams hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller. Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, The Broker, Playing for Pizza, and The Appeal) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man.

Photo credit Maki Galimberti

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

215 of 256 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Much ado about nothing, March 21, 2008

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Appeal (Hardcover)

I've just finished reading more than 250 pages of filler with nothing worth mentioning at the end of it all, except that the ending "majorly" sucked.

Essentially a sordid tale of big business and politics vs. big verdicts and class action lawsuits, it begins nicely, and gathers steam, then proceeds to continue blowing hot air at the reader until the unsatisfactory quickie ending.

While there's some food for thought regarding how the legal, political, religious and business arenas may all be connected, there's more garnish than meat in a story which could have been cut by about 100 pages of the filler, and sweetened with about 50 more pages of conclusion for dessert.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)

1. Large company dumps chemicals in rural community

2. Water changes color

3. People get sick

4. Some die

5. Small law firm files lawsuit

6. Large verdict awarded

7. Big business takes over

8. Money talks

9. Once again, Grisham gets tired of his own rambling and wraps up story in indecent haste leaving most of his ends dangling

10. His ends aren't pretty

I'd like to sue for 50% of my money back, plus loss of productive time, legal costs and mental trauma, and also for punitive damages, but I guess I'd lose on appeal.

Rated: 2.5 stars for half of a good book

The Innocent Man

Amanda Richards, March 21, 2008

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No so much a novel as it is propaganda (even if it does make a good point), January 29, 2009

By 

Gregory A. Moore - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Appeal (Hardcover)

I picked up a copy of "The Appeal" to make the 8 hours I had to wait in the airport go a little faster, and it served its purpose. The time went by quickly. I enjoyed the book very much. Then, I got home and decided to sit down and finish it, and that's where things got ugly.

The end of this book and even the message from John Grisham himself at the end of the book leave the reader to only one conclusion: "The Appeal" is not a legal thriller. Instead it is a propaganda piece that has big business involvement in politics between its crosshairs. I'm not saying I don't agree with the point Grisham makes here, but I bought this book to be entertained. At the end of the day, the actions of the heros end up meaning absolutley nothing and make the reader feel like they just had 400 pages of their life wasted.

53 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Job, February 26, 2008

By 

Gerald Swimmer "manursing" (Rye, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Appeal (Hardcover)

Grisham has written some wonderful books. Unfortunately, The Appeal is not one of them. He has a point which is that elected judges create a problem and an opportunity for abuse. We all agree. By the way so do appointed judges.

The plot has been described by others. My issue with this effort is that everybody was predictable. The good folks were perfect. Plaintiff lawyers who will bankrupt themselves for a case they believe in. Not like many plaintiff lawyers who I have run into. The company and its owners are completely bad. When a character such as the general counsel of the company looks to be a little interesting he is ignored.

Grisham in my view has always had the ability to develop believable characters who were interesting. All the leading characters in this book were boring and too much of a stereotype.