The Associate
by John Grisham
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Book Reviews of The Associate
Book Review: A Mediocre Pulp Fiction read (2 1/2 stars)
Summary: 2 Stars
A Mediocre Pulp Fiction read
I'll be charitable and give this read 2 1/2 stars.
John Grisham's The Associate is a far cry from his classic A Time To Kill. Whereas A Time To Kill was complex and oozed with deep meaning and terrific character development, The Associate was simple, shallow, and populated by superficial characters. As one reviewer said it appears that this pulp novel was phoned in during a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The really sad thing is that there was so much story potential, but alas that would take a little work to develop! Nope, after 22 books it appears that Mr. Grisham is running out of literary gas. He needs to regroup, take a year or two off, become a hermit and return to his literary roots. The writing skill is there, he just needs to get refreshed and reinvigorated.
Basically, The Associate is a story of a new attorney whose wild past comes back to wreak havoc on his new life as an attorney in a prestigious law firm in New York City. The very brief insight into the workings of a large law firm was interesting and could have been developed more; similar to how Mr. Grisham developed his blockbuster The Firm. Sadly, he just covers this aspect superficially. Again, there was so much Mr. Grisham could have done with this interesting story, but instead he chose to crank out just another piece of pulp fiction.
To me the biggest letdown was the overall weak character development. There were so many incredible opportunities to delve more deeply into the many interesting characters that I was amazed the Mr. Grisham did not. Instead, he treated most of the characters as mere props and window dressing: A literary opportunity lost.
No gratuitous sex, violence, or language.
Mediocre recommendation. I would not buy the hardback but wait for the paperback. If you can't wait then get it at your local library. This is a very quick read and can be done on a Transcon flight from LA to NY. I no longer eagerly anticipate new Grisham books-Sad as there is so much potential.
Book Review: Relaxing Weekend Read with Some Downfalls...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have to confess that I haven't read any books by John Grisham in a while, but when "The Associate" hit the bookstores, I felt compelled to read this book. I was taken back by the great difference in opinion with current reviews, but quickly put them aside as I enjoyed the book with only a couple of objections.
It is true that this story is somewhat reminiscent of "The Firm", but with a distinction of the outside sources blackmailing the main character into stealing secrets from the biggest law firm in the world. Young Yale graduate, Kyle McAvoy, is being blackmailed by an unknown secret source and by a handler known only as "Bennie Wright" for his participation in a possible frat house rape years before. McAvoy must secretly steal documents from a large and controversial lawsuit or fear the consequences of a damaging video going public.
This book is an easy read in Grisham's typical storytelling style. It begins with an interesting angle, but keeps a somewhat monotonous pace until page 104. Then the story picks up with interesting angles and begins to unfold in the usual entertaining fashion. At times, I did feel that the book read more like a field report from a private investigator than a thriller novel. My main complaint would be that the character of "Bennie Wright" should have been more of an integral part of the storyline. We needed to see this crafty and secret character conducting business so that it would really pull the reader into a more suspenseful mode for McAvoy. I think the reader would have felt more distress and not feel cheated with the ending. As far as the ending goes, it has an ending but maybe not as satisfying as most would like.
If you want a nice easy weekend read in the standard Grisham style, I would recommend this book. However, if you're expecting a giant climatic scene with an aggressive confrontation, you will not find that with this book.
-Jennifer Chase, author of thriller "Compulsion"
Book Review: Firm-like at the beginning, tanks at the end...
Summary: 3 Stars
I have always enjoyed reading John Grisham, but I feel that his later works have never lived up to his earlier books, including A Time to Kill, The Firm and The Pelican Brief. I was therefore happy to start reading The Associate and to see that it reminded me of The Firm. But what started out as a promising book tanked at the end.
The Associate is the type of book that is hard to review without spoiling the plot. The protagonist is Kyle McAvoy. The son of a small-town lawyer, McAvoy is a top-notch student at Yale Law and editor of the Yale Law Review. On the eve of his graduation, McAvoy seems to have everything needed to be a very successful lawyer. But he hides a secret that leaves him open to blackmail. The Associate contains the usual mix of "Military secrets. Stolen technology. Corporate espionage. Foreign intelligence."
