The Racketeer by John Grisham (2012)

Thank goodness for this blog, as I did not recall ever reading a book by Grisham, but sure enough, I have read two of them (Playing for Pizza and Painted House), though neither is a legal thriller like this book. We have black lawyer Malcolm Bannister telling us his story from prison - how he was wrongly convicted of racketeering and how he plans to get out, because he thinks he knows who actually killed a federal judge. The story is quite convoluted and you never quite know what to believe, but it was a great tale and a good read.

At the end of the book the author has a disclaimer, that none of this is based on any facts and that he did not do any research for it. There is no prison camp, murdered federal judge or uranium mine court case, but the story reminded me of  the senselessness of our prison system. Grisham mentions a $40,000 per prisoner per year price tag. A quick Google search places that at the low end of estimates, so we are spending huge amounts to incarcerate large numbers of the populace for non-violent crimes. It ruins the lives of those individuals, as a conviction closes many doors, and creates huge stresses for the families. I would not be surprised if the divorce rates are high, as pointed out in Grisham's story. On one hand the monotony of prison life is mind numbing, on the other it gives one time to concoct elaborate plans as the one we see unfold. I also liked that Malcolm worked in the prison library and helped other prisoners with their legal problems, though rarely being able to shorten their stay in prison.  I also like a well thought out scam like on Leverage or the Ocean movies.

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (2007)

I was told that the author had enjoyed traveling in Italy, so wrote a novel so he could describe Italy in detail. That part I liked, though please don't tell me all about churches and architecture without photos or illustrations - which of course is an impossibility when listening to a book, but I'm quite sure the novel wasn't illustrated. (That's why I liked that illustrated Da Vinci Code book so well.)

What surprised me was, that this was a football story. Rick Dockery, a third string quarterback makes major mistakes in a major game and escapes to play in Italy. I could really do without the play by play descriptions of the games, though I did learn something about the game - it has been just a bunch of guys bashing into each other to me. I admit to total ignorance of one of America's great pastimes.

I did like the Italians and their enthusiasm for the game without expecting any pay, and the support and friendliness they showed to Rick, the down and out quarterback. I enjoyed seeing him regain his confidence. I understood more of my uncle Frank, who married my mother's sister. I now regret that I didn't take the chance to be with him and his Italian friends more. The seemed louder than my family, and I didn't understand their joking style. This book has helped clarify that.

A major part of the Italian culture is food, and Grisham did a good job of describing eating in Italy, which just enforced what Gilbert had said in her book Eat, Pray, Love. As with the architecture, I was wishing for a visual, or actually, a taste of all he mentioned. Again, I got insight into my aunt, who was very food focused. She was a great cook and took care to feed us well, though pasta wasn't usually part of her holiday meals.

Painted House by John Grisham (2001)

I've never read anything by Grisham, but this was given to me by Sniedze, because it was about migrant workers and cotton growers in the South. I liked it, especially since it was written from the view point of seven year old Luke Chandler. His family owns a cotton farm, and they have to hire hill people and Mexicans to help pick the cotton crop in the couple months. The story is rich with details of farm life, small town life, the different groups, listening to baseball games, etc. I can't even image what it would be like to spend long hot days out in the fields picking cotton, where every hand is important, even the work of a seven year old. The "painted house" comes from one of the hill boys, who's health prevents him from working out in the field, but he starts painting Luke's house. When it seems everything is falling apart, painting the house becomes something important and hopeful.

I finished reading this book while on vacation on Sanibel Island in Florida, and the day I finished it, I took a walk and met a local woman who showed me her garden and gave me a pod and ball of wild cotton. Strange...