BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Print: COPYRIGHT: (June 1989) 10/21/2014; PUBLISHER: Doubleday, First edition; ISBN 978-0385537148; PAGES 384; Unabridged

Digital: Yes

*Audio: COPYRIGHT: 10/23/2018; ISBN: 9780593103609; PUBLISHER: Books on Tape; DURATION: 16:54:32; PARTS: 14; File Size: 454202 KB; Unabridged; PARTS:14

Feature Film or tv: Yes

SERIES: Jake Brigance Series, Book 1

CHARACTERS: (Not comprehensive)
Jake Brigance – Protagonist, defense lawyer
Carla Brigance – Jake’s wife
Hanna Brigance – Jake’s 4=year-old daughter
Drew Jack Tyndale – Defense Lawyer
Percy Bullard - Judge
Harry Rex Vonner– Lawyer
Ethel Twitty – Jake’s secretary
Bud Twitty – Ethel’s husband
Ellen Roark – Jake’s law clerk
Ozzie Walls – Ford County Sheriff
Omar (Ichabod) Noose – Judge
Carl Lee Hailey – Father of a child victim of rape
Tonya Hailey – Carl Lee’s 10 year old daughter
Gwen Hailey - Mother of a child victim of rape
Lester Hailey – Carl Lee’s brother
Lucien Wilbanks – disbarred lawyer – owner of the building Jake’s office is in.
Rufus Buckley- Prosecuting lawyer
Billy Ray Cobb – Accused of rape
James Louis (Pete) Willard – Accused of rape


SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: I’d been ignoring these first works by Grisham thinking I’d seen the movies. We have listened to some of Grisham’s later novels—probably most, so I decided to try one of the older ones we’d never gotten around to, and liking it, decided it was time to start here at the beginning whether or not I’d seen the movie—besides, it’s been so long since I’ve seen the movies, that I’m not likely to remember details anyway. So this was Grisham’s debut novel. Wow. My response was, ‘It’s amazing he was willing to write more, having succeeded so well with this, I personally might have been of a mind to quit while I was ahead….but that’s me. I lack the confidence to write even one novel.’ Come to find out though, in an Author’s Note of the Digital version of this book from April 2009, John discusses how he sold less than 5,000 copies of this book when he initially published it and considered writing something other than legal fiction, but he went ahead and wrote “The Firm”, which succeeded, and then some others which also succeeded, and THEN this first novel finally “got itself noticed” in Grisham’s words. He wrote then, that he still dreamed about getting back to those characters and that location with more meandering stories, so it wasn’t until 2013 that this became “Book 1” of the Jake Brigance series when Sycamore Row was born, the book I have just begun listening to.
What’s it about? Racism in a small Mississippi town to put it in hugely general terms. I won’t get more specific because everyone’s probably seen the movie.
What did I think? VERY good. Like I said, I’ve seen the movie but it’s been a VERY long time, and books always have more details and more context, and more just about everything, so it’s definitely worth reading.

AUTHOR:
John Grisham:
From Wikipedia:
“Grisham, the second of five children, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Wanda (née Skidmore) and John Ray Grisham.[6] His father was a construction worker and a cotton farmer, and his mother was a homemaker.[9] When Grisham was four years old, his family settled in Southaven, Mississippi, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.[6]
As a child, he wanted to be a baseball player.[8] As noted in the foreword to Calico Joe, Grisham gave up playing baseball at the age of 18, after a game in which a pitcher aimed a beanball at him, and narrowly missed doing the young Grisham grave harm.
Although Grisham's parents lacked formal education, his mother encouraged him to read and prepare for college.[1] He drew on his childhood experiences for his novel A Painted House.[6] Grisham started working for a plant nursery as a teenager, watering bushes for $1.00 an hour. He was soon promoted to a fence crew for $1.50 an hour. He wrote about the job: "there was no future in it". At 16, Grisham took a job with a plumbing contractor but says he "never drew inspiration from that miserable work".[10]
Through one of his father's contacts, he managed to find work on a highway asphalt crew in Mississippi at age 17. It was during this time that an unfortunate incident got him "serious" about college. A fight with gunfire broke out among the crew causing Grisham to run to a nearby restroom to find safety. He did not come out until after the police had detained the perpetrators. He hitchhiked home and started thinking about college. His next work was in retail, as a salesclerk in a department store men's underwear section, which he described as "humiliating". By this time, Grisham was halfway through college. Planning to become a tax lawyer, he was soon overcome by "the complexity and lunacy" of it. He decided to return to his hometown as a trial lawyer.[11]
He attended the Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, Mississippi and later attended Delta State University in Cleveland.[6] Grisham changed colleges three times before completing a degree.[1] He eventually graduated from Mississippi State University in 1977, receiving a B.S. degree in accounting. He later enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law to become a tax lawyer, but his interest shifted to general civil litigation. He graduated in 1981 with a J.D. degree.[6]
After leaving law school, he participated in some missionary work in Brazil, under the First Baptist Church of Oxford.[12]”

