When the blurbs in a writer’s newest book are all about how great the writer is, not the actual book, you know it’s time for that writer to take a break. I wish I had paid attention to this bit of wisdom before starting in on John Grisham‘s Gray Mountain.
For whatever reason, after about a decade of not having read Grisham, I recently gobbled up both Camino Island and The Rooster Bar before starting in on Gray Mountain. The first book was exciting, the second dragged, and by third I was thinking, “Man! This is just too much John Grisham!” By page 112 (nine chapters) of Gray Mountain, I came to the point where, rather than feeling immersed in some intricate, thrilling plot, I felt buoyed by an overpowering understanding of his writer’s formula. What a turn-off!
Grisham might have begun his career and earned his fame with powerful stories led by strong characters teaching poignant messages, but after decades of writing, he’s fallen into a rut. It’s clear that to meet his deadlines, he lands a plot about some shadowy facet of the legal system, figures out the ending before he even starts, makes up a few multi-faceted yet forgettable characters, and then just fills the rest in with dialogue and strange places. For a new author, this might be acceptable. But for someone who’s been in the novel game for roughly forty years, it’s stale and boring.
Don’t get me wrong. When he leaves the genre and writes something unique, he can be awesome. That’s why I sort of enjoyed Camino Island. And what a surprise Skipping Christmas was! But these other books that he shoots off every few months all feel the same.
Grisham’s message in Gray Mountain is clear: Strip-mining is bad for the environment, communities, and families. The problem is, he doesn’t need 461 pages to tell me what I already know. He could deliver the gist of the plot and all its subplots in 10 pages or less, and I still wouldn’t be interested in reading so much boredom. Since there’s a bunch more, and likely better books out there, I’m putting this one down in favor of anything else.
©2018 E.T.
Read More from John Grisham:
- The Rainmaker (1995)
- The Street Lawyer (1998)
- Skipping Christmas (2001)
- A Painted House (2001)
- The Summons (2002)
- The Broker (2005)
- Playing for Pizza (2007)
- Gray Mountain (2015)
- Camino Island (2017)
- The Rooster Bar (2017)
It is at the bottom of Grisham books. Boring!
An anonymous reply to this review said, “Well there is the dumbest review ever!!” Clearly that opinion is outnumbered. Still, if someone wants their post approved, they need only to try a little kindness and stop hiding behind anonymity. Pretty easy stuff.
In addition to the above, I was shocked by his LACK of legal knowledge surrounding the search warrants. I am guessing he knows better but left it in to suit his plot. I found this one very mundane and like some of the above, boring.
I actually enjoyed Gray Mountain. Being from Western Canada I knew nothing of the coal industry and strip mining in that part of the United States. Unbelievable that the all levels of government allow this to happen to the environment and its people. I’m not against mining coal but if what I read in this book is even remotely true then this book is a worthwhile read for a lot of people like myself. I hope there is a follow up book to see how Samantha Kofer develops as a trial lawyer as she pursues her ongoing cases. I think that story line has great potential for many readers.
Thanks! That’s a helpful perspective!
Normally I have a hard time putting down a Grisham Novel, this time I have a hard time picking it up. I am struggling to finish Gray Mountain.
Gray Mountain is the crappiest book I’ve read in a long time! And that’s not because I read 2 other, better, Grisham novels first. It’s just bad! Mundane. Boring. No central crisis to follow or mystery to solve, but tons and tons of characters to follow, each with a crisis that just gets resolved or not. And there’s very little interaction between characters, just narration…I feel like the author is mansplaining the depressing world of coal mining to an already aware audience. 🤦🏼 We know. We get it. Move on. Say something interesting. But half way in and I there’s no one I care enough about to follow their story. And there’s so many suspects to the death mystery I’ve lost count.
Just bad writing!