Customer Reviews

The Pelican Brief (John Grisham)

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

"The Pelican Brief" by John Grisham is an exciting novel with an amazing plot. It begins by introducing the character Khamel, a crazed killer who is paid to murder two Supreme Court Justices, named Rosenberg and Jensen, both who have received many death threats but refuse to let the FBI protect them.

In New Orleans at Tulane University, Darby Shaw, an attractive second year law student, was trying to sove the mystery behing the killings. Darby had a thirteen page brief on who she thought killed the justices. The brief was passed on to many people and it finally came to the President, who after reading the report became very scared. The FBI wanted to pursue the lead, but after a phone call from the President that told them to back off it, they decided to look at other suspects.

In the meantime, reporter Gray Grantham received a call in the middle of the night from "Garcia" who said that he might know something about the case.

Darby was on a date with her lover/professor when he got a little too drunk to drive. Darby insisted that she drive or walk, and to her surprise, he told her to walk. When the professor got into his car and started the engine, the car exploded, killing him on the spot. Darby called a friend of the professor, Gavin, and told him what happened because he was the first to see the brief which was later named "The Pelican Brief".

Through all of this chaos, Darby managed to stay alive and found time to meet Gray Grantham in Washington D.C. He learned her entire story and in order to confirm it all, they had to find "Garcia". They knew that he was a lwyer at a small firm in Washington D.C., so they asked the many interns there if they recognized a picture of him. One out of seven did, so they go to meet him. To their surprise, "Garcia" was mugged and killed on the streets.

"The Pelican Brief" is a wonderful book that contains a variety of charaters and twists that I think everyone should read. This book has just about every element that makes up a good book; suspense, mystery, murder, law, and love all put together in a perfect mixture that will make your head spin. John Grisham is an awesome writer and I look forward to reading more of his fantastic novels.

I enjoyed this book. While I don't put it on the same level as Steinbeck, Tolstoy, or Shakespeare, it lived up to my expectations: It was an enjoyable read all around. I enjoyed "The Pelican Brief" more than "The Firm," despite the fact that the latter is probably the more popular of the two. Perhaps that is because I chose to avoid the movie version of "Pelican," while I was thoroughly disappointed with the movie version of "The Firm." I don't know. While I would recommend either book, however, I would probably recommend "Pelican" slightly more emphatically.

The pelican brief is a slow but exiting book which is the base of the book for the movie: The Pelican Brief. Most of my friends watch the hit series Law & Order and so do I. So when I asked my Librarian if there were any books like it, he told me books by John Grisham. I got hooked into the book really fast. Some people dont realize what happens in the complicated world of politics, internal affairs, and what hey do to get their job down. I suggest this book who is interested in the Law or what they do.
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Let me say upfront that I don't think John Grisham is a good writer. That being said, I thought "A Time to Kill" was a very good book -- not quite at the level of "To Kill a Mockingbird," but still well-written. I wouldn't call "The Firm" a good book by any means, but it created an atmosphere of paranoia effectively.

"The Pelican Brief," however, began a downward slide for Grisham, the depths of which I stopped monitoring after "The Client."

First, "The Pelican Brief" is just too much to swallow. In "The Firm," Mitch had the FBI helping him -- sort of -- so you can suspend some disbelief and think that he might survive his employment with the mob. But in "The Pelican Brief," Darby is a second year law student with no help at all. It just strains credulity to believe that she could survive.

But that's hardly the worst flaw in the book. The worst sin committed herein is that Grisham CHEATS. In an effort to generate suspense, he withholds from the reader the information that would explain why everyone wants to kill Darby Shaw. Why? Because of the contents of the Pelican Brief, which she wrote. So while Darby knows why everyone is after her, the reader doesn't find out until two thirds of the way in, when Grisham finally deigns to share the brief with us. This is a mark of a lazy or untalented writer.

While the book entertained me, it is certainily not a book for Republicans. Grisham is definately a democrat and some of his stereotypes can be offensive. Besides that, it is certainly an entertaining and often gripping read.

