The Litigators, by John Grisham

I think I have read every one of John Grisham's novels.  Some are better than others, but I have enjoyed them all.  The Litigators has some of the elements that make Grisham fun to read: the idealistic young lawyer, the bashing of big firms and big companies, the little guy getting the win.  But I have to say, even though I enjoyed it, I kept asking myself why.

I don't know if this is a criticism or an observation, but after the first few chapters, The Litigators reads more like an account of an actual case.  You know, one of those readable but ultimately pretty dry nonfiction works that tell the story of a case from the news or from history?  It starts out on an entertaining note.  David Zinc, sick of working 80 hours a week in a big firm making deals on foreign fixed income instruments, flips out, gets drunk, and, after seeing an ad on a bus for an ambulance-chasing law firm, shows up there looking for a job.  He, along with the two colorful and ethically-challenged partners, gets involved in a class action suit against a giant pharmaceutical company.

Once that case, which fills most of the book, gets going, Grisham's lawyer takes over for his storyteller.  This certainly may be his intent.  If there's a good case in real life, with a good story behind it, I would want Grisham to write that book.  It's generally considered a good thing when a work of non-fiction reads like a work of fiction.  But I would counter that when a work of fiction sounds like a work of non-fiction, perhaps a bit more life needed to be injected into the story.

Yeah, I know, that sounds pretty shallow and petty, but that's my opinion.  Two things: Grisham fans will like The Litigators, and, in spite of my criticism, I'll probably read his next book as soon as it's released.