The Appeal

John Grisham's 2008 novel, THE APPEAL, is good, light bedtime reading. But it is hard to fit into literary pigeonholes. Is is tragic? A gigantic American conglomerate controlled by a superachieving, take-no-prisoners entrepreneur in Manhattan, pollutes the soil and water of a Mississippi town for decades. Cancer rates exceed 12 times the national average. A Jury slaps a huge punitive damage award against the firm. A virtually bankrupt local mom and pop law firm representing the plaintiff needs its share of the award to pay off debts and get a personal life once again.The big man behind the polluting corporation vows never to pay a cent. Will he prevail? ***Not without a plan, the best that money can buy. In this case the plan is to prevent the re-election of a moderate, swing-vote Irish Catholic Mississippi Supreme Court justice (one of nine members) and replace her with a small town WASP Baptist lawyer little league coach with a squeaky clean, unthinking pro-business record. Will he ever realize that he is being used? *** The rest of the novel is about the complex, cynical campaign to add an ultra-conservative yes-man swing vote to the Mississippi Supreme Court by overpowering the initially unsuspecting candidate up for re-election with money and slick, often dirty campaigning. The issue is at times in doubt and much depends on the moral fiber of the puppet candidate for the court. -OOO-