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 enlarge | Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy Used: $5.29
You Save: $22.66 (81%)
New (99) Collectible (16) from $8.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  407 reviews
Sales Rank: 270
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0385515049
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780385515047
ASIN: 0385515049
Publication Date: January 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: HC/DJ -- Has a mylar cover -- Ex - library book -- Has a small library sticker on spine cover -- Date printed on top page edges , otherwise very clean -- First edition
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Appeal was appalling June 15, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I took this book on vacation anticipating reading in a short period. A Time to Kill got my interest after reading the gruesome first 30 pages, then could not stop. I started this book and the first 100 pages were not very catching. I would read the ads on the newspaper before picking up the book. I was very interested in finding out whether the awarded money would be paid (at least a percentage) until an appeal. I thought the entire book would be reviewing the appeal which caught my attention when it was clear that the bad guys were setting up to purchase a seat on the supreme court. Ok, I kept reading and skipping a whole lot of interesting facts that I knew where not very important to the story line nor the ending. This was not a book written by one person much less a brilliant author. It seemed like a bunch of underlings contributed data, characters, and side stories then put together. Towards the end, I thought, finally this will be an Alfred Hitchcok ending where the bad guys lose even after their clever manipulations. Even the tragic moments at the hospital would certainly help in the final vote.
The ending really pissed me off after all, this is a book of fiction to mainly entertain the reader and on the way educate a bit with real facts. There were too many characters and not much character development. Glad to have borrowed it from the library even though I had to pay $0.75 to reserve it which is way too much after reading it.
Totally disappointing.
No Appeal June 14, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
"The Appeal" was not appealing to me. John Gresham has lost the ability to make magic with words, and is relying on his reputation to sell books.
 The Review June 13, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
The master of provocative book titles like "The Firm," The Client," and "The Partner" has returned to the megabucks legal thriller genre with another astonishingly creative title. The level of artistry found in a title like "The Appeal" reflects the level of artistry in the plot. The backdrop this time is widespread pollution in the small-town South by greedy and uncaring corporate plutocrats with sleazy lawyers who rough up the honest regular folks who are paying the consequences. Right out of Erin Brockovich, as it were, but Grisham makes the story fairly believable. While he once again falters with narrow and stereotypical characters (especially the ridiculous corporate villain), the book remains pretty readable with a large dose of political reality. Here Grisham's commentary on modern big-money politics can really strike a nerve. But otherwise, the plotline and suspense suffer from assembly line-style writing, with new characters being introduced well into the second half of the book and evil conspiracies being piled on endlessly for the sake of drama. And anyone familiar with Grisham's prior books or films will probably find the whole story utterly predictable, right down to the forced morality that's plastered awkwardly all over the climax and conclusion.
Meanwhile, something fishy is going on with the marketing of this book. Doubleday has been sending free unannounced copies to volunteer environmental organizations (my copy slowly trickled down to me through such channels). Rather odd for a mainstream legal thriller. The publisher wants you to know that Grisham is green now. [~doomsdayer520~]
Okay June 12, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Everyone in the family who read this story was disappointed. It did not meet the previous stardards of a John Grisham novel. We were all disappointed with the story and how it unfolded and utimately ended. Gave no hope for a legal system of America.
An Educational But Depressing Read June 12, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
As usual, John Grisham's latest novel is a fast-paced read. His writing is smooth and the pages fly. Despite what some reviewers said here, I never found the book slow or boring. I learned a lot about various legal issues (the appellate process, the function of state supreme court judges) and electoral politics, so in that regard the book was worth reading. But as a story it ultimately left me cold.
The standard Grisham characters were there; the noble underdog lawyers take on the amoral fat cats of big money and big business. But unlike his previous books, this time the bad guys win. After yanking readers along on an emotional roller coaster with the characters in the book, Mr. Grisham derails us and sends us careening into a fiery crash. Yes, I know in reality that sometimes evil triumphs, but this was too much of a downer. Grisham could have made his point (we should appoint judges rather than elect them) without the heartbreakingly bleak ending. It made our investment in the story and the characters feel wasted.
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