How To Brief A Pelican (The Pelican Brief - John Grisham)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	The Pelican Brief - John Grisham
Date:	30/10/03 (778 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Character Development is very well done, Good solid story that flows along nicely.

Disadvantages: Not knowing what shes actually found out until well into the book

As I’ve mentioned in previous ops reading never used to be something I was really into. In fact it wasn’t until about a year after I left school that I really started to read regularly and it was a book by John Grisham that really got me started. This wasn’t the one but after reading one of his books I felt that I had to make an effort to try and read pretty much everything he had written. And so I came to the Pelican Brief, the 3rd Novel he wrote.

The main aspect of Grisham’s work is that he is writing about a field he has a great deal of experience and knowledge in. All his books in one way or another are based on either down on their luck poor lawyers or law students. However don’t let this put you off, Grisham is an expert in this field and somehow manages to make these types of book seem intriguing to even me.

The plot of this one is no different to his normal type of book. Darby Shaw, a second year law student, is dating her law professor Thomas Callahan. Callahan is a supporter of a Supreme Court judge, Abe Rosenberg who is mysteriously murdered on the very same night as a fellow Supreme Court judge, Glenn Jensen. Nothing seems to link the two but everyone seems to think there’s a connection. Prompting every law student in the country to start investigating and coming up with theories as to what happened.

Of course with her boyfriend being quite fond of Rosenberg Darby starts to look into it herself. She even goes so far as to write a paper on it, which she shows to Callahan, who is so convinced by it he hands it to a friend of his within the FBI. Then just a week later after a particularly heavy night out Darby refuses to get in the car with a drunk Callahan, deciding to walk home instead. But just minutes later after starting his car Callahan and his car are blown up. Little did Darby realise how accurate her report actually was.

Now she has to fight for survival, aided by journalist Ga
ry Grantham who wants exclusive rights to her story. It’s a race against time for Darby as the people trying to keep this a secret close in on her she needs to do something quick.

In true Grisham style, this book had me hooked. I’d start reading just for a chapter and still be sat there 6 chapters on reading away at 1 in the morning. He draws you into his books and makes a subject, which ordinarily I would find rather dull, to be very interesting. Rather than writing it using difficult law phrases and sayings, he writes with an ability to explain what he means without actually writing it word by word.

The main characters are strong, especially Darby who really shines through. The background information he provides on each character helps to explain the motives of certain actions and really helps you get into the book. And Gary Grantham who appears about half way in is the perfect catalyst to really get the book moving along, as one of the complaints I have about some of Grisham’s other books is that the story drags a little.

The main downside with this one I feel is that throughout the book every one else seems to know exactly what’s in the Brief except for you the reader. This can frustrate you at times, but all in all it’s an easy book to get into that flows along quite nicely. Other than that it’s a thoroughly good read that will keep you entertained

The book weights in at about 436 pages but once you actually start reading, chapters just seem to fly by and the books over before you know it. Also as is the trend with a lot of Grisham’s work this of course has been turned into a film starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. Overall I’d say if you like a good addictive book that’s hard to put down with a lot of tension and a few surprising twists and turns then have a read of this, you wont be disappointed. If you wish to purchase a copy then check out amazon.co.uk where
its going for £5.59

One thing I really must change is that Grisham is the only author of this genre that I’ve ever really read and although I do enjoy his books, it would be nice to find out about a few of the competition. So if anyone knows of any good authors I should check out I’d be happy to hear your recommendations

Summary: