So far: page one.
One page isn't very much, but this book gets right to it. Already, John Grisham has thrown in some racial prejudice as he talks about the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, yet in the page, the bulk of the prejudice isn't against African-Americans. Instead, I find it very interesting how the first character is Jewish lawyer, and this Jewish lawyer is in some major trouble. Specifically, Grisham is writing about a bomb plot and the three men involved in the bombing.
So, the first page is pretty abrupt; there is a lawyer, some violence, and already the slightest bit of suspense - just what I expected out of Grisham. While I wasn't surprised by his style of writing, I believe it is very good after one page and I look forward to the other 675 pages. On the topic of 675 pages, I believe an exciting, suspenseful style of writing is necessary when it comes to a book this long. If Grisham can take law, which is a potentially interesting topic, and make it an action packed and dramatic story, then I will be on the edge of my seat and each page will only get better and better. If not, then the excessive amount of paper will come in handy for a fire during this upcoming winter.
May this book be awesome even after the first page, and may Jewish lawyers have some peace.
Chris Beltrone (C-Bizzle)
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So far: page 100.
ReplyDeleteWell, it seems like it has been just 15 days since my last update on The Chamber by John Grisham. And while last one was slightly lacking something to talk about, I have a good 100 pages to talk about now.
Going into the book, I was quite aware it would be about a lawyer and a case, but John Grisham does a good job of making this even more interesting. One of the men involved in the bombing of the Jewish lawyer, Sam Cayhall, spends many years traveling throughout different courthouses and staying in many jails. And as Cayhall is finally sentenced to death, he refuses to have a lawyer. Though, Adam Hall (originally Alan Cayhall), Sam Cayhall's grandson, decides he is determined to represent his grandfather. [Gasp]
Well, the character of Adam Hall and his relation to Sam Cayhall makes the book potentially very entertaining. Throughout most of the first 100 pages, the story of Adam Hall and his wretched, torn-apart family is continuously developed. Of course, John Grisham's writing is good enough to keep the book interesting even during chapters of character development. And while it may not be a page-turner quite yet, I feel that Grisham's extensive use of character development and explanations of every situation sets the book up to extremely exciting and satisfying during more action-packed parts.
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Irrelevant:
And speaking of satisfying, I can't wait for some satisfying Thanksgiving food (especially the stuffing)! And speaking of food, I can't wait until all the cookies and other treats of Christmas time! I think our class should have a holiday season party some time in December.
See y'all later,
C-Bizzlinator
My current page: 147
ReplyDeleteAs Chris stated, this book has not deeply situated itself into the plot yet. The plot and problem of the story have been introduced, but so far it seems like Grisham has only given us a highly developed background of the characters involved in the story. This story, "The Chamber," is about a man by the name of Sam Cayhall, who taking part in the KKK bombed the office of a well known Jewish Lawyer and killed his two sons. Years later he has been placed in Death Row and his grandson, lawyer Adam Hall is trying to save what is left of his destroyed family.
At page 147 we have finally met Sam Cayhall, as the main character, Adam Hall has came down from his Chicago law firm to tell Sam that he is Sam's grandson and would like to help him escape death row.
There have been several conflicts introduced so far in this story. One of the conflicts is Adam's moral opposition to murder being countered with family matters. Adam does not approve of what his grandfather has done, and despises him for it, but because he is family, and could be a link to Adam's untold past, Adam does not want him to die.
Another conflict is Adam's messed up family. His father killed himself along time ago, and now all he has left is an insane grandfather, an aunt who will not talk about her past, and a mother all the way across the country. Throughout the story Adam struggles to discover the events that lead to this disaster.
The main conflict is saving Sam Cayhall from the gas chamber, an event scheduled to terminate Sam in four weeks. Adam has barely any time to gather all the information possible from his stubborn grandfather, so that he can come up with a presentable and strong case to save his grandfather from death.
With all the events Grisham has told the reader it seems like it would be highly improbable for Adam to save his grandfather because there seems to be no evidence to help Adam. But I guess this is why it is a written story and not a real event. Grisham with his conflict developed in his story has given the reader an idea, and forced the reader to take sides on whether Sam should be killed or not. This man, Sam Cayhall is a horrible person, and killed two children and paralyzed the father. But Grisham wrote this novel with what seems like a bias opinion to persuade the reader to pick the side of Adam and Sam, even though some readers would choose in society today to have Cayhall sentenced to death. My question for all to respond to is, "If this case, and the information I have given you showed up in the world today, how would you respond to it? Would you want Sam or a similar person to face his consequence, or would you want him to not be punished?" If you answer this question I would like you, not for a project for leisure, to read this book and see if your answer to the question above has changed.
I would gas him tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSo far, The Chamber by John Grisham is off to a good start. John Grisham’s writing style is not noticeably unique, but the detailed aspects of his writing are what set him apart. I feel another author could have written this same story and plot, but Grisham’s writing style makes it much more enjoyable. John Grisham manages to both discuss events broadly as well as tying in small details which make the novel much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteFor example, he manages to successfully jump across three trials which took place over fourteen years in only seven pages of the novel without losing the reader or appearing to broadly summarize. However, John Grisham also writes about miniscule and insignificant details in a way that makes The Chamber very interesting. He treats these descriptions as if they too will matter to the story as much as the set-up of the crime or other crucial details. But he chooses them wisely and thus only adds to the experience of reading his work.
I think that this writing style works best because Grisham chose to write this novel in the third-person omniscient point of view. He seamlessly jumps from the KKK member Sam Cayhall’s experiences to those of Chicago lawyer Adam Hall. Grisham provides clever insight into their lives and their thoughts. Any other point of view type would simply limit the possibilities of the story. Using third-person omniscient, Grisham sets up the crime and background effectively from multiple perspectives. He brings together characters and events in a definitive and elaborate process which builds up the plot and interest.
However, one other thing that I have begun to notice about John Grisham is that he is not afraid to be blatant and fast-paced. The opening line of the novel reads, “The decision to bomb the office of the radical Jew lawyer was reached with relative ease.” This gets straight to the point and builds suspense. Hopefully this fast, interesting and different side of Grisham’s delivery will provide for a page-turning climax that makes the 486 pages of my hardback copy worthwhile.
It's a good day for another post.
ReplyDeleteSo far: page 260.
I don't know how this Grisham guy does it. His book is nearly 700 pages, so obviously it goes at a slow pace. In fact, he is able to make each day unusually long by looking at most days through the eyes of an array of different characters. But even with the excruciating number of pages it takes to make it through one day, the book is awesome!
Grisham's forte to his writing is his characters. It's not necessarily that each character is a creative and amazing idea; it's how Grisham can present the voice. Even though the book is written in 3rd person, Grisham doesn't leave the reader short on getting to know each character. Through the extensive use of dialogue and certain actions, the author fully explains each character in a satisfying manner. The most notable aspect of this is the 'accuracy.' While the characters aren't real people, Grisham makes it seem like they are real people - real people that he knows very well. I say this because each piece of dialogue or little action plays perfectly into earlier conveyed personalities of the character.
Otherwise, The Chamber is very solid. It presents some everyday humor with legal seriousness that combine for a semi page-turner. I say semi page-turner because while I could probably put the book down and never look at it again, it is very entertaining when I am reading it. And I certainly know it will get better. Grisham may be going through a slow-phase in the book, but the climax is yet to come. I absolutely can't wait for some day where I can work my way up to the climax, and maybe even polish this sucker off.
I'M OUT - C-BIZZLE
So far: page 205, or something.
ReplyDeleteThank you John Grisham!
Finally Grisham added a little suspense into his writing. I had previously read the book "The Firm" and for all of you that have read it, you will agree with me when I say that was a suspenseful book. When I picked up "The Chamber" I thought it would have the same kind of writing style, but for the first 150 or so pages I was disappointed. Personally, my favorite kind of novel is a mystery/suspenseful thriller, and that was what I thought I was going to get out of this book. Those first 150 pages seemed to be just about establishing a setting (which Grisham is very good at) which kind of upset me, but finally we are getting into what I may call the "juicy" details. No, there is no action or on the run kind of suspense yet. It is far more of a subtle kind of suspense. After every meeting Adam Hall has with his client, (his grandfather) the reader is left with a question that helped me personally navigate my way quickly through the rest of the boring material.
So lets talk about the boring material. It is not the most boring book I have read, no I think Steinbeck's "The Pearl" achieves that award, but some parts seem to drag on very slowly. It's not like the writing is altogether horrible, but some of the writing makes me doze off. There is some good in this boring writing though. If John Grisham was to get an award for this book it would be called, "The Most Established Setting and Background Ever" award. That's all those 150 pages I previously mentioned seemed to be talking about. Grisham does do a very good job characterizing each person, and creating their past, emotions, and even values and virtues.
I'm just hoping that Grisham will help me increase the rate in which I read and pick up his pace as we go farther into the book. Suspense is what he is known for and if Grisham doesn't include that amazing suspense in which he is critically acclaimed for, then I will not be a happy camper.
So I think I'm going to start a little tradition, and leave a question for my readers after every blog. My new question, not completely about my book but more for amusement is, "When are faced with the difficult task of reading a slow paced book what do you do to motivate yourself to keep reading?"
P.S. just to soothe my inquiries a little bit more: if you read this post could you respond to my comment with your opinion of the most boring book you have ever read?
-I just thought it might lead to an interesting discussion
I can't believe you just called "The Pearl" the most boring book you've ever read. I thought it was very good, and I bet John Steinbeck could beat you up.
ReplyDeleteThe most boring book I've ever read is nothing, because literature never fails to interest a true bibliophile.
As I continue to read, The Chamber is growing on me. At the beginning, I liked Grisham’s style and could tell from the set-up that the book would be good. However, I wasn’t very connected to the plot or characters at the start. He has since improved, providing adequate time to get to know the characters and make them feel like distinct people through descriptions and dialogue. I am becoming more connected with the plot and characters, which is important in this genre.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Gary’s first post, I feel that Grisham didn’t necessarily write the book as a lawyer trying to defend his horrible murderer of a grandfather or suggesting the reader takes their side simply because he wants us to like the main characters. I think that it is more along the lines of trying to save Sam and find the truth in the often complicated world of the death penalty. Grisham gives us information from the very beginning that nobody but Sam knows: Sam was unaware of the timer on the bomb – he intended to bomb an empty building, not a building with people in it. In my mind, Adam’s main reasons in defending Sam are his odd connection (and minor obsession) with his grandfather as well as his opposition to the death penalty. But the reader’s intrigue was intended to be due to the short amount of time before Sam is killed and the aspects of the crime left out from the original trials. I look forward to reading more.
I agree that the pearl lacked excitement although I did enjoy it. Call of the Wild however was SO boring
ReplyDeleteI thought the Call of the Wild was really good! I love Buck.
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ReplyDeleteMost boring book: Crispin or The Chosen
ReplyDelete*WARNING* what you may read in this blog post may contain plot spoilers of John Grisham's "The Chamber". If you do not wish to have the end of the book spoiled to you, please do not read this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks For All Your Consideration,
Gary Gates
I just finished the book and have to say it was not my favorite novel I have read.If you have read this blog post you have probably discovered by now that I am a fairly picky and judgmental reader. You have also probably come to discover that I am a fan of fast paced books, especially page turners like Grisham's "The Firm". When I first picked up this book in the library I had just set "The Firm" down and wanted another thriller-like book.
"The Chamber" actually disappointed me, because as it was a well written book it was not what I wanted or expected.
Yes, "The Chamber" was a well written book, Grisham's ability to write very descriptive novels exceeds most authors who's books I have read. The problem with the book was, it was almost all description, and in my opinion not enough dialogue. John Grisham is free to write his novels in whatever way he likes, and I know that there is no way I could top one of his "pieces of art", but I guess this was not the book for my picky tastes.
John Grisham included a lot of setting descriptions and people's thoughts in his novel, but so many descriptions that the writing was overwhelmed by them.
Although Grisham managed to disappoint me with his description, the most depressing part of the novel for me were the pages from the climax to the end. Getting to the last quarter of the the book a smile started to creep at the edges of my mouth, in anticipation for a page-turning very fast pace ending. But slowly, as I read the book continued at its usual pace, with no major events, keeping that mellow, boring tone throughout the story. As it reached the last 75 or 50 pages I thought to myself, "Yes! Here comes the excitement." But guess what? There was not a simple speed bump of emotion or drama throughout the rest of the story.
John Grisham seemed to be making his FICTIONAL book very realistic, because at the end of the story, SPOILER ALERT: the bad guy who we had been rooting for the whole time, Sam Cayhall, was legally murdered. John Grisham, I applaud your ability to make realistic stories, because in a state like Mississippi (This may seem mean to you) someone probably would be sentenced to death for their crimes. But Mr. Grisham, when I am reading a novel for leisure, I do not want to be bored by a realistic fictional book. I read fictional novels, and in this case mysteries, for excitement and the fantasy of an improbable event coming true. I want unrealistic drama, because many times that (in my book) is what leads to an exciting page-turner, and great read. But that's just my 2 cents.
So my last question for my ever-so-small audience is, "Do you prefer fictional or non-fictional books? And why?"
My Final Review and Rating of "The Chamber"
ReplyDelete"The Chamber" by John Grisham is a fictional novel, based on the death penalty in the late 1900's. When I first picked this book up at the library I read the about the plot, which made the novel seem like it would be an exciting thriller, and of course I also read some of the reviews by critics. "People" magazine called Grisham's "The Chamber" "A dark and thoughtful tale pulsing with moral uncertainties... Grisham is at his best". I know you can never judge a book by the critics' comments, but reading this made me excited. Sadly at the start of the book all I felt I was reading was background information, and this did not change throughout the rest of the story. In my honest opinion, this was definitely not Grisham's best, but I guess we are all entitle to what we believe. As I have stated many times in my blog post, this book was basically all descriptions and contained no juicy, dramatic, or page-turning writing. This criticism may seem kind of harsh, but I was not impressed with any of Grisham's writing except for his detailed settings, and a few of his descriptions.
My rating for John Grisham's "The Chamber" would be a 6 out of 10. The book did not always keep me turning its pages, and actually let me doze off a couple of times, something I never thought I would have to say about one of John Grisham's novels. I will not try to stop you from reading this book because it is well written in some places, but will inform you that it will be better for education on the death penalty than it will be for personal leisure and entertainment.
I thought both Crispin and The Chosen were good books, especially The Chosen
ReplyDeleteI em gunna tok ibout mie buk nauw, okae? No, I don't speak German.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the book review; it’s just the final blog.
To describe The Chamber by John Grisham, I would say it is a lot like vanilla ice cream - 675 pages of vanilla ice cream. Stay tuned and hear about what I mean.
Don't get me wrong - vanilla ice cream is good. It's sweet, refreshing, and of course it's ice cream, so it must be at least somewhat good. Though, vanilla ice cream is a little bit bland on its own and often unsatisfying. This is how I think of The Chamber after reading the book.
Now before you go around telling everybody that I hated the book, I have some things to say. The Chamber is a quality book. Going into the novel, I didn't quite know who John Grisham was, but after reading his work, I think he has a knack for writing. Maybe he could even make a living on it. Throughout the book, it is clear that John Grisham knows how to write a suspenseful book; the slow but steady character development, the plot that continues to rise in anticipation for the climax, and the interesting turns he throws at the plot. That is why I was so pumped for the end of the book. I truly thought that John Grisham could make his 675 pages of my life well worthwhile.
And then there was the downfall of the book. When I say downfall, I don't mean necessarily that the book was ruined; I am just looking at where The Chamber went wrong. The beginning of the book was clearly a time of character development. There was Adam, there was Sam, and I knew both of them pretty well. Of course, it is totally acceptable for minor characters to not have been developed as much, but I feel like Grisham's character list gets out of hand. Since I was not reading at a very fast pace, the countless characters that Grisham continued to introduce became tough to remember and keep track of. From this problem arose another problem, this time about viewpoint. The book is written in 3rd person, so like any 3rd person book, it likes to hop around from character to character. With all the characters, I eventually became annoyed by the different viewpoints, usually many per chapter.
Then, there is the climax and resolution. I’m not trying to say that the climax and resolution ruin the book, but I expected something more. In the end, Sam dies the way he is supposed to, and Adam the lawyer is no hero. While it is good to maintain a little reality in books, I wouldn’t have minded a final twist to Grisham’s novel - even if it had involved aliens that abduct Sam before is death penalty execution.
Overall, John Grisham, I applaud you for your finesse at writing legal novels and I also applaud you for writing 675 pages. While your book was good, it did not achieve its full potential in my opinion.
Call of the Wild was a good book, but all the death was a little too much. I liked Buck too. And even though I do agree The Chosen and Crispin were kind of boring, I have respect for the fact that they were good books on a writing analysis basis. And what's with all these books beginning with Cs? (Correct use of apostrophes, Mrs. Huss!)
ReplyDeleteFictional books because they are more fun to read and allow for a wider range of writing styles and plot lines. The 3rd Blog Entry is soon to come...
ReplyDeleteBlog Post #3: (Spoilers)
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, I am a big fan of description. I feel if an author can fine tune this art, he or she can effectively pull in a reader without an exciting, fast-paced novel. As I have discussed before, I feel John Grisham is one of those authors who effectively used description in this story. However, as I continued to read on since my last posts, I also feel that he managed to make The Chamber somewhat interesting without having a fast legal thriller like I thought it would be. I found myself eventually getting bored with this book, despite having contradictory feelings that made me want to continue reading.
