If you thought Mitch McDeere was in trouble in The Firm, wait until you meet Kyle McAvoy, The Associate
Kyle McAvoy grew up in his father’s small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal, and his future has limitless potential.
But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget. The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job he doesn’t want—even though it’s a job most law students can only dream about.
Three months after leaving Yale, Kyle becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world, where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed.
With an unforgettable cast of characters and villains—from Baxter Tate, a drug-addled trust fund kid and possible rapist, to Dale, a pretty but seemingly quiet former math teacher who shares Kyle’s “cubicle” at the law firm, to two of the most powerful and fiercely competitive defense contractors in the country—and featuring all the twists and turns that have made John Grisham the most popular storyteller in the world, The Associate is vintage Grisham.
Critics agree with Entertainment Weeklythat The Associate"is vintage Grisham, for better or worse, made timely with its sorry portrait of what passes for everyday ethics on Wall Street." Like his previous novels, The Associateis heavy on readability, predictability, and pace, and lighter on character development, scene setting, and style—no surprises here. Fans of Grisham cited masterfully drawn characters and page-turning subplots, but less enthusiastic reviewers faulted stock villains, a rather mysterious Kyle, and implausible storylines. Timeeven claimed that unlike Michael Crichton or Scott Turow, who "wrestle with actual issues," Grisham deals with, well, nothing. Still, you know what you're getting into with The Associate, for better or for worse. Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC
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.
Mr. Grisham is padding his billing sheet with The Associate, which seems almost to have been ghost-written. It reflects little of the talent behind The Partner, my favorite Grisham novel and, frankly, it made me somewhat upset to have spent 27 bucks. I would have been disappointed to buy this one in paperback. Time was that you started a Grisham novel and couldn't put it down. Had I not been stuck in an airport en route from a deposition I would not have had the patience to finish.
This book was like my sixth grade term paper; we all had them, you would count the words until you got to the end. Likewise, although there was some great potential in this story it was not realized. Sure, there were half-hearted attempts to bring other characters to life, but they were all just that, half-hearted. The ending was among the most disappointing that I have ever come across--in any genre.
Nobody learns anything. There is no character progression--just a slow moving train wreck from which nobody emerges having been enlightened. In fact, the reader feels much like our protagonist--forced to endure a journey that was expected to be something completely different and not entirely sure how to escape. Heavens, big law firms are such a deliciously evil mix of stunningly warped personalities and distorted goals that any number of excellent thrillers could be drawn from facts known to just about any lawyer.
I do hope that Mr. Grisham rediscovers the joy of telling a story--he is very good at it; however, I cannot recommend this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
John Grisham can be one heck of a novelist when he sets his mind to it. But "The Associate" comes across as a bit lazy and unfocused. This story of a young and bright law student who is the victim of a blackmail scheme just wanders for a while and then kind of plops down in the end. I will admit that I found much of the writing interesting but it seems that Grisham wants to tell the reader the difficulties and detail of working for a massive law firm without adding any suspense or proper conclusion to the tale. Maybe he plans a sequel (?) which could be fairly dynamic but this book can be summed up fairly simply.
1. Kyle wants to work in the law.
2. Bad guy threatens Kyle with video and blackmails him to steal information from major legal firm. (Who is the bad guy? You'll never know.)
3. Kyle reluctantly cooperates.
4. Lots of meetings with bad guy and hero going over dull details.
5. Kyle agonizes
6. One moment of horror when a character dies (Who killed him? You'll never know)
7. Will Kyle execute plan of bad guy?
8. Then a completely deflating climax. (Believe me, you'll be sorely disappointed.)
There is a comparison on the book jacket to "The Firm" a previous Grisham hit novel. My advice, read "The Firm". If you must read this book, wait for the paperback to be on sale at the used bookstore near you.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I have read every one of John Grisham's books and was looking forward to this one, however, after finishing it last night, I must say I was very disappointed. The ending (which, of course, I won't give away) was very lame. He spent a lot of time on the big bad law firms abusing the associates and not enough on the real story of Kyle and who were these people who were ruining his life. I would definitely not recommend it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
