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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Make time to read A Time To Kill, 14 Jun 2003
A Time To Kill, John Grisham's first novel, is a remarkably compelling, bold, fearless, lofty achievement for a new writer. While the book was picked up and published in small numbers at first, it was not until The Firm placed Grisham squarely on the map that this earlier effort was republished and made available for the masses of his new fans. What impresses me most about A Time To Kill is the way in which Grisham grabs your attention and sucks you right into the story immediately every time you pick it up; my interest and fascination was retained throughout the whole 500+ pages. I'm generally not a fan of lawyer or police novels, but the criminal events forming the crux of this novel are visceral right from the start, as little 10-year old Tonya Hailey, a black girl, is brutally raped and assaulted by two cruel white men. Grisham doesn't wait around to throw his best stuff directly at the reader. The two men are arrested and put on trial, but Carl Lee Hailey, Tonya's father, gets hold of an M-16 and blows both guys away (along with a deputy's lower leg) in the very halls of the courthouse. Jake Brigance, our protagonist, is determined to get his new client acquitted, a very tough task when everyone knows how the man planned and carried out the murders in cold blood. Naturally, some folks think Carl Lee should be declared a hero for what he did, while others argue that vigilante justice cannot be permitted. Since a black man killed two white men for raping his black daughter, race quickly becomes the big tent under which a legal and social circus is performed in the small town of Clanton, Mississippi. The black churches organize to support Carl Lee, calling in the NAACP and urging blacks from all over that part of the state to come to the courthouse demanding Carl Lee's release. The defunct Klan reemerges in the town and goes well beyond simple intimidation of jurors and Jake Brigance himself. Needless to say, there is a lot of human drama contained in these pages.
As eminently readable as this novel is, though, a few things about it bother me enough for me to take away one star from my rating. The action is just not real enough. Carl Lee is given unimaginable privileges by the black sheriff while being held in jail, for one thing. The most prominent black preacher in the county has a number of sinful ways about him. The judges seem to behave inappropriately at times, and some of the antics of Jake and the D.A. during the trial provide sources of humor that seem inappropriate. As for Jack, I found it impossible to ever really like the man. All he cares about is keeping this client and getting all the publicity for defending this man before the eyes of the nation. He tells his wife he will drop the case if it looks like he or his family is in danger, but that is pledge is proven quite false. He is rather unethical at times, proves himself to be less than careful in his trial preparation, and he spends the better part of the crucial days drinking like a fish. John Grisham says there is a lot of himself in Jake Brigance, and maybe all lawyers really are as superficial as the protagonist, but I hope that is not the case. As compelling a read as this book is, much of its fate naturally hinges on its conclusion. Will Carl Lee be freed or sentenced to death? I can accept the climax of these events as it is written, but it does feel somewhat rushed. After oftentimes slowly and carefully picking over every bit of action and dialogue, things just happen too quickly in the end. The judgment of the case also belies events in the courtroom, and one main character is all but forgotten at the end. No first novel should be perfect, and this one certainly isn't, but it is nevertheless one of the most amazing first novels I have read from an author. Grisham keeps your hands glued to the pages from start to finish.
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