4 stars.
I decided to take a break from my more literary reads to read something that had a wider appeal. John Grisham is now a legendary genre author, and I wanted to read a more recent work of his, although classics like "A Time To Kill" and "The Firm" remain classics in the legal thriller genre.
The first thing I will say about "The Whistler" in itself is that it had an interesting beginning and setup. It begins slightly more slowly than a typical thriller but still managed to hook me from the beginning.
Which brings me to my next point: "The Whistler" is NOT a generic thriller. It is far more complex. A lot of "intellectuals" have rejected the works of John Grisham as simplistic. With a sample size of one, I say that is not true. Although having seen the film adaptation of "The Firm," maybe there is something there.
Anothe point I will make, which is part of what hooked me from the beginning, is that Grisham does not keep too many secrets. As a matter of fact, he keeps very few (though by no means none) for a thriller writer. By a quarter of the way through the book, the reader knows who the main villains are and most of the dirty deeds they are hiding.
It is also impressive that Grisham was able to think of a plot this intricate. The plotting was first-rate throughout the book, especially with the interconnectedness of the antagonists. I wouldn't say it is on par with the absolute best thriller writing I've been exposed to (see: the TV series "24"), but it is still quite complex.
To be fair, some parts of the plot stretch credulity. The back-cover copy speaks of "a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history." While the suspension of disbelief is usually required to read fiction (almost by definition), one would still want to imagine realistic fiction as things that could happen, hence the name.
I will admit that corruption in the justice system is a real problem, and Grisham does a fantastic job discussing it. On page 61, he writes, "It was amazing how much cordiality could be created, and how much suspicion could be overlooked, by truckloads of cash." This is not exclusively true of the judiciary, of course, but in a culture where those who apply the law are held to the highest standards of character, it makes one wonder what kind of things are happening in the real world.
A large part of the plot discusses Native American issues, specifically a fictitious tribe called the Tappacola. The indigenous characters, to Grisham's credit, serve roles that go far beyond mere tokenism. He creates several Native American characters that are complex and dynamic, and serve roles over and above those strictly necessary to the plot.
Going back to the part about hooking me early by revealing more and more: make no mistake, that came at a cost. By the quarter mark, I wondered how much plot was left to reveal. The answer was a significant amount, but I had no way of knowing that.
Indeed, the main reason I docked a star was that Grisham's narrative became somewhat boring in the middle. For one, he gave an oversized amount of attention to the main character's brother, a subplot which I did not feel was completely necessary. The other reason I docked a star was that the climax happened ever so slightly too early, and the twelve-page epilogue seemed to drag somewhat.
However, I was still deeply satisfied by "The Whistler." The climax of the book was no doubt thrilling, if not slightly underwhelming. It was difficult to put down at some points, and it opened my eyes to a new, worthy genre of fiction. I will definitely read at least one more legal thriller in the next year, and I can thank John Grisham for showing me the genre's merits.
Pages: 374
Total time spent reading: 7 hours, 21 minutes
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