A Time To Kill by John Grisham

Author : John Grisham
Title : A Time To Kill
Published : 26/09/2013
Pages : 752
Genre : Legal Thriller
Publisher : Arrow

     When Carl Lee Hailey guns down the violent racists who raped his ten-year-old daughter, the people of the small town of Clanton, Mississippi see it as justice done, and call for his acquittal. But when extremists outside Clanton - including the KKK - hear that a black man has killed two white men, they invade the town, determined to destroy anything and anyone that opposes their sense of justice. A national media circus descends on Clanton. As tensions mount, Hailey hires the inexperienced Jake Brigance to defend him. It's the kind of case that could make a young lawyer's career. But it's also the kind of case that could get a young lawyer killed.

     I have to start this off with a confession, this might sound bad but until recently I hadn't heard of John Grisham. It was only when talking with a friend and we were having a conversation about our favorite authors that she told me about him. She laughed at me for not knowing such a well knowing such an author. having looked him up I'm not sure how I could have missed such an American author. In my deafens I have never really read many courtroom set books. Anyway with this out the way I took a trip to the bookstore, this time I figured I would start at the begging and with some luck they had a copy of A Time To Kill. So having read the blurb I was really curious to see how this would play out. A few years back I spent some time in Mississippi and even then I could still sense that some things die hard. Remarks where said and phrases  I had never heard aloud were spoken, maybe it was the places I was staying or the people I came into contact with I'm not sure. But it still took me by surprise.

     Within the pages of this book are many things that for me lye at the heart of an America that until recently most people would have liked to think was in it's past. It would be impossible not to discuss race when talking about this book. So much of what the author puts before us is based on how we view another human being solely based on the color of there skin.  I have known too many people throughout my life who have done this. And it drives me mad, surely we should look at them by their actions to see if they are a good person or not. The author lets these very thoughts come out in the charters he has created for his story. Would these same events have played out if the man on trial had been white? The answer is a resounding no, the Ku Klux Klan would not have marched into town, the jury would not have been a difficult thing to pick. Hailey knows in his heart that he is trying to win a battle the would seem impossible and in finding someone to defend him would be just as bad.

     His action on that fateful day are ones that resonated with me. While I have no children of my own I know my own rage and anger would have been the same as Hailey's. These sections of the book brought out in me such strong emotions, and for this, it's all credit to the writing Grisham put me in the mindset and place of this man. Brigance for his part does his best to fight for Hailey, he is well aware of the uphill battle he has to do, even putting his own family's life in danger in his pursuit of justice. He comes across as a flawed man none the less. Someone who has grown up around the tension and bigotry, at time his actions are darn right despicable, I could not say he is the hero of this piece in the traditional sense but  As for the many other charters we come into contact with they feel fairly well delivered and realistic for the setting and time period.  

     When I started this book I had some reservations, as I said before I had not at this point read many courtroom books. Also, Grisham was dealing with some very hefty topics, things that are difficult to convey well without ether deviating into stereotypes or bad prose. By the time I was halfway through I had fully immersed my self in the story. There is a lot to take in as you go and despite this and the sheer length of the book it flowed well and it never felt like it was slowing down just to add pages. The author adds tension in the bucket load as the ever-present threats come from all sides in a case most thought was over before it had even started. But when dealing with the rape and brutal beating of a young girl it is to our humanity we must look. It would be to easy to go on a rant about the racist south and all the wrongs that will never be put right, however if this was all there was would it make a book you would want to read, in all honesty, I'm not sure it would defiantly make for a hard book to read. The story is then complex, to say the least Grisham does his best to give you a plot that feels nuanced and of this world. You can appreciate that this is a somewhere that he is all too familiar with. 

     Usual I can make it through a book in a couple of days, this, however, took me the better part of a week. The subject matter is a difficult one to deal with and for the most part, I think he pulled it off. This is not a perfect novel, for everything I enjoyed about it there are times when actions would cause me to want to shout at characters or situation and not because of the themes. But this should not deter anyone from reading it. This was the authors first work and as such the odd miss placed step was inevitable. It did, however, give me an appetite to father my time with this author and to see how his style developers.