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From Amazon
This addictive tale of a young lawyer defending a black Vietnam war hero who kills the white druggies who raped his child in tiny Clanton, Mississippi, is John Grisham's first novel, and his favorite of his first six. He polished it for three years and every detail shines like pebbles at the bottom of a swift, sunlit stream. Grisham is a born legal storyteller and his dialogue is pitch perfect.
The plot turns with jeweled precision. Carl Lee Hailey gets an M-16 from the Chicago hoodlum he'd saved at Da Nang, wastes the rapists on the courthouse steps, then turns to attorney Jake Brigance, who needs a conspicuous win to boost his career. Folks want to give Carl Lee a second medal, but how can they ignore premeditated execution? The town is split, revealing its social structure. Blacks note that a white man shooting a black rapist would be acquitted; the KKK starts a new Clanton chapter; the NAACP, the ambitious local reverend, a snobby, Harvard-infested big local firm, and others try to outmaneuver Jake and his brilliant, disbarred drunk of an ex-law partner. Jake hits the books and the bottle himself. Crosses burn, people die, crowds chant "Free Carl Lee!" and "Fry Carl Lee!" in the antiphony of America's classical tragedy. Because he's lived in Oxford, Mississippi, Grisham gets compared to Faulkner, but he's really got the lean style and fierce folk moralism of John Steinbeck. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.
From Library Journal
In this lively novel, Grisham explores the uneasy relationship of blacks and whites in the rural South. His treatment is balanced and humane, if not particularly profound, slighting neither blacks nor whites. Life becomes complicated in the backwoods town of Clanton, Mississippi, when a black worker is brought to trial for the murder of the two whites who raped and tortured his young daughter. Everyone gets involved, from Klan to NAACP. Grisham's pleasure in relating the byzantine complexities of Clanton politics is contagious, and he tells a good story. There are touches of humor in the dialogue; the characters are salty and down-to-earth. An enjoyable book, which displays a respect for Mississippi ways and for the contrary people who live there. Recommended.
- David Keymer, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- David Keymer, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Visceral Look at Small-Town Justice in an Imaginary South,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: A Time to Kill (Mass Market Paperback)
A Time to Kill is not for those with weak stomachs. In his first novel, John Grisham holds nothing back in describing man's inhumanity to man. If you like reading about violence that would make those with weak stomachs miss a meal, this is your book.The premise of the book is a thought-provoking one: How would a Southern small town treat a crime by an African-American perpetrated with malice aforethought that it would have permitted a white southerner to get away with? The book's best qualities are exploring the roots of racial prejudice. For those who like legal thrillers where there's some action, this is far more than your usual courtroom drama. It comes closer to the kind of taut threat that permeated To Kill a Mockingbird. The only difference is that Grisham conjures up an intersection in time between the old and new South that never happened. I found that the book was predictable in its over-the-top treatment of what would have made for good drama. But the extreme situations weakened the plot by making it seem unlikely. I suspect it was a writing method used to be sure that those who didn't know about the old South would appreciate the delicate nature of the emotions involved. If you want to get a sense of how far Grisham has come, read this book and then The Client. Fortunately, Grisham learned how to back off from writing over the top and has become an excellent novelist. You'll keep turning the pages of this book. I doubt if very many people put it down unfinished.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good legal drama but not Grisham's best.,
By ShyGuy1966 (Irmo, SC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Time to Kill (Hardcover)
The story in this first novel from John Grisham has enough clichés that the reader knows very early the book's conclusion. Despite appearing at first to be Matlock-type story, there's enough action in both the main and side plots to keep the pages turning. The author clearly knows the rural South. One complaint about this and all Grisham's book is when the plot is over the ends very suddenly. The rush to end leaves several side-plots unresolved or poorly resolved.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow!,
By Chad Rickman (Salem, VA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Time to Kill (Mass Market Paperback)
This is not just a book, it is a spectacle to behold. I was literally biting my nails as this book reached its climax, as Clanton, Mississppi, a small unsuspecting southern town becomes the home of the biggest trial in the nation. The racial tension is this book is palpable, and it is the driving force behind what makes this story so compelling. This small town becomes a virtual war zone. Fantastic! I can't even find the words to describe how amazing and unbelievable a read this was!
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