In suburban Georgetown a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. porno house a patron is swiftly garroted to death... The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief... To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it was political dynamite. Suddenly Darby is witness to a murder -- a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds there is only one person she can trust -- an ambitious reporter after a newsbreak hotter than Watergate -- to help her piece together the deadly puzzle. Somewhere between the bayous of Louisiana and the White House's inner sanctums, a violent cover-up is being engineered. For somone has read Darby's brief. Someone who will stop at nothing to destroy the evidence of an unthinkable crime.
The Pelican Brief: A Novel
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John Grisham's head was full of movies when he wrote The Pelican Brief, which is such a brisk page-turner you could use it to dry your hair. He had Julia Roberts in mind for the heroine, Darby Shaw, a brilliant Tulane law student who comes up with an ingenious theory to explain the baffling assassinations of two Supreme Court justices in one day. They were shot and strangled by ace international terrorist Khamel, who loves the film Three Days of the Condor, but government gumshoes don't get what connects the deaths. Silly government guys! They died so the conservative president, who just wants to be left alone to play golf, will appoint new, conservative justices who will help out a case involving an industrialist who is the enemy of pelicans and other living things. It's all spelled out for them in Darby's brief. She likes to do legal feats to impress her boyfriend, her boyish law prof Thomas (who, like Grisham, prefers to shave at most once a week, and is cool, smart, and antiauthoritarian). The prof likes to paint her toes red, in homage to Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. (Sarandon also starred in the film version of Grisham's The Client.)
But when Thomas gets splattered by a car bomb meant for Darby, she escapes the hospital and hooks up with a Washington Post reporter, Gray Grantham, who sleuths like the guys in All the President's Men.
Grisham wishes he hadn't written The Pelican Brief quite so quickly (his first novel, A Time to Kill, went through dozens of drafts), but Pelican's very breathlessness contributes to its dreamy, cinematic chase-o-rama atmosphere. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
From Publishers Weekly
In this tale of the aftermath of the assassinations of two Supreme Court justices, Grisham delivers a suspenseful plot at a breakneck pace, although his characters are stereotypes. The hardcover was on the PW bestseller list 48 weeks and the mass market was No. 1 last week.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Audio Cassette
Grisham's books have been progressively less good after A Time to Kill, The Firm and The Pelican Brief. The Pelican Brief, particularly as read by Anthony Heald, is quite good. Once the reader accepts that Grisham's plots are absurd, these early books are well written with clever characterizations and very enjoyable. Heald's work is especialy good. The book is better by far than the movie version.
By trippfox
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In The Pelican Brief by John Grisham, suspense is used to keep the reader's attention. Darby Shaw is an innocent student of law who comes up with a theory as to who committed murders, and she calls this the Pelican Brief. Unbenownced to her, she has uncovered the true murderers. When they get a hold of her brief, her world changes drastically. Grisham uses a tactic where he leads the reader in one direction and then suddenly the story goes a different direction. We come to realize that this type of device used by Grisham often makes us keep reading because we want to find out what is going to happen to the character in the next scene.
At the beginning of the novel, Grisham lacks the use of suspension. This makes it hard for us to read when we have no real drastic change that quickly changes our point of view. As soon as Thomas Callahan dies from a car explosion we come to realize that Darby's life is at stake. When she is scared and is living in hotels where anyone can find her, we are left in suspense where we don't know what is going to happen to her. Later on in the novel, we follow Darby and Gray Grantham through the underground just waiting for them to be caught.
At the beginning of the novel, Grisham lacks the use of suspension. This makes it hard for us to read when we have no real drastic change that quickly changes our point of view. As soon as Thomas Callahan dies from a car explosion we come to realize that Darby's life is at stake. When she is scared and is living in hotels where anyone can find her, we are left in suspense where we don't know what is going to happen to her. Later on in the novel, we follow Darby and Gray Grantham through the underground just waiting for them to be caught.
In the end the device of suspense is what keeps the reader interested throughout the novel. It keeps us waiting to find out if the good or the evil of the world will win the battle. Any part of a novel without suspense, which we discover in the beginning, is not keeping our attention. Once our opinions keep changing we keep wanting to read more and more about how the character ends up. Suspension helps make us more open to new opinions and quick changes in our own world; although, Grisham uses this to make us more attentive to his story.
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
THe movie was great, but having seen it repeatedly, and enjoying it every time, I was astounded at the extra information the book provided. Now I understand what was missing from an already outstanding story covered in the film. Thanks to John Grishams writing skills, drawing from his personal experiences and his astute grasp on current attitudes and reactions, this is indeed A WINNER..GLR
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3.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Corrupt Lawyers Act on Behalf of a Corrupt Client to Manipulate...
If you are thinking about going to law school, this wouldn't be a bad novel to read to get a sense of what the profession is all about before you commit yourself to three expensive... Read more
Published on April 24 2008 by Donald Mitchell
4.0 out of 5 stars
It had to be a movie
Okay, saw the movie first, then read the book. Ordinarily this would not have worked for me as they don't do justice to books in film, but I liked the pacing and way both media... Read more
Published on July 16 2007 by Jane Smith (the REAL Jane Smith)
5.0 out of 5 stars
a very intellectual review of the pelican brief
John Grisham fans will not need to worry about being disappointed with this fast-paced thriller. The Pelican Brief, like many other novels that he has written is based on law. Read more
Published on May 26 2004 by ZACK THE GREAT
5.0 out of 5 stars
'The pelican became the hero'
"The politicians from the governors down took the oil money and played along. All was well, and so what if some of the marshlands suffered. Read more
Published on May 24 2004 by Scamp Lumm
3.0 out of 5 stars
not grisham's best
i don't regard this as grisham's best novel, as it is a bit weak both in content and in narration.
the pace is fast, but i won't consider them exciting enough... Read more
the pace is fast, but i won't consider them exciting enough... Read more
Published on April 30 2004 by rony
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrilling read...
The best John Grisham book I have read. Thriller with government and lawyer coverups. The book is much better than the movie. Read more
Published on Mar 17 2004 by spirit339a
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your usual legal thriller.....
The Pelican Brief by John Grisham is by far THE BEST JOHN GRISHAM novel I have read so far. The Pelican Brief starts out with the deaths of two Supreme Court judges, who get... Read more
Published on Feb 17 2004 by Eric
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pelican Brief
Mysterious, eccentric and gripping are the words that could be used to describe the complicated plot that is hidden within this 436 pg long novel. Read more
Published on Feb 16 2004 by Gareth
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cliffhanger from the start
Don't expect anything and you will be blown away. Even though Grisham partially relies on obscuring knowledge his characters already have to keep the suspense, there are enough... Read more
Published on Nov 25 2003 by D. Wijngaarden
5.0 out of 5 stars
my favorite
This one is definately my favorite. It starts off with grip as an elderly supreme court justice is murdered in his own home along with the kindly nurse that watches him and the two... Read more
Published on Oct 4 2003 by KB
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