Grisham takes his fans back to Ford County

Editor’s note:  Anita Paddock’s review of books we should read are scheduled to appear on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Enjoy.

review by Anita Paddock

Sit down for this one.

John Grisham has a new book out (Ford County), and it’s not a legal thriller. And John Grisham is one hell of a funny guy!

In this collection of short stories (seven in all), Grisham takes us back to small town Mississippi, with its country roads, the court house on the square, the barber shop that dispenses haircuts and advice, and the café with its chrome dinette table and chairs. And small town lawyers trying to make a living with divorces, wills, and real estate transactions.

The stories will make you laugh, and maybe make you cry. You will recognize yourself in lots of them, particularly if you grew up in a small Southern town. Most of the characters are rednecks, and you just gotta love ‘em.

The first story, “Blood Drive,” was hilariously funny. I found myself having to lay the book down in order to belt out a really good laugh. I did that a lot, and I promise you will, too.

Three rednecks from Box Hill, Miss., travel to Memphis to donate blood to a home town boy who’s been injured at his job at a construction site in Memphis. On the way, they stop for a six-pack, and then another, and then another. They outrun and hide from a local highway patrol officer and get shot at by a farmer on whose land they hide out on.

Then, when the coast is clear, they head on down to Memphis, and  think they might just check out the “Desperado, Gentlemen’s Club,” with the hottest strippers in the South.

After they’ve ogled the girls and bought watered down beer, they finally arrive in Memphis, and it suddenly occurs to them that they don’t know which hospital their friend is in. Memphis at 2 a.m. is a scary place, especially for white country boys from Mississippi, and they find themselves in a big mess and unable to fulfill their mission for going to Memphis in the first place. They console themselves on the trip home with another stop at the Desperado, where they hope to see the beautiful Amber dance again. Instead, the joint is raided and they are taken to jail.

John Grisham says in an interview that he loves humor. It would be a part of all his books if his editors would allow it. The first story developed over a period of 20 years he says, and yet the last story, one that will make you cry, was invented and completed in a matter of weeks. He especially likes the short story because it allows him time to tweak the story over and over again until he’s satisfied with it.

And satisfied you’ll be when you read these stories from Ford County, Miss.

•••

I called upon Charlie Smith, a lawyer and retired U.S. Prosecuting Attorney, to give me his take on lawyers from the South and what they like to read.

Charlie grew up in Panama City, Fla.

As a child he loved reading these little blue books that were full of historical biographies on presidents, inventors and lawmen. He enjoyed these little books so much, he says, that they inspired a life-long interest in history.

He also loved “Last of the Mohicans” and to this day he hates the Hurons. Charlie’s long time favorite author is Wilbur Smith.

“I just devour his books.  I can’t get enough of them.”

He’s currently reading “The Charlemagne Pursuit” by Steve Berry.

Another favored author is Conn Iggulden and his books about Genghis Khan. Beware of lawyers who read about Genghis Khan, especially if they’re not on your side.

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