NARRATOR:
Michael Beck:
Wikipedia__ “John Michael Beck Taylor (born February 4, 1949), commonly known as Michael Beck, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Swan in The Warriors (1979) and Sonny Malone in Xanadu (1980).
Beck was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the third of nine children. He attended Memphis University School and then Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi on a football scholarship.[1] While in college, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. After graduating with a degree in economics, he was one of 30 (out of 2,500) applicants chosen for London's Central School of Speech and Drama.[2] Beck's stage credits, beginning with college, include Camelot (he was King Arthur), Of Mice and Men (he was George Milton), Romeo and Juliet (he was Tybalt),[1] and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Perhaps it was Beck’s Southern Tennessee roots that earned him this gig, but he’s perfect for it—really excellent narration!

GENRE:
Fiction; Court room drama; Literature; Suspense; Thriller

LOCATION(S):
(Fictitious) Ford County; Clanton, Mississippi

TIME FRAME:
Contemporary (1985)

SUBJECTS:
Racism; Klu Klux Klan; Rape; Murder; Retribution; Court procedure
DEDICATION:
“To Renee, A woman of uncommon beauty, A fiercely loyal friend, A compassionate critic, A doting mother, A perfect wife”

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 4:
“Jake looked out his window across the square to the rear of the courthouse, which faced south. It was 1:00 P.M. He had skipped lunch, as usual, and had no business across the street, but he did need some fresh air. He hadn’t left the building all day, and although he had no desire to hear the details of the rape, he hated to miss the hearing. There had to be a crowd in the courtroom because there were no empty parking spaces around the square. A handful of reporters and photographers waited anxiously near the rear of the courthouse by the wooden doors where Cobb and Willard would enter.
The jail was two blocks off the square on the south side, down the highway. Ozzie drove the car with Cobb and Willard in the back seat. With a squad car in front and one behind, the procession turned off Washington Street into the short driveway leading under the veranda of the courthouse. Six deputies escorted the defendants past the reporters, through the doors, and up the back stairs to the small room just outside the courtroom.
Jake grabbed his coat, ignored Ethel, and raced across the street. He ran up the back stairs, through a small hall outside the jury room, and entered the courtroom from a side door just as Mr. Pate led His Honor to the bench.
“All rise for the court,” Mr. Pate shouted. Everyone stood. Bullard stepped to the bench and sat down.
“Be seated,” he yelled. “Where are the defendants? Where? Bring them in then.”
Cobb and Willard were led, handcuffed, into the courtroom from the small holding room. They were unshaven, wrinkled, dirty, and looked confused. Willard stared at the large group of blacks while Cobb turned his back. Looney removed the handcuffs and seated them next to Drew Jack Tyndale, the public defender, at the long table where the defense sat. Next to it was a long table where the county prosecutor, Rocky Childers, sat taking notes and looking important.
Willard glanced over his shoulder and again checked on the blacks. On the front row just behind him sat his mother and Cobb’s mother, each with a deputy for protection. Willard felt safe with all the deputies. Cobb refused to turn around.
From the back row, eighty feet away, Carl Lee raised his head and looked at the backs of the two men who raped his daughter. They were mangy, bearded, dirty-looking strangers. He covered his face and bent over. The deputies stood behind him, backs against the wall, watching every move.
“Now listen,” Bullard began loudly. “This is just a preliminary hearing, not a trial. The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine if there is enough evidence that a crime has been committed to bind these defendants over to the grand jury. The defendants can even waive this hearing if they want to.”