How would you like it if a paper you wrote was getting your loved ones killed left and right and someone was after you? You probably wouldn't like it, would you? Well, welcome to the world of Darby Shaw, a brilliant law student at Tulane law school. When two Supreme Court justices are murdered, Darby thinks she knows the answer. So she writes a brief about it... "The pelican brief". The FBI gets the brief and somehow it falls into the wrong hands. First Darby's professor and boyfriend, Thomas Callahan is blown to bits by a car bomb. Then one of Thomas' friends (and FBI lawyer) Gavin Veerheek is murdered trying to help Darby. Darby is forced to go on the run, dying her hair, paying with only cash, and doing everything she can to avoid capture. Will Darby survive? Read The Pelican Brief and find out!
In this book, John Grisham does an amazing job of portraying the feelings of the main character, Darby. This book is a fast moving thriller as it takes Darby's across the U.S. in her struggles to stay alive. I loved this book! This is one mystery/thriller that I couldn't put down. You can tell Grisham is a lawyer because of his knowledge about the legal system. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a suspenseful, well-written book. Just like in another of his books, The Firm, Grisham has constructed a tantalizing plot that makes The Pelican Brief soar!

Someone assassinates two Supreme Court justices (the assassin is a burned out terrorist named Khamel, but the powers that be are baffled. They have no clues.

Darby Shaw spends a few days in the law library and figures out who wanted the hit, in order to stack the Supreme Court. This puts her in jeopardy, and people keep getting murdered around her.

Scary? Well, it might have been, but somehow, we know (I knew) that Darby was going to make it in the end and the "bad guys" were going to have their comeuppance. That was never in doubt.

So, not so scary.

What was interesting was Grisham's description of the law firms, and the lawyers, in Washington, D.C. This was eye-opening, the numbers, the morals, and the career ladder that such people follow.

What was interesting, but stupid, was the President. It's hard to imagine a President this stupid, but I wonder was the model Mr. Ron? And this golfer President turns the real business of running the nation over to a young smoothy by the name of Fletcher Coal, who is one of the "bad guys," in a way, but he has some good traits, too: He can work incessantly and seems to be pretty intelligent. He just lacks, what, heart?

I've read better books by Grisham. There is a story here, but not a page-turning story. Just kind of, "Okay, who's going to fail to assassinate Darby this time?"

I didn't see the movie, but the book seemed to be tailor-made for Hollywood, also, another down-side (compare Grisham's Bleachers, a more recent effort, which does not seem to be targeted so prominently toward a movie script).

Diximus.

I read this book a few years ago. Girl's boyfriend is blown up in a car, mouring period lasts about an hour. Half the book is spent trying to find out what department the lawyer who they're looking for works in. Wow gas and oil dept! It would take a second grader about ten seconds to figure that one out. What is it with Grisham novels? Or should I say McNovels?

John Grisham's 1991 novel THE FIRM drew unprecedented praise from reviewers, booksellers and readers across America, and it quickly became the top bestseller of the year. Now Grisham is back with The Pelican Brief, an irresistible story that begins with the simultaneous assassinations of two Supreme Court Justices...

Late one October night Justice Abe Rosenberg, at ninety - one the Supreme Court's liberal legend, is shot in the head while sleeping in his Georgetown home. Two hours later Glenn Jensen, the Court's youngest and most conservative justice, is strangled, possibly by the same assassin. The country is stunned and baffled; the FBI has no clues.

But Darby Shaw, a brilliant law student at Tulane, thinks she has the answer. Days of digging in the law libray's computers have led her to an obscure connection between the two justices. She fleshes out her beliefs in a meticulous though wildly speculative brief that builds a strong case against a most unlikely suspect.

Her suspect has powerful friends. one evening, outside a New Orleans restaurant, she narrowly escapes an assassin's car bomb. Someone has read her brief. Someone who wants her dead. Alone and frightened, Darby disappears into the anonymous shadows of the French Quarter. After reading an alarming story about the assassinations in the Washington Post, she contacts investigative reporter Gray Grantham and convinces him that Washington's position the killings amounts to the biggest cover - up since Watergate. Together they go underground, on the run, trying to stay alive long enough to expose the real truth in The Pelican Brief.

Featuring the unique mix of legal intrigue and page - turning suspense that drove The Firm to the top of the bestseller lists, The Pelican Brief is sure to be one of the most popular and satisfying novels of the year.

Not my favorite Grisham novel but still a pretty decent book and definately a page turner.

I get a good chuckle reading some of these reviews that state, "I am a lawyer and Grisham doesn't know what he is talking about!" or "A story like this could never happen!". Those folks probably zigged when they should have zagged to get to the NON-FICTION section. I read Grisham's novels because they are enjoyable and are pretty easy to follow. I can't wait for these same people to ridicule Steven King. "There is NO WAY a person can start fires with their mind!" or "I am a mechanic and I know for sure that Cars don't have minds of their own!"

Give the guy a break....sheesh