For most of this book, I was captivated. I couldn't read quickly enough. But then I reached the point where I realized that I was going to run out of pages before I ran out of story. There wasn't enough space left to bring this novel to a satisfactory conclusion. Perhaps Grisham just lost interest in The Associate. Maybe he's setting us up for a sequel. For whatever reason, I was very disappointed with the final chapters.
Despite the ending, The Associate did have some interesting sections--especially reading about first year law students working for major firms. The life of an associate is grueling. While they make decent money, they sacrifice their personal lives for the firm. Some even resort to sleeping under their desks in sleeping bags. And everything they do has to be billed to a client. Grisham also touches on many current events, including the fall-out from the junk mortgage market.
Grisham's books are always interesting, fast-paced, and suspenseful. If you are a true Grisham fan, you will probably enjoy The Associate. But just be aware that this book falls way short of his better works.
Book Review: Good Page-Turner...
Summary: 4 Stars
In John Grisham's latest book, "The Associate", which takes place in New York City, a young lawyer fresh out of law school is forced to take a position in a corporate law firm that he does not want, but to deny it would cost him his life.
Kyle McAvoy, the "Associate" himself, is faced with a tough decision. A mistake he made in the past, which he thought he had buried for good, has now re-surfaced. A corporate firm with an abundance of power has learned of this secret and intends on making Kyle's life a living hell. Unless he agrees to work for them and carry out their inscrupulous demands, they will expose his secret and ruin his career, his future, his life. Seeing no other choice, Kyle agrees, and in no time his laptop is bugged, his phone calls are tapped and he is followed wherever he goes. Even in Kyle's refusal to accept one of the apartments that are picked out for him in advance, these men know where he is apartment hunting and soon Kyle's new dwelling is outfitted with cameras in almost every room. Kyle knows he needs to outsmart these men who are pulling his strings by letting them think that he's naive to their tricks. But will he ever give them the slip long enough to take the plunge? Will he ever regain control over his own life and attone for the sins of his past? Or will he lose control over his life for good?
This is my first John Grisham book and although I haven't finished it yet, I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future. I had seen the movies, "The Firm" and "The Client" a few years ago and I thought both of those were excellent but had never read the books. I really like Grisham's style in this book and would recommend it as an introductory book into his catalog. He writes in such a way that you stay on the edge of your seat and you just want to keep turning the page to keep the story going. I give this book a thumbs up so far.
Book Review: Deja Vu -- or, The Firm Associate
Summary: 3 Stars
The good news is that this book reads just like The Firm. The bad news is that this book reads just like The Firm. What I mean is: there's not a lot that's new here... it's Grisham going where he's gone before... although the plot recalls the Duke Lacrosse case, which a few people might find interesting.
Some fans will find in this book what they want -- a David and Goliath story about a recent law school grad who takes a job with a powerful firm and finds himself in hot water with bad, scary people. In The Firm, the protagonist was a well-meaning young man who was the top of his class at an Ivy League law school (Harvard). In The Associate, the protagonist is a well-meaning young man who is top of his class at an Ivy League law school (Yale).
In both books the plot machinations are mostly interesting and move forward relentlessly... although there's only one dead body this time, late in the book. The long, middle section of The Associate -- while never dull -- does not develop the fever pitch that some of Grisham's other thrillers sometimes attain (especially The Firm).
At the very end, the pace finally begins to pick up a bit, but some will find the lack of final resolution a little disappointing.
Perhaps Grisham's biggest strength as a writer is that, within a commercial thriller, he manages to convey what it's really like to BE a lawyer -- and in this case, what it's like to work in a major New York law firm. It's doubtful anyone could've written this book without 1) actually being a lawyer, and 2) talking to people who've worked in one of those scary firms that occupies half a building in downtown Manhattan. It's a dog-eat-dog world in which people give up their souls and all their waking hours in the hopes of someday becoming partner. Needless to say, this is not a very attractive picture. Is it any wonder Grisham gave up the law?