John Grisham's "The Broker"

For those of you who are paying too close attention, you may notice that "The Broker" skipped over the Current Read category in the sidebar completely...well, that's because I got bored with George Carlin's book, and took a three-day break from it. In that time, I read John Grisham's "The Broker", which was yet another book NOT in the lawyer formulaic he did so well with through the first 4 or 5 books. It was an interesting read, but I think Grisham spent too much time discussing the settings in Italy, giving the reader Italian language lessons, and forgot to write the plot. That said, I think this could work as a screenplay...in fact, it really feels like the basis for one (if a rewrite were involved).

Too little time is spent in developing (or utilizing) some of the more interesting secondary characters (like the law professor), and the most interesting part of the story, which the plot painfully winds its way toward, falls rather flat. In all, the most climactic moment was also the anticlimax. It feels like this story was really two separate ideas that never really seemed to interweave.

I'm not saying that I want my 8 hours back, but I just hope that Mr. Grisham starts building better plots again soon.