I love John Grisham books. Or, I should say, I loved them. I fell out of love years ago when I decided there was a formula going on. Good young lawyer hooks up with evil law firm; young lawyer is tempted to go bad, but ultimately takes on the system and brings down the house.
There are more than a few Grisham books I think are awesome. The Pelican Brief, The Testament, The Client, The Firm, The Street Lawyer -- and more.
Truth is, it's hard to read two writers who write a LOT of books. Stephen Colbert asked Grisham if the two had a rivalry going to see who could write the most words per day.
All that to say that I started reading a John Grisham book the other day. Back to familiar ground.
King and Grisham have very different writing styles. King is very character driven, while Grisham is all action. "I'm very plot driven," Grisham once said. "I don't waste time with other things." That's the truth! Of course, I'm listening to an abridgment, so that speeds up the plot all the more.
Grisham tends to talk over scenes instead of dropping the reader into them. King likes to build a story like a movie, scene my scene. Grisham narrates over the scenes, sometimes giving big sweeping explanations. King typically dispenses information one bit at a time as through the characters. That means that the reader does not usually know more than the characters themselves. We might pick up new information when King switches characters. Grisham speaks more directly to the reader. He freely gives the reader information that the characters in the novel don't have.
By the way, both ways are totally valid forms of story telling. King at times employs this method. For instance, in Eyes of the Dragon, King spends a lot of time talking right to the reader about the story, giving the reader gobs of information the characters don't have.
Grisham discussed his writing style, noting that he does a lot of outlining and planning. That's something King says he doesn't do -- outline. Grisham also said he writes every day, about six pages a day. Actually, that's the same pace King once said he keeps. Explains why they are both so productive.
In the book I'm reading, Grisham absolutely stunned me. It's called, The Confession, about a pastor who gets a visit from a criminal. The criminal confesses he murdered a woman; a crime a young black man is about to be executed for. "I know where this is going," I thought. I won't ruin the novel for you, but I was blown away. There were twists and turns I sure didn't see coming.
So tell me what your favorite Grisham books are. As for me, I'd choose: The Pelican Brief, The Testament and The Confession.
I'll admit, I've never read Grisham, however what you say about the way he tells his stories ("Grisham tends to talk over scenes instead of dropping the reader into them") puts me in mind of King and Straub's Blackhouse, where the author's quite literally talk over the events of the book.
ReplyDeleteI'm still in the process of reading it, yet I'd say this technique works, at least I wasn't bothered with it.
If you've read Blackhouse yet, I'd like to know how you think it compares with Grisham's style.
ChrisC
It is actually a good writing style. It moves events quickly. Writers say, "Show, don't tell." However, tell works! What is lost is a deep sense of connection with the characters.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read much Grisham but The Street Lawyer, The Testament and The Brethren were pretty good. I kinda liked The Runaway Jury.
ReplyDeleteBut boy are you ever right that he talks over the plot rather than dropping you into it. He tells you "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" while King makes you feel like you're there.