The
Reckoning is the first John Grisham book I have read in a
while. It was unusually structured but
compulsively readable.
It is set in small town Mississippi just after the
war. The main character Pete Banning is
a man of few words, a war hero and a farmer.
The book takes place in three parts, The Killing, The
Boneyard and The Reckoning. The first
and third part are taut and very interesting.
The second part was a bit gut wrenching. It dealt with the guerrilla war in the Philippines
after the Americans had surrendered.
From the way it was written I would say that Grisham doesn't have much
time for General McArthur – or for the then Japanese military who are depicted
as savage and cruel.
While the state of race relations at that time was
horrific to modern eyes, Grisham does a good job of nuancing it. His characters are not all bad or good and the book is better for it.
I did find Pete Banning's daughter a bit anachronistic –
she was very independent minded, went to college and was set on a career – all quite
unusual for the times.
It is not your run of the mill John Grisham. I could have wished for less war but then
maybe it is good to remind ourselves of what the soldiers really faced – and that
atrocities can be committed by otherwise ordinary people.
I haven't read those. I didn't even realize he had written them. I used to read everything by him. Guess I have been slack. I was reading so many books then I went up agianst a few that were not good for me. Too much evil and blood and gore. Without a point. I have returned to Rosamund Pilcher in Coming Home. It's a beautiful book set in Scotland - which is the writer's home. Winter Solstice was her last book. She is up in years now and no longer writes.....but I have read every word she has written and loved them all.
ReplyDeleteI havent read a Grisham in quite a while. This one sounds good too.
ReplyDeleteExcellent review, Carole!
ReplyDeleteThis does sound sort of different for Grisham. It's been ages since I read one of this novels, though. Maybe it's time...
ReplyDelete