The Broker [Paperback]

I have to say I think this isn't his best work...by a stretch. I find it difficult, really difficult, to criticise anything Grisham does because everything he publishes is well written and well researched. But I'm struggling to come up with a word to describe how I found The Broker. "Disappointing" is probably the fairest way to describe it. If you ignore smaller novels such as Bleachers then The Broker is (as far as I'm aware) Grisham's third novel where he deviates from the courtroom (or from lawyers at any rate). His first one - A Painted House - I thought was excellent. I thought with his second one - The Last Juror - which, despite the title was actually about a newspaper editor was a little shaky, but I gave him the benfit of the doubt. This third effort has left me wondering if he's better off sticking to what he does brilliantly. To all those who are claiming this is his "best book ever" then I urge you to read A Time To Kill, The Partner, The Firm, The Rainmaker, The Pelican Brief etc etc. They are all vastly superior to The Broker.

I started reading it with the usual anticipation I have when reading a Grisham novel. It started out ok. I then waited for something to happen. And waited. And waited. I finished the book and couldn't help thinking that I had just read the longest "vacation report" every written. Grisham quite clearly loves all things Italian (and tells us as much in his author's note). In fact he loves Italy so much so that he decides to pad out more than half the book with Italian phrases, detailed descriptions of Italian cuisine, the coffee drinking habits of Italians and then in incredible detail the entire history of Bologne. I love Italy, the language, the wine and the food. But if I wanted to learn more about Italy then I'd either visit the place or I'd buy an Italian phrase book. I kinda got the impression that Mr Grisham went and lived out there for 6 months or so, learned the lingo and loved it so much he decided to tell everyone about it, but then cleverly disguised is as his new best seller.

The plot is, by his standards, weak at best. You never really gain any real affection for the lead character (as you did with the one out of The Partner for example) and some of the other characters that are introduced in detail early on in the book then simply disappear towards the end. I don't really want to criticise anything else about the book as I'm just hoping this was a one off.

It's fairly obvious that some authors reach such a pinacle in their careers that they can often go a few years churning out well below average books whilst selling millions of copies as they coast along on their reputation. James Patterson's "Alex Cross" series immediately springs to mind (his last one - London Bridges - was woefully bad). To be honest if The Broker had been written by a new, unknown author then I'd be surprised if it would have even got published.

I hope and pray that Grisham reverts back to writing about what he knows best - lawyers and courtrooms. Leave the spy thrillers to the likes of Clancy and Ludlum.

It is so painfully clear that Grisham's infatuation with his own immersion in Italian life has totally overrun this book at the expense of EVERY part of the story. There is an analysis of learning about Italian life, language, culture and cuisine from the point of view of an American. In the background, however is poorly defined plot and a veritable carousel of characters being introduced in some depth before inexplicably disappearing never to be heard from again. Plot devices are left half baked, seemingly relevant events are left to wither away into mystery (a frustrating kind of mystery - not the dramatic type) all in all, this book is a mess. Grisham should simply have written an account of his time in Italy and how clever he thinks he is for doing so - not producing this confused gibberish.

This book deserves the lowest acolade of 1 star - but I give it two for having a decent enough concept, ruined by self-important and ridiculous execution.