The Rainmaker - John Grisham
This book surprised me. Usually when I read a John Grisham book I have some idea what to expect, particularly with the more 'famous' of his books, which include a number that have been made into movies. I knew that this was one of those 'famous movie' books, and assumed as a result that it would be a fairly straightforward Grisham novel.
Well, in some ways, yes... but it also had a number of features that were a bit out of the norm.
In general, Grisham's lawyer novels follow a case from near the beginning of the novel all the way through to the end, with the final verdict providing the climatic moment of the film. The Rainmaker starts off with its protagonist, Rudy Baylor, still finishing law school, and doesn't even focus in on one specific case until quite a long way through the book. Before we get there, we have Rudy working on passing the bar, being fired from an upcoming job before he even gets it, befriending an elderly woman who may be rich (and possibly hoping she will give him some of her money), getting employed by a crooked lawyer who then is investigated for corruption, and meeting a young woman - Kelly Riker - who is being physically abused by her husband.
This is a lot of plot, and in general the first half of the book can be summed up as: "Things keep getting worse for Rudy." Even when Rudy gets a promising case, things look bad when the case is assigned to a judge which favours the defense and is unlikely to rule in his favour.
Then, things change. As the case finally begins, most other plotlines fade into the background. At the same time, a number of elements change that make the case more likely to succeed, particularly after a new judge is assigned the case, one who is very supportive of Rudy and his cause. Usually, Grisham will make his trials full of uncertainty - how will his lawyer win the day? - but everything is suddenly so falling into place for Rudy that the tension is drained from the trial. It is no longer a matter of asking "Will Rudy win?" as much as asking "How much will the payout be?"
And yet, Grisham still manages to throw in some curve-balls that I didn't see coming. Not so much in terms of the trial itself, but in terms of the other aspects of Rudy's life, as well as the aftermath of the case.
Reflecting on The Rainmaker as a whole, it feels a little like Grisham had a bunch of plotlines that wouldn't really make a whole novel, and shoved them together. This could easily be negative, but Grisham is a good writer, and manages to pull it off.
Curious about how much the movie would change things to work cinematically, though.
Completed 17 May 2024.
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