I feel that Grisham sets up a good overall storyline, a good crime and a good novel. But I find the problem is that Grisham never really gets out of that descriptive, 3rd person style of writing he effectively used to set up the novel. That is leading me to learn something about myself as a reader: I value a well written dialogue a lot more than I thought I did! In The Chamber, there simply isn’t enough. I find the refinement with which John Grisham writes this novel very notable, but I feel that is not enough to carry this whole storyline which never reaches the big twists and turns I was expecting.
However, unlike my fellow readers of The Chamber, I give Grisham brownie points for having the guts to be realistic in this novel. Overall, he is making a statement about racism. Despite the fact Sam didn’t purposefully commit the crime he was accused of, he was still a member of the Klan and did awful things. In my opinion, Sam got what he deserved and Grisham would be going against the message he is trying to get across if he were to save Sam in order to have a more interesting story. I must end by agreeing with Chris, that there was a lot more potential for this novel than what Grisham did with it.
Book Review of The Chamber by John Grisham
ReplyDeleteBy Chris B.
I had high expectations for The Chamber. Due to positive reviews of other Grisham law novels, I went into The Chamber expecting a page-turning, seat-edging, exciting legal thriller with numerous twists and turns that would absolutely blow my mind. This was not the case.
The Chamber instead was a well-written, carefully developed, and realistic novel with less wow-factor and more of a statement. Although I was never quite dazing off during my reading of the novel, I was not extremely eager to turn the next page. After reading the book, I felt that Grisham did his job on each page - good background information, proper dialogue and narration, effective use of characters – but that was it. All novel, I was waiting for Grisham to do more than his job. I was waiting for him to begin to throw some variety in and start ramping up the plot for a thrilling climax, but I never felt that he did this.
To me, this lack of exciting variety was the biggest problem during the climax. Since The Chamber was such a long book, I was at first accepting of the slow, character developing chapters that took up the early to mid parts of the book, but before I knew it, I was over two thirds finished. By this point in a book, I am usually turning each page a little bit faster or at least noticing a difference in the importance of each event, but The Chamber had not (nor did it really ever) get to that point. While the novel continued to be well-written by a talented and experienced author, the book never achieved its full potential.
In summary, The Chamber is an interesting and often informative book clearly written with high quality. Though, the book lacks that thrill and variety which is almost expected with its genre being ‘legal thriller.’ Because of this, I rate The Chamber, by John Grisham, a 6.5 out of 10. By issuing this rating, I am not saying the book is not worth reading. I am simply saying that The Chamber is not one of the memorable and spectacular novels that we all love reading.
The Chamber by John Grisham: Review
ReplyDeleteBefore opening The Chamber and reading its contents, I expected it to be something quite different than what it turned out to be. This was the first book of John Grisham’s that I read, but I had seen the excerpts from reviews that praised Grisham as a master of his genre. I expected a thrilling novel of twists and turns and fasted paced action, particularly with the “ticking time-bomb” of the death penalty as part of the plot. But that was not the book that John Grisham wrote. The Chamber is a long book and it keeps a steady and rather slow pace for basically the entire novel. It did not bore me to tears, but the plot alone wasn’t enough to keep me turning the pages.
However, the novel does not call into question the critical acclaim of Grisham’s abilities. For one, Grisham has excellent descriptive skills, which he uses to create a vivid image of the world his characters exist in. Also, Grisham is able to develop very human characters that are believable and interesting. You even begin to slightly grow fond of the grandfather on death row, but just as you start to root for him, Grisham reminds you of the life that put him where he is. He also does an excellent job of portraying the emotions of the grandfather very realistically along his journey as well as the families involved in his life.
Perhaps most importantly, Grisham does a very good job of capturing the world of the death penalty, particularly in the context of the South and racism. He clearly did his research in the detailed legal aspects that arise in the novel. Grisham’s honed skills shine through during virtually the entire novel. Grisham does a good job of displaying the many controversial aspects of the death penalty on both sides (never actually taking one) and its impact on those who are affected by it.
Overall, Grisham wrote a realistic, interesting and finely crafted novel, that falls considerably short of being exciting. This is a good book, but I only recommend it for very avid readers, big Grisham fans, or junkies of the realistic law genre. I rate it a 6.5 out of 10, because despite its multiple faults, John Grisham creates a fine work of writing and a fairly memorable book.
Great book
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