The Appeal, by John Grisham

I recently read The Appeal, by John Grisham. (See the first link in the previous sentence for the Wikipedia article on the book, which gives you the plot.)

The main things I wish to muse about are these:
There are good, Christian, lawyers in the world, according to Grisham. There are also people who claim to be Christian, but whose actions in the real world are almost completely separate from their church life, and from radical Christianity. Some of them are lawyers, too, according to Grisham. I'm sure that he's right about that, and not only about lawyers.

Capitalism gone to extremes can bring about terrible evils, and, all too often, get away with them.

I know, the book is fiction, and Grisham, himself, points that out at the end. But I'm afraid that there is all too much truth in his fiction.

Thanks for reading.

The Last Juror by John Grisham

I recently read The Last Juror, by John Grisham. It's a good read, hardly a surprise, considering the author. I won't give away much of the plot -- see the first link in this post, which is to the Wikipedia article on the book, if you want more information on that.

Let me muse about two aspects of the novel.

The protagonist, Willie Traynor, is white, and not a Christian. The most important relationship he develops, upon purchasing the local newspaper in a small Mississippi town, is with Callie Ruffin, a black woman who is old enough to be his mother. Traynor works toward integrating his adopted town. (The book is set in the 1970s.) Indirectly, he makes it possible for Mrs. Ruffin to become the first black juror in a trial with a white defendant in the county.

It is clear that Mrs. Ruffin is a serious Christian -- she believes in sin, salvation, and redemption through belief in Christ's power. Although Traynor never becomes a believer himself, the book is sympathetic to evangelical Christianity. Mrs. Ruffin, and the churches of Traynor's fictional town, are presented in a positive light. For example, she prays, and believes that her prayers are heard.

Thanks for reading. Grisham is worth reading, and entertaining, as well.