Grisham Sells Out

• Date: 22.12.2009
• Book: The Associate: A Novel
• Author: bear_074

Review

The Associate features main character Kyle McAvoy, a brilliant law student, top of his class at Yale and editor of the Yale Law Journal. The introduction entices the reader with blackmail, espionage, and high stakes.

The plot has all the potential in the world to be a thrilling ride but fails to deliver. Instead of building suspense, the reader suffers through a whingeing commentary on Kyle and his poor colleagues lives as first year associates in a major Wall Street law firm. Further more the so-called "brillant" McAvoy comes across as meagre, weak and impotent.

In fact the most developed character in the book is actually the law firm of Scully and Pershing. The firm is portrayed as greedy, with its only real purpose to bill more hours to its naive clients. Ironically Grisham received a big pay day for this "return to his roots", but fails to deliver any value for the reader, much like the protagonist law firm.

In the end one is left to ponder if the book was written without a well thought out ending, anger for time wasted was the only emotion I can recall upon reaching its vague and uninspiring ending.