The Firm: A Novel (The Firm Series)

Fast paced and easy to read. A good next chapter from “the Firm”.

Grishams writings always are amazing and fun to read. Their is always so much going on that it is hard to put down.

Book Review - The Firm - John Grisham“The Firm” is the second novel by John Grisham after “A Time To Kill.” This suspense thriller ultimately placed him as one of the best-selling authors in the world whose legal thrillers have become a must-read for many people throughout the world. The Firm tells the story of a young lawyer and brilliant Harvard law graduate named Mitch McDeere, played by Tom Cruise in the movie. He joins a small prestigious law firm called Bendini, Lambert and Locke in Memphis, Tennessee who laters discovers is part of the crime activities of the mob particularly that of the Morolto family. In it, we get to see McDeere try to go through complex actions as he tries to protect his family; outwit the mob and the partners of his law firm; cooperate with the FBI within the boundaries allowed by his profession; and escape death from people who are trying to kill him. Wow, what a rollercoaster ride! This is a mesmerizing and suspenseful novel as we get to see a high tension story and one will definitely cheer for McDeere to succeed in everything that he does. Also, it is worthy to mention that the book has interesting characters in it and it is excellently written by Grisham as the story for once never dragged one bit. Unknowingly, we also get to learn a thing or two about the law particularly that of taxes and the profession of being a lawyer. Overall, this is a great book and I’m especially excited for its follow up, “The Exchange.”

THE FIRM by John GrishamFinished on July 7, 2023I read a good number of Grisham novels. I am not sure The Firm is part of them, but I remember the movie as one splendid adaptation with a brilliant Tom Cruise. The book came out in 1985, the Sydney Pollack film, in 1993. I rented it thirty years later with Prime and didn’t care whether I would watch it till the end or not. The incessant jazzy music sliding through the action is annoying as it seems to belong more to a comedy than a thriller. If Cruise enters Grisham’s character Mitch like a reincarnation, as the movie progresses Grisham’s voice takes a distance, and Pollack’s not so-subtle interpretation and re-writing take over. Truth is the movie has aged.The novel has not.The Firm sets Mitch McDeere, a young man right out of Harvard law school, into a job offer he cannot refuse. The pay is fabulous right from the start, and it comes with a Mercedes for him, a Peugeot for his wife, a low interest mortgage in an upper-class neighborhood, you get the drift. The firm only hires men at this point, but with all the bonuses in sight and a future that only goes upwards, Mitch and his wife go from poor students to rich capitalists. Just like that.Too good to be true?While Mitch prepares the taxes of the wealthy, he discovers an underside to his work that includes suspicious deaths, drugs, and mafia. He discovers there are cameras in his house, and that everything he says to or does with his wife is being recorded. With cleverness, strategy, and courage, and with the help of Tammy. the secretary of a murdered private eye and a gem of a character, he reproduces the dark files of the firm and assembles evidence that he will hand to the FBI, with whom he has been secretly collaborating.What the reader finds out during the process is that mafia and FBI use similar methods and similar lack of heart, ready as they are to sacrifice whatever is in their way, and that includes people helping them. Mitch included.I get into Grisham’s undertones of sarcasm and humor, his insights of the human psyche only after I realize that his prose is more minimalist than simplistic. The wording is his scaffolding. Here a building slowly rises, made of a consistent plot, solid character studies, and a clean prose. And yet everything inside that building is a maze and a precipice until things are caught in time and everything reassembled in a logical way, explaining the why, the when, the how. Enthusiasm and naivete cohabitate with Machiavellian manipulations, The Firm is as current as ever.I wonder with Part 2 of the book, coming out in the Fall, will bring. I am not the only Grisham fan who read or reread The Firm just for that reason. What I know if that I have read a Grisham classic and that it feels so good.

I read this book about 25 years ago and loved it; I simply couldn’t put it down and so began my long deep-abiding interest in John Grisham’s books. I decided I wanted to revisit the book now, because I was curious to see how it stood the test of time. Remarkably well it turns out. There are a few things that detract. I do wish the book had more diverse characters. That was disappointing to see that the story-telling wasn’t as racially inclusive as Time to Kill’s was. Technology was different then also, through no fault of the book, but it got back well in spite of the lack of cell phones and the internet. I was also a little disappointed in a moral choice of the main character Mitch McDeere to hide something from his wife. But perhaps it furthered the aim of showing that he was secretive and had his own demons as well. He was no angel. The book was really exceptional in so many ways. I wonder if 25 years from now I will read of again and what I will think then. For now, it cements in my mind how great Grisham is at story telling. He can be masterful as this book shows.

Most of us read the book, then watch the movie. I reversed this one. I totally enjoyed both the book and the movie. The book and movie aligned perfectly down to minute details in the beginning. As the book went on, the differences grew. Not in a bad way. Can't wait to read the next one!! Mr. Grisham, great read!!!

A fasination story pitting the young honest lawyer against a sea of crooked gangsters, mixed in with the FBI. Twists and turns make the story exciting and challenging. A must rrad.

The story line is very unique and keeps you on your toes, but there are a lot of characters and law jargon that were difficult for me to keep track of, and I love law books / shows. Once you get a quarter into the book, it's hard to put it down. I still don't think I fully understand the business the law firm was up to, but I know enough to have enjoyed the book!

Great book so much fun amazing story

Gostando muito

John Grisham is always a good choice!

*The Firm* di John Grisham è un thriller legale pieno di suspense. Segue Mitch McDeere, un giovane avvocato che scopre i segreti oscuri del suo nuovo studio legale. Con una trama avvincente e colpi di scena continui, è un libro che tiene incollati fino all'ultima pagina. Perfetto per chi ama i thriller legali intensi.

zum lesen