Introduction
One of my favorite authors in the popcorn fiction category is John Grisham. He specializes in novels dealing with lawyers and most of his novels are thrillers with lawyers on the run. So when I got a chance to read The Summons, I looked forward to it.
The Plot
Judge Atlee of Clanton, Mississippi is a beloved and powerful official who has ruled over the law and politics of Clanton for over forty years. After being, forced from the bench, he is now leading a life of withdrawn recluse. With his end fast approching, the old man decides to send one final summon - to his two children, Ray Atlee and Forrest Atlee.
Ray is professor of law at University of Virginia and at forty-three is fighting to come to terms with his astonishing divorce with his wife Vicki. Judge Atlee looked upon Ray to take over his mantle and rule over Clanton, but when Ray moved over to Virginia, the Judge banished him from from his altar.
Forrest, the younger of the two, was the black sheep of the family, indulging in all the activities that are a no-no to any decent family.
Drugs, women, drinks you name it and he is into it. After numerous trips to rehabilitation funded by Judge Atlee, Forrest is finally banished from the family and is now on his own.
So, Ray decides to heed to the final summon and go and meet the dying man. But before Ray reaches, the old is already dead. More surprisingly, the old man has left an unbelievable amount of money that Ray accidently stumbles on. This money, though has no mention in the old man's will which surprises Ray as the old man never put a foot against the law.
So where did all this money come from? How did he manage to hide it from the law?
Just as Ray is engrossed on these problems, things start happening around him. He finds somebody trying to stalk him, giving warnings and threats.
So now Ray is on the run with millions of unaccounted dollars, not knowing where the money came from, who is behind the money and why is he being stalked.
Check out ''The Summons'' to find answers to these questions.
Critical Review
The plot is an interesting one and has many possibilities. But, John Grisham, disappoints to the hilt in this novel. The story takes too long to develop. For the first 15-20 chapters the story remains stagnant on details of Judge Atlee's charity retold umpteen times, Ray's divorce discussed umpteen times, Forrest's drug habits discussed umpteen times without the story ever moving forward.
Then finally, when the story begins to move, it ends as abruptly. The few mysteries that needed to be answered in the novel turn out to such letdowns that you loose the pull to go on to complete the novel at times. The climax has a small sting in tale, but when we have waited so long for the story to develop, that is the least we expect from the story.
There are huge sections that are repetitive and could have been avoided. It seems more like Grisham was given an assignment, that you need to write 350 pages of a novel, do it in any manner possible!! And he did it with repetitions.
Again even though there are very limited characters in this novel, the characterizations are very superficial. Each person's personal life has been examined, but the characters have been loosely developed. Also there is a huge amount of inconsistency in the characters especially Forrest's.
After reading, Grisham's The Client, The Firm and The Pelican Brief, I am convinced that this is the worst novel of the lot. Let's hope he moves on from this one and goes back to the original quality.
Summary
The Summons is a forgettable novel by Grisham. The plot has lot of potential, but his story writing and plot development makes it a dull and drab read. For those of you who are planning to read this book, my suggestion is either look for one of Grisham's other novels like The Client, The Firm or The Pelican Brief or go for Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, if you have not read it.
A dismal 1 star rating for this dismal offering from John Grisham
Rating of Other John Grisham Novels
1) The Pelican Brief: A small brief written by a law student gets the White House thinking and running to nail her. A three and a half star rating for this one.
2) The Firm: Mitch Mcdeere joins a high flying group of lawyers working at the Firm. But where does the millions of dollars paying their salaries come from? Definitely a four star rating for this one.
3) The Client: A couple of boys witness a suicide which suddenly sends a whole mafia running behind them. Another 4 starrer!!
Other Good Popcorn Fictions Recommended by me
1) The Da Vinci Code: Dan Brown takes you through a world of symbology, puzzles, murder and religion.
2) The Altman code: America and China are heading for a clash over this secret ship containing some secret cargo.
Taken from my review published earlier at https://epinions.com/content_183754460804
