I read The Firm at the instigation of a younger sister who sped through it at a pace unusual for her. She promised me that it was a gripping story that I would really enjoy. I had been planning to try the famous John Grisham eventually, and had laid in a store of his paperbacks to await my whim. Well, the whim came last week and so I picked up this book. My feelings about it are mixed.

Mitch McDeere, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, is a brilliant young man who was third in his class. He and his wife Abby have had a thin time of it in law school, but all that is about to change once Mitch chooses among the fat job offers he's been handed. The best offer by far is from the quiet little tax firm in Memphis, where everything seems too good to be true. (Hint: when a job offer seems too good to be true, there is probably a reason for it.) Mitch and Abby soon learn that their very lives are in danger, and no one can be trusted.

On one level, I did enjoy this book. It's ominous right from the start and the tension builds nicely. (Though I will say that it never took over my life the way certain non-thrillers *coughJaneEyrecough* have; I put it down at some tense moments in the story during the three days it took to read it, and was never tempted to stay up into the wee hours to finish it.) I can see why it would be a bestseller, though it's no masterpiece from a literary standpoint. The world of elite lawyers is well portrayed.

But I never really felt invested in the characters. There was just something about them that kept me at arms' length. Mitch's adultery bothered me for several reasons. As a moralist I wanted him to confess it to his wife, and commit to change (even though the adultery was a one-shot deal, the thoughts and habits leading up to it were not). And from a literary standpoint, Grisham really failed to explore the ongoing tension Mitch feels by keeping that secret bottled up inside. Does he ever confess to Abby, or does he continue to hide the truth from her for the rest of their lives? I know why Grisham includes that episode — to show how the firm controlled its young lawyers partly by blackmail — but after it happened and Mitch has his initial guilt about it, it drops out of the story completely. And that just doesn't make sense to me.

Another thing I didn't really care for was how Grisham constantly describes Mitch and Abby having sex as them "trying to kill each other." Why must good sex be violent and crazy (and apparently nightly)? And why must our hero and heroine possess perfect, sculpted, model-like bodies in addition to all their other perfections? That aspect of the story reads like juvenile wish fulfillment on the part of Grisham... or worse, for us his readers, who are being served such an unsubtle dish.

So, I read a Grisham book. Will I read another? Mmmm, probably eventually. I like to break out of my normal reading habits occasionally and read something different from my usual fare. Grisham's fans can tell me if I started with a good one or if there is another title of his that they would recommend. Overall, this story didn't really deliver on all its promises of taut, thrilling entertainment, but I certainly found it readable and enjoyed the view into the complicated world of tax lawyers. ( )

The Firm by John Grisham (1998)

Klasse Thriller.: Eigentlich ist es der Traumjob für jeden Anwalt, doch der Traum entwickelt sich sehr bald zu einem regelrechten Albtaum, nur dass man aus dem von John Grisham nicht aufwachen kann.DIE FIRMA von Meister-Autor John Grisham ist wieder einmal ein Meisterwerk für sich.
Es fängt alles ganz gemächlich an, doch die Spannung steigert sich von Seite zu Seite, bis es am Ende fast aus dem Ruder läuft.
Der Spannungsboden spitzt sich am Ende derart zu, dass man als Leser eigentlich gar nicht mehr aufhören möchte zu lesen, bis man endlich weiß, wie die Geschichte zu Ende geht.Bis hierhin hätte DIE FIRMA eigentlich 5 Sterne verdient. Allerdings ist die Thematik Grishams nicht mehr aktuell, und die von ihm dargestelle Handlung auch nicht mehr neu.
DIE AKTE (auch von Grisham) hat fast den selben Handlungsverlauf; abgesehen von den Charakteren.
Beide Male wissen die Hauptdarsteller etwas, dass die Bösewichte in Bedrängnis bringt, welche daraufhin ihre Topkiller anweisen, die Guten umzulegen. Die wenden bekommen dann Hilfe und so geht alles gut aus.
Einen Punkt abzug für diese enormen Parallelen.

This was the first Grisham novel I read. I loved it. I can't wait to own it again. ( )

Starts off well, but then falls apart — in my opinion — during the last third of the story. I don't really care for Grisham's too-clever-by-half hero types who outwit everyone around them and disappear with a big haul of cash to retire on. McDeere vs. the Firm? Great. McDeere vs. the FBI? Bleah. ( )