Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Now that you have finished the book, what did you think?
John Grisham has written many legal thrillers as well as some recent non-legal thrillers, how does this book compare?
No spoilers please for other books, or mark spoilers (How to with the "some html is ok" instructions)

I put final comments on the last chapter (31-44) segment too.
In reflection I learned from the author's note that an article about a real-life law school scam was behind this book. The undocumented immigration situation Zola's family experienced when they were detained and deported was difficult to read and important to expose. After the first quarter of the book felt heavy handed, the faster pace of the ending drew me in and was eye-opening.

Here is a link to the article that Grisham referenced in the author's note: The Law School Scam

I agree with you Ann, the beginning was a bit heavy handed but I did find both the law school and deportation issues interesting and felt the final quarter of the book had a much better flow.

I agree with Ann and Sandi about the difference between the preachy beginning and the more exciting remainder of the book. I expected there to be a happier ending, but bleaker was probably for the best.

Overall, the silly thing was that the three students could have finished the semester, probably passed the bar exam given their smarts, and started their own DUI & personal injury law firm legitimately. They'd have still been in debt, but they would have had jobs and cash flow.

But then we wouldn't have had a book to read!

Russ: I thought we were going to get a "justice for the underdog"
story when Gordy presented the case against the law school scam. Now Gordy, he would have been a good lawyer based on his research. The other two guys were, after further consideration, in my opinion not terribly interested in the law as a profession as much as a way to make money. After that ability seems out of the realm of possibility, they bail. Zola, we don't learn enough about her motivations to study law specifically but it is safe to say none of the four wanted to be saddled with that kind of debt. I don't doubt they are smart and could have applied themselves to pass the bar...but not reading the case history dates or researching the statute of limitations law to apply to their big case was a major flaw in their crazy plan.
Yep. Bleaker versus a happy ending was probably the way to get that point across.
It's funny I can't stop thinking about the situations in this book. Mission accomplished Mr. Grisham.

Russ wrote: "I agree with Ann and Sandi about the difference between the preachy beginning and the more exciting remainder of the book. I expected there to be a happier ending, but bleaker was probably for the best ..."

I finally finished The Rooster Bar Monday. On the whole I really liked it. I just wrote my Goodreads Review of the book which I am posting here because on reflection I think I figured out some of the reasons Grisham may have written the book and it led me to a greater appreciation of the book.

MY GOODREADS REVIEW OF THE ROOSTER BAR BY JOHN GRISHAM.

Soooo...what if three law school students, two guys and a girl, dropped out of their less than prestigious school in their final semester, change their identities and set up to practice law without benefit of license? it is not like they would be able to pass the bar anyway, so why not get some $$$ and avoid paying off their tremendous student loan debt at the same time? Sounds reasonable right? What could possibly go wrong? Their friend Gordy already had Foggy Bottom pegged in a huge conspiracy anyway so their actions were justified.

This is the premise of John Grisham's book THE ROOSTER BAR and I found it was a fascinating idea. I like Grisham's books because he comes up with these quirky, wild ideas for his novels and I find them entertaining and it makes me think. For instance, it makes me wonder how many lawyers out there come from the diploma mills such as Foggy Bottom? Are the street lawyers legit or are some of them not licensed to practice? I gotta wonder if the TV ads fro people like "The Hammer", "The Crusher" or "The Slasher" are from such law schools!

I don't condone what Mark, Todd and Zola did but I found the story interesting, knowing that there was no way they could get away with it as the law profession is a community where records are kept and people more than likely know you and your practice as you are visible in court. These guys made so many mistakes and errors in judgement, it was laughable and I think that was Grisham's intent. Not every lawyer is great even if they are legit but these people were inept to the extreme and even if they had graduated and passed the bar, I doubt they would have been good lawyers anyway and you would see their ads on TV. I think Todd or Mark even mentioned that at one point in the story. Or they would sloe interest and/or become something else entirely. I didn't really identify with them but i liked Zola the best and I think the reason she went in with them is because she was so emotionally out of whack over Gordy and her family's deportation that she wasn't thinking rationally. She never liked her role in the scheme and felt guilty about scamming people from the beginning which neither Mark or Todd did until things started to crumble around them. The section in Senegal seemed out of place in this dark comedy and I think Grisham should have made that issue the subject of a separate novel. As far as the ending goes, while it is disappointing to know they "got away with it" it brings out a truth: The idea that "Crime doesn't pay" is not a true statement, because more likely than not, Crime DOES pay. If you believe in karma you know they will get theirs at some point,but it doesn't always happen swiftly. For some reason, I felt the ending of the book was left open and maybe we will see them again. Maybe THE ROOSTER BAR: KARMA IS A BITCH?

Ceelee
Interesting thoughts on Grisham's motivations for writing the book. The last two of his books, i have just settled down and gone along for the ride after either recognizing the situation he has set-up or suspending belief (or both)
He does like to expose the inner workings of the law or processes or just human nature (good or bad, with flaws and failures)