Tyndale stood. “No sir, Your Honor, we wish to proceed with the hearing.”
“Very well. I have copies of affidavits sworn to by Sheriff Walls charging both defendants with rape of a female under the age of twelve, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. Mr. Childers, you may call your first witness.”
“Your Honor, the State calls Sheriff Ozzie Walls.”
Jake sat in the jury box, along with several other attorneys, all of whom pretended to be busy reading important materials. Ozzie was sworn and sat in the witness chair to the left of Bullard, a few feet from the jury box.
“Would you state your name?”
“Sheriff Ozzie Walls.”
“You’re the sheriff of Ford County?”
“Yes.”
“I know who he is,” Bullard mumbled as he flipped through the file.
“Sheriff, yesterday afternoon, did your office receive a call about a missing child?”
“Yes, around four-thirty.”
“What did your office do?”
“Deputy Willie Hastings was dispatched to the residence of Gwen and Carl Lee Hailey, the parents of the girl.”
“Where was that?”
“Down on Craft Road, back behind Bates Grocery.”
“What did he find?”
“He found the girl’s mother, who made the call. Then drove around searchin’ for the girl.”
“Did he find her?”
“No. When he returned to the house, the girl was there. She’d been found by some folks fishin’, and they took her home.”
“What shape was the girl in?”
“She’d been raped and beaten.”
“Was she conscious?”
“Yeah. She could talk, or mumble, a little.”
“What did she say?”
Tyndale jumped to his feet. “Your Honor, please, I know hearsay is admissible in a hearing like this, but this is triple hearsay.”
“Overruled. Shut up. Sit down. Continue, Mr. Childers.”
“What did she say?”
“Told her momma it was two white men in a yellow pickup truck with a rebel flag in the window. That’s about all. She couldn’t say much Had both jaws broken and her face kicked in.”
“What happened then?” “The deputy called an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital.”
“How is she?”
“They say she’s critical.” “
What happened then?”
“Based on what I knew at the time I had a suspect in mind.”
“So what’d you do?”
“I located an informant, a reliable informant, and placed him in a beer joint down by the lake.””

RATING:.
5
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
7-23-2022 to 8-7-2022 ( )

Na pequena cidade de Clanton, no condado fictício de Ford, Mississippi em 1989, uma rapariga afro-americana de dez anos, tem a sua vida violentamente destruída por dois supremacistas brancos.
O pai destroçado e ultrajado, consulta o seu amigo Jake Brigance, um advogado branco que tinha anteriormente representado o seu irmão, sobre a possibilidade de ser absolvido caso aconteça algo aos dois homens.
Os dois criminosos são rapidamente presos e acusados de vários crimes relacionados com o ataque. O pai da menina, veterano decorado do Vietname, aplica nessa situação a lei com as suas próprias mãos.

Mas isto é Mississippi em 1989 e o caso é complicado pelo facto de a vítima e o seu pai serem negros enquanto os dois bandidos são brancos.
A população da cidade está uniformemente dividida entre negros e brancos e, embora a maioria das pessoas, independentemente da raça, condene as ações dos dois bandidos, a divisão deve-se à questão de saber se a justiça aplicada pelas próprias mãos do pai ser condenada ou alvo de receber uma medalha.

“ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀꜱ ᴇQᴜᴀʟꜱ, ᴊᴜꜱᴛɪᴄᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴ-ʜᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ. ɪᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴀ ʀᴇꜰʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴘʀᴇᴊᴜᴅɪᴄᴇꜱ.”

O que se segue é um thriller de tribunal com violência alimentada por ambos os lados da divisão racial.

Culpado? Inocente?

Jake Brigance, jovem advogado que está desesperado pelo grande momento, aceita o caso apesar da sua natureza intimidante. Jake representa muitas qualidades éticas e profissionais que os advogados veneram.

