Review of The Rainmaker by John Grisham

He is the most famous and brightest novelist in the world. He wrote over 25 books (29 is the right number). He is John Grisham, an American novelist who got an international career in creative writing. Among the bestsellers by John Grisham, Advicesbooks has chosen

to review

The Rainmaker

a book written by Grisham in 1995 and we read last year. We also read “The Appeal”, bestseller written by Mr. Grisham in 2008, but during the readings, we liked The Rainmaker much more.   This book follows the usual style of Grisham’s writing and the same topic, namely a legal story. But The Rainmaker does still more: it tells us a moving story, like the ones everyone could live in his own life. The book, about 500 pages, speaks about a young lawyer Rudy Baylor, who, while is about to get a law degree, manages to find a job in the most influent legal office in Memphis. Unfortunately, Rudy loses this job because the law firm is sold to another owner and thus the young lawyer is forced to do another part- time job at a bar of the country. During this experience, Rudy is introduced to an ambulance chaser. To get his first clients, in fact, Rudy has to chase the injured persons who are transported at the hospital. It just through this activity Rudy meets a couple, Dot and Buddy Black. They have a son, Donny Ray, suffering from leukemia. To support the costs of the therapy, Mrs and Mrs. Black have signed an agreement with a big insurance company, “Great Benefit”, that, later, denied them all the fund requests. This refuse caused the death of Donny Ray. With no funds, in fact, the family of the boy couldn’t pay the bone marrow transplantation, the only one surgery capable to save the life of Donny. The mother of Donny decides, thus, to undertake a hard and complicated lawsuit against the insurance company and to entrust the trial to Rudy. This is the first trial for Rudy, that, during the hearings, is supported by his colleague Deck Shifflet. The trial turns out with no exclusion of strokes, because “Great Benefit” is defended by smart and skilled lawyers headed by Leo F. Drummond. Rudy faces the trial as a real professional lawyer, by managing to find serious evidences against the insurance company. During the story of The Raimaker, the main character, Rudy, also meets a young woman, Kelly, beaten by an alcoholic and violent husband. Rudy helps her to sign the documents to divorce, but one night, Kelly risks to be killed by her husband. Rudy, who is along with the woman, wrestles with the man, by hitting his skull with a baseball stick. Kelly decides to send Rudy away from the home, by taking in her hands the blood spotted stick. Fortunately, Kelly, after an only one night at the prison, is declared to have killed her husband in self - defence. Meanwhile, the trial against the insurance company continues and at last, also thanks to incontestable evidences, that prove bad faith of the firm, Rudy gets that “Great Benefit” is condemned to refund $ 50 millions to the family of the boy died from leukemia. However, because of another series of lawsuits against it, the firm of insurance goes bankrupt and doesn’t refund anything. All this represents a great disillusion for Rudy, who decides to leave the country with Kelly and begins a new like as a teacher. This novel is, according to us, one of the best written by John Grisham. The novelist is the clearest example of a writer capable to turn his legal experience into creative writing. Grisham, in fact, has worked as a lawyer. Thanks to depth acquaintance of the matter, Grisham showed us the hardness of law and justice, where, sometimes, there is no space not even to terminal cancer people. The Rainmaker, behind its ostensible cruelty, hides a big truth: the need to fight always and at any costs to get justice. Doesn’t matter how many tears you will pour into your life, justice always wins. And we have poured many tears by reading The Rainmaker, especially during the final chapter about Rudy’s harangue. Indeed, in order to persuade the jury to condemn the insurance firm, Rudy shows a video of the dead boy who, before to die, blames the Company to have denied the funds which could save him. The book is written in present tense, a style which gives a still more moving tone to this masterpiece. The story is so touching that Francis Ford Coppola made a successful movie in 1997. The cover of The Rainmaker relates to last edition of the book published by Random House in 2011.