nan | 楠木

The Street Lawyer is a novel written by John Grisham in the 1990s. This is not the usual legal thriller that he writes; instead it’s quite clear he is more motivated in sending out a message.
I felt the story itself didn’t have enough suspenses and thrills to be called a thriller: the story centers around a lawyer who used to work for a top notch law firm, who after a near-death experience is transformed into a poverty lawyer fighting for the rights of the homeless. He finds his former employers have committed a crime, and he is motivated to expose it and fight for the victims.
The elements of the story contained some factors which could be used to build suspense, but the author has intentionally opted not to. The narrative is often calm and restrained, sometimes with a sense of detachment (though it is written in the first person).
As usual, the author shows a bit of contempt to the lawyers who had high goals in law school but ended up just pursuing wealth, and also praise for the lawyers who are true to their faith. Only in this book it is exceptionally obvious, with some near-perfect characters on the good side. This made me feel that it was a bit naive. Or its because the author really felt that the real-life inspirations of his characters deserved such praise.
Anyways, the book has enough content to be interesting and educating to me. Not a bad read.