THE
CLIENT
Upon seeing the big and conspicuous
‘’John Grisham’’ shinning on the book shelf , I picked the book out immediately
, and convinced myself that I will be having a real reading delight. Why John
Grisham? Actually, it has something to do with my dream .My dream is going into
the legal profession in the future, most of the reason for that is because my
father himself is a probation officer who loves his profession wholeheartedly.
He told me about the true meaning of law and the possibilities that I can help
others by practicing law. Well, John Grisham himself is a trial lawyer who is
also famous for his legal thrillers. By reading his books , I can have the
opportunity to imagine myself being the main character in the book who is
mostly either lawyers or judges and discover the hidden cruelty in the
seemingly glamorous life those lawyers led.
I enjoyed the fast -paced plot as well
as the intense suspense. The story was about a 11-year-old boy, Mark Sway,
who’s in great trouble after he witnessed the suicide of the influential lawyer
Jerome Clifford. Jerome Clifford divulged information on where the body of the
Senator was before he passed, and that caused both the FBI and his client Barry
Muldanno, the vicious Mafia member to go after Mark, forcing him to confide the
truth. Mark had no choice but to hire the lawyer Reggie Love to protect his whole
family.
I’m impressed about how the writer
depicted the characters so well. Mark, who was merely an eleven year old, not
only thought like an adult but also acted like one. Mature and sensitive as he
was, there were some rebellious as well as stubborn parts of him deeply hidden
in his heart. For instance, on page 9,it was the part that Mark and Ricky
discovered the lawyer was going to suicide. Mark insisted on helping the man
,while Ricky, almost frightened to death, rejected the idea only to be scolded
by the obstinate one. However, this act had led to numerous troubles afterwards
and the Post-traumatic stress disorder of the poor Ricky. Living in a low class
family and neighborhood, Mark is very defensive or more specifically,
mistrusting all the people around him except his mother and brother. I feel
real empathy for the character since I had been lived in a same neighborhood
like theirs when I was in childhood. Robbing, stealing and burgling happened
all over the place. People tend to be suspicious of others, besides, I seldom
saw residents with smiles. Sneering was more common there than smiling.
In the story, the Sway family suffered
with harsh conditions. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any reliable relatives
to count on, which made them rather anxious about their future ,with no money
and nobody to support them, they resembled to the homeless, drifting from
places to places without any help. If you read closely to the text, you will
notice the subtle changes about the tone and the wording. After the tragedy
happened , the Sway family talked impatiently or harshly. They acted in a
reckless way , and all they hoped for was escaping from this nightmare as fast
as they could.
In contrast to the filthy Mafias and the
somewhat impertinent FBI members the pure, genuine affection between Mark and
his lawyer, Reggie was rather more appealing to me. Usually, the only
connection between the client and the lawyer is money. In most cases, the
lawyer doesn’t even have sympathy for his or her client. The lawyer only keens
on gaining spotlights ,thus getting more clients. Reggie was a different one.
She cares for the client, and money was not her major concern. In the end,
Reggie won the battle with dignity. I guess it’s what people called’’ Truth
will prevail eventually.’’.