Grisham é justo com ambos os lados, e é claro que conhece muito bem o cenário, as pessoas e a dinâmica da situação.
Estamos dentro da história e sentimo-nos ali mesmo em Clanton, Mississippi, a tentar esquivarmo-nos ao KKK e a marchar com todos os outros.
Há uma série de excelentes personagens neste romance e muito poucos são puros de alma.

Embora esta história se situe numa era passada, ainda é relevante para os dias de hoje, pois os preconceitos baseados na cor da pele, género e religião ainda estão presentes. Assim, perante isto, é uma história intemporal.
Envolvente e de ritmo rápido. Provocadora de opiniões. ( )

A Time to Kill is not for those with weak stomachs. In his first novel, John Grisham holds nothing back in describing man's inhumanity to man. If you like reading about violence that would make those with weak stomachs miss a meal, this is your book.

The premise of the book is a thought-provoking one: How would a Southern small town treat a crime by an African-American perpetrated with malice aforethought that it would have permitted a white southerner to get away with?

The book's best qualities are exploring the roots of racial prejudice. that being said I could have done with a little less of the "N" word but I have to keep in mind this was written in 1989.

For those who like legal thrillers where there's some action, this is far more than your usual courtroom drama. It comes closer to the kind of taut threat that permeated To Kill a Mockingbird. The only difference is that Grisham conjures up an intersection in time between the old and new South that never happened.

I found that the book was predictable in its over-the-top treatment of what would have made for good drama. But the extreme situations weakened the plot by making it seem unlikely. I suspect it was a writing method used to be sure that those who didn't know about the old South would appreciate the delicate nature of the emotions involved. ( )

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit https://www.ManofLaBook.com

A Time to Kill by John Grisham is the first legal thriller featuring Jake Brigance. This is the first book Mr. Grisham wrote, that started him on his path to legal thriller stardom.

Carl Lee Hailey’s young daughter, Tonya, was raped and almost murdered by two career criminals in the small town of Clanton, Mississippi. When the two criminals were taken to court, Carl Lee ambushed and killed them.

Being that the two criminals were white, and Carl Lee is black, the case took on its own life. The KKK who had no representation in Clanton suddenly showed up, and so did thousands of African-Americans to show support and provide pushback to the Klan.

Lawyer Jake Brigance has been hired to defend Hailey. Jake knows this is a big case that can make or break his career. But Jake never thought of all the lives, including his, that could be lost or damaged.

I enjoyed this book very much. When I picked it up I didn’t realize it was Grisham’s first book until I read the preface. It was an interesting process, where working lawyer Grisham wrote chapter by chapter to give his wife to read.

A Time to Kill by John Grisham is very enjoyable and engaging. The story is interesting, the legal theories are fascinating, and the character are most believable.

I did think the book was too long, there were many sections which are unnecessary, or didn’t add anything to the story. I’m not talking about expanding the story with a few branches here and there, but sections which could have easily been deleted without being missed.

After reading about one quarter of the book I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jake Brigance. I don’t know if that’s how good guys talked and acted in mid-1980s Mississippi but, to me, it seemed unprofessional, almost as if the author plopped a lawyer out of the 1950 into the book’s time frame. Not to mention that Jake acts like a jerk to everyone in his life and keeps the company of other jerks.

It might be realistic to 1980s Mississippi; I have no idea. But why not make the main character somewhat relatable with shades of gray instead of hard-to-believe character flaws.

This is still an excellent book regardless of my pettiness. I can’t believe it’s his first book, as I’ve read later novels which I did not think were as good. ( )

Only my second Grisham book, but not my last. I really enjoyed it and the character, Jake Brigance. I can’t wait to watch the movie. This “very autobiographical” book (Grisham’s words) was inspired by lawyer Grisham’s witnessing the testamony of a 12-year-old rape victim in 1984 in Hernando, Mississippi. He spent three years writing the book and finished it in 1987. Not until the success of his second book, “The Firm,” did “A Time to Kill” fly off the bookshelves too. I was a little intimidated by the length (500 pages), but, like all of Grisham’s books, I was finished with it before I knew it. Great author, great book. ( )