If you are a John Grisham fan, then you will not be surprised when you are beguiled from the very beginning. True to form, this Grisham story is intriguing and suspensful until the very end. I recommend this as a CD, because if you listen to audio books while driving, your trip will be enjoyable.

I've enjoyed Grisham's previous novels a lot. When I saw this one at the library I snatched it up figuring I was in for a few entertaining evenings. I won't repeat what hundreds of other reviewers have well described - the one-dimensional political good guys and bad guys that populate this book.

Mark Twain pretty well summarized the sense of this novel in his two short stories mentioned in my title, except Mark Twain was writing satire. In the Good Little Boy, the character is a total angel, absolutely perfect, yet only bad things happen to him, so unlike what you read in your Sunday School books. The Bad Little Boy is a little demon, from disobeying his parents to fishing on Sunday. But he ends up as a millionaire and nothing bad ever befalls him, again, unlike the stories in the Sunday School books.

One of John Grisham's latest novels has really intrigued me. Although it didn't get rave reviews from the majority, I feel it is one of this author's better works. To summarize, Carl Trudeau, prominent, successful billionaire and President/CEO of Krane Chemical, (manufacturer of pesticides and various other carcinogens) has just lost his court battle to the tune of damages awarded of $41 million after being charged with the cancerous death of a man and child as a direct result of the contamination of the water in Bowmore, Mississippi, the previous headquarters of his giant conglomerate. For the Baker family, the deceased Pete, and six-year old Chad, $3 million in actual damages is awarded to the wife/mother, Jeannette and $38 million in punitive damages. This event begins the tale of dirty politics, at the expense of many innocent, poor people and honest attorneys, such as Wes and Mary Grace Payton, who have sold and used as collateral just about all of their worldly possessions to defend Jeannette. They, however, do not have the wherewithal to "fight the system." The system in this instance is big-time politicians being paid off by people such as Mr. Trudeau, to "buy" a Mississippi Supreme Court Justice who the big players can then mold to their likeness and turn "The Appeal" in their favor. The unsuspecting gentleman in this case is Attorney Ron Fisk. Unbeknownst to him, he is the pawn in a great power play - until the tables turn and his own personal tragedy tests his conscience as well as his morals. The novel is filled with dirty antics of people in very high places and although Mr. Grisham offers his attorney-like disclaimer in his Author's Note at the end of the book, a lot of what goes on in "The Appeal" is not just fiction.

Like others have eloquently stated, this book is a disapointment. I've read everything Grisham has written, and this in no way compares. It is tired and weak. Even the plot is a depressingly unoriginal "Erin Brokovich" reprise. Same unrepentant evil villian, same big ominipotent law form/corporation attempting to walk all over the plucky little guy. Sigh. I read about 50 pages and turned it back in to the library. If you are thinking The Firm, or The Client, or A Time to Kill, this reads more like one of the many Grisham wannabe rip-offs.

A frightening glimpse of how the legal system may actually work. After reading you will never view products liability litigation the same. A wonderful book, great reading, lasting lessons.

Jeannette Baker is a meek woman living in a small town Mississippi trailer park smack in the heart of a place called "Cancer County." Within eight months, she had watched her husband, and then her only child, die of cancer caused by drinking water contaminated by Krane Chemical's illegal dumping of toxins. Jeannette uses up all her remaining courage and strength to sue Krane Chemical, the prototypical multinational conglomeration run by a filthy-rich-yet-still-insatiable Carl Trudeau. And when an appeal is filed, the case goes all the way to the state Supreme Court. Like Krane Chemical itself, John Grisham uses Jeannette Baker as a mere pawn to tell the story of how absolutely anything, even a seat on the state Supreme Court, is for sale in America.

Grisham's twentieth novel presents yet another modern day David and Goliath story. The common person against the corporation. Poor vs. rich. Main Street vs. Wall Street. Good vs. greed. This moral tug-o-war is common territory for the author of The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Rainmaker, to name but a few of his fast-paced thrillers of this ilk. Certainly if you are among the many fans of Grisham's favored themes, you will get your fill with The Appeal. It's all there: juicy courtroom scenes, good-hearted small town lawyers, cold-blooded big city lawyers, bureaucratic corruption, Supreme Court justices, a rigged election. Although not nearly as fast-paced and gripping as some of his best work, The Appeal remains a satisfying read.

What saves this book from being just more of the same from Grisham is its timeliness. Within the context of today's age of hyper-bureaucracy, when the average shopper must make a real effort to buy something that isn't produced by a mega-corporation, The Appeal feels eerily perceptive. It asks (and answers) the question, "Can a major election be bought?" In this book, Grisham illustrates a campaign's effective use of "truthiness," a concept that means appealing to a voter's gut feeling as opposed to actual fact. In doing so Grisham comments on an American superficial inclination to elect the candidate they would rather have a beer with. Grisham utilizes common ploys in today's political playbooks in order to illustrate how easy it is to convince the majority of voters to support the less capable candidate. In doing so, the author prompts readers to wonder in fear if powerful people are as devious, callous and cunning as Krane Chemical's CEO Carl Trudeau.

What do you think? Can a major election be bought? You won't get John Grisham's answer until the very end of The Appeal.

Quill says: Read it before you vote!

What happened to Grisham? This seems like something churned out by a kid in a week. Nothing happens that's unexpected (except maybe the bad ending). After the start, at least 3/4 of the book could be summarized in a page and you would lose nothing.

You could dream up the plot line yourself in less than 10 minutes. Real life is more interesting than this. So my advice: don't read this book--you'll get more enjoyment out of just about any other activity.

This is one of Grisham's better works of the past few that he has put together. It comes down more for being relevant rather than offering a super plot twisting story so if you're looking for a shocking ending, you will not like this one. For one thing, the bad guys do seem to win in the end. This ranks as more of a political novel rather than a legal one and it is nice to see Grisham spreading his wings.

If you're a fan of Grisham and like his writing style and are comfortable with him spreading his wings you will like this work. If you think he's just good for cranking out legal books I am afraid this is not the one for you!

I am a big John Grisham fan. This is his only novel I did not like at all. I have read all his books.

I found The Appeal to be a boring read. Overly simplistic, predictable and wooden with cookie-cutter characters and after 2/3 of the way through I just gave up. His earlier books were much better.