In 1998 Travis Boyette abducts, rapes and murders a high school cheerleader then buries the body so it will never be found. Donte Drumm a local football star is convicted and sentenced to Death Row for the crime while Travis moves on to committ other crimes. Nine years after the murder Travis is released from prison for a different crime and visits a church with Reverend Schroeder preaching. After listening to a sermon given by Reverend Schroeder Travis pays a visit to the Reverend telling the Reverend he has an inoperable brain tumor that is terminal and then tells the Reverend about Donte who is on Death Row for a crime he didn't committ. But Travis leaves from the first visit without actually confessing. The rest of the story tells how the Reverend Schroeder works to get Travis to confess to try to save Donte and the trials of getting a legal system that has already convicted someone of a crime to listen in time to try to save Donte.
REVIEW: As with all John Grisham books that I have read this one is extremely well written and holds a readers attention from page one and is still offering surprises on the last page. Grisham like many good writers uses his writting to give voice to his personal view points on the death penalty and what he sees as flaws in our legal system, causing a reader to think and question the status quo. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dramatic legal suspense stories.
Questions:
For Authors : Do you use your writing to promote view points and try to bring attention to things that you think need it or do you write completely seperate from your real life?
For Readers : Do you enjoy books that touch on subjects that can be debated or do you prefer reads that let you escape or both and why?
John Grisham's Next book "The Litigator" available for preorder - http://www.jgrisham.com/the-litigators-plot-elements/
6 comments:
Not necessarily to promote a view point, but I guess writing a novel is a convenient way to express an opinion. It also depends on the genre. As to write completely separate from real life, I don't see how that's possible. At least one of the character will be similar to the writer, in one way or another. But I could be wrong....
As an author, I don't necessarily try to promote my point of view on a given topic. But my opinions do tend to present themselves on a given subject (firearms, death penalty, child abuse, etc.) through my work. Writing is arguably the most immediate and intimate medium, and as such, it is impossible to write without giving away something of one's self in the process. Whether that something is truly the author's belief or the character's is up to the reader to debate, unless the author comes out and says: "I believe X, Y, and Z."
As a reader, I enjoy picking through an author's work and trying to understand whether the author is speaking from their personal perspective or has truly immersed themselves in that of the character. Sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with the author; sometimes not. Sometimes I want to grab the character by the neck and shake them until they see reason or their eyes fall out, whichever comes first. Either way, an author who makes me think and challenges my assumptions about life is an author I will read again and again.
Another excellent post!
Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.- Jessamyn West
I like to kid myself that I write to entertain, to give my reader a fun feel good adventure. I know it is BS, but I like to kid myself just the same. I have very strong opinions on certain subjects, and they tend to ooze out into my seemingly harmless romantic comedies.
As a reader, I enjoy both types of books (the pondering and the escapes)Usually alternating betwen the two because I don't want to think all the time. (Brain leakage is a bear to clean up, let me tell you!) Sometimes it is good to just sit back and enjoy.
Fiction is the purest form of reality. Within fiction, as a writer, I am able to present my point of view, unblemished by any opposing opinion I don't want to include. Writers do it all the time, Within any story is the writer's view of the world around them, its morals, dangers, pitfalls, and strengths.
As a reader, I'm not fond of fiction novels written to either promote or to take advantage of a current societal dilemma. I can get all I want of that topic from the news. Society uphevals as a backdrop or stage to a story? Absolutely.
In other words, would I write a story designed to state my opinion of the death penalty? No.
Would I write a story using the death penalty and a wrongly convicted person to create tension and drama with which to surround my characters and plot? Absolutely.
For me, a fiction story is about the story, not the issue.
I'm only a reader. I read for both reasons. Sometimes I like to just escape in my reading. Sometimes I just want to relax and not think very hard when reading. For a book club I definitely like a topic that will create discussion. If everyone likes the book and there is no discussion then the book doesn't work for a book club and it's over before it begins.
Thank you all for posting and the view points. Sorry took so long to respond dealing with teenagers. As a reader I enjoy both escapism and subjects that promote view points, though as DA said I would prefer that the view point is used to build the story and not the main object of the book. I enjoy books that I continue to think about after I'm done reading them no matter what genre or subject matter they may be and enjoy reading multiple books from the same authors and trying to find the character traits or opinions that tend to run from one book to the next. Thank you all again for stopping by.
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