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Takesha Vance
(09/03/04)
I am a sixteen year old student in high school and i had to read The Last Juror as an assignment. At first I wan't really too excited about reading this particular book but as I progressed into the second chapter the story was becoming very captivating. It is one of the few interesting books I have read in a long time but I enjoyed it a great deal. I wou;ld recommend this book to anyone of any age and i would even consider reading it again myself. I rate this book superbly.
Callum
(08/27/04)
This is the first Grisham novel I have read and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was lucky enough to be able to devote a few days to read the book; however, I got through it in a day. Either my speed reading skills have dramatically improved, or it was an easy read. As an Australian, I found the content interesting; as a 27-year-old, I identified with the main character; as a translator, I gasped at a lapse in editing. Fortunately, the Australian vernacular has not succumbed to the North American overuse and misuse of the word “bunch”—e.g., bunch of papers, bunch of jokes, and in The Last Juror “…bunch of promises.” The use of ‘bunch’ (twice) in the book really spoilt a good read. To my knowledge, a well-spoken 50-something black woman in the 70s, Miss Callie, would not have said: bunch of promises. While a poor oversight on the editors’ part, I think it shows just how one has to be careful when writing in a different era.
I admit, I did shed a tear during the last few pages. An ideal book to take on an aeroplane on one's way to New Zealand...
Pamela
(05/26/04)
I'm 16 years old, and have bought and read every John Grisham book out so far. John Grisham is a truely talented writer. Last Juror is another piece of evidence that shows exactly why he is a best seller. With his great discriptions telling not only where the characters came from, but what they're like and why they are in the situation they have come into, he makes you feel like you know the people, like you're in Ford County with them. This story hooks your attention right from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end. I would truely recommend this book to anyone despite their age. It is an amazing book, beginning to end.
DJohnson
(05/18/04)
I consider myself a huge Grisham fan. I thoroughly enjoy his writing but I also notice the decline in substance of his material. Lack of new material? Boredom? The Last Juror is not up to par with his first few published books, notably, A Time to Kill and The Firm, books I enjoyed immensely and couldn't put down. This book I was able to walk away from for days without missing it. It was disappointingly predictable and at times, annoying. I was extremely annoyed by the ease of the main character, Willie's life even though he tried to make us think it was so difficult and painstaking at times. Things just seemed to fall into his lap without much effort. Poor Kid <insert sarcasm>. Willie's relationship with Miss Callie although I applaud Mr. Grisham's attempt to prove racial tolerance and acceptance by his main character, I was annoyed by the blatant stereotypes in which he wrote his black characters. Even though he had all of the Ruffin children earning doctorate degrees, you never saw any of them actually working, especially the women. They were always in the kitchen cooking and their husbands were almost obedient little children. The women always rushed to the kitchen to cook or get food and this is one of the typical Aunt Jemima stereotypes of black women (including being extremely over weight). It was not believable to me that Willie would have been as accepted to the Ruffin family as he was in the book, or that he would have taken the time to be a family chauffer or mediator. Willie laud and loathed Clanton in the same chapter and by the end of the book we really wasn't sure how he felt about living there. Not Grisham's best and it seemed he was reaching for a story here. I think its time for me to retire him.
Samantha
(04/21/04)
This is one of the greatest books to come forth from this prolific writer. It encompasses the great fullness of living in smallville Mississippi. I could not add or extract one thing from this acclaimed novel. I am touched that it takes such care and finesse to describe the situation of 1970 in rural Mississippi. It makes one feel like they understand the times and this relates greatly with the characters. The characters were of great impact to the moral text. Underlying the books main topic, was the undertoe that pulled Willie to Miss Callie. Only those with great knowledge of Mississippi today and then could relate. Mississippi may be seen as "backwards and rednecked" but this showed that thru it all we only care about those that we are closely knit to in life, family, church, or acquaintances.
PB
(03/18/04)
The Last Juror is not up to par with John Grisham's standards for captivating reading. There were too many descriptions of and too much time wasted on eating food and drinking liquor. I found myself using the Evelyn Woods method of reading this book skipping unnessary sentences to get the idea he was trying to convey.
The beginning was really hard hitting and too graphic. It was hard trying to connect with the characters in the book and was centered on one main character that had little to do with the ultimate ending. Characters in this novel were all over the place.
I think it had more of a racial/political connotation than a legal one.