FORD COUNTY: Stories
John Grisham
Doubleday
Fiction/Short Stories
ISBN: 9780385532457
On Bookreporter.com, I have often commented on the admirable quality of John Grisham, a writer who refuses to be constrained within the writing style that has brought him fame, fortune and annual placement on bestseller lists around the globe. Throughout the past decade, I have had the opportunity to review more than a dozen Grisham novels as well as a work of nonfiction for Bookreporter.com. When one thinks about Grisham, stories surrounding lawyers come to mind, but he refuses to be pigeon-holed in that single genre. Certainly, he is known for novels that focus on the law, but every now and then, he elects to follow a different writing path. His new subject might be football, Italy, or life in his native Mississippi. You cannot stereotype John Grisham.
FORD COUNTY is a collection of seven stories focusing on characters from the Mississippi community first discovered in Grisham’s debut novel, A TIME TO KILL. They cover subjects familiar to his readers: attorneys, the death penalty, and life in the rural South. Grisham has suggested that the stories in this collection represent plots that could not sustain full-length novels. “I’ve had dozens of ideas for Ford County novels,” he observes, “almost all of which peter out for one reason or another. The good stories stick, but they’re always long enough to become novels.” Regardless of length, the stories that comprise FORD COUNTY are vintage John Grisham: thoughtful, sometimes humorous, often touching, and a joy to read.
Many of the stories reflect Grisham’s personal interests, such as capital punishment, which has become one of his passions. In “Fetching Raymond,” Inez Graney and two of her sons are travelling to Parchman Prison to visit the youngest family member, the titular Raymond. Convicted of the murder of a Ford County Deputy Sheriff, the youngest brother has been on death row for 11 years. As his appeals are exhausted, this could be the last time they will have the opportunity to see him. The family visit provides readers with Grisham’s view of the madness that is capital punishment.
It would not be a representative Grisham collection without something about the law, the subject that brought him acclaim from readers around the globe. Two stories here focus on legal issues. “Fish Files” is an opportunity for Grisham to expose an issue dear to his heart: the battle between legal ethics and money. Mack Stafford is a struggling, small-town attorney who receives an unexpected phone call that could settle some worthless personal injury cases for more money than he can fathom. The opportunity to change his life is more than Stafford can handle.
“Michael’s Room” is provoking but disturbing. One evening, on his way home from work, attorney Stanley Wade is abducted by a man who he recognizes but cannot place. Those of us who practice law in smaller communities know well the experience of noticing someone from a courtroom meeting but being unable to remember any other details of the encounter. For Wade, the specifics are violently recalled. The losing family in a civil lawsuit where Wade represented a doctor charged with malpractice decides that they will obtain some revenge from the man who engineered their courtroom defeat. Attorneys, those who have served on a jury, or anyone who has been a party to a lawsuit will find this story insightful.
When Grisham ventures into new territory, he continues to exhibit his talent as a storyteller. “Blood Drive” is the laugh-out-loud adventure of three men from Clanton who travel to Memphis to assist an injured hometown acquaintance by donating blood. You will visualize the actors who will portray the characters in the movie version of the story. “Funny Boy,” the final selection in FORD COUNTY, is a story of bigotry and tenderness that speaks volumes in an understated fashion.
John Grisham has written 21 novels and one work of nonfiction. More than 250 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. One might expect that somewhere in that writing would be a dull, uninteresting book, but I have yet to read it. Grisham’s venture into short stories provides readers with an invigorating and entertaining collection that prove once again that a bestselling author can also be an outstanding writer.
--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
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