THE LAST JUROR , by John Grisham gives
you an author''s view of a smalltown Clanton, Mississippi and at the
same time details out the favourable changes a young mind''s zeal can
bring about to a system . The author has sarcastically highlighted the
blunders that lawmakers sometimes unknowingly make , while
portraying the racism , corruption , double standards and
religious zealotry prevalent at the time the story is set .
The odd one out in a series of legal thrillers
, this story does hinge upon a pivotal legal case , but doesn''t
primarily focus on it . Through Willie Traynor , the editor of the The Ford County Times , the
author shows his frustration and disgust at the fact that when compared
to the rest of America , change always comes slow in the South .
The story focuses on how Traynor grows from an
ignorant , reckless , college dropout from the North to an enthusiastic
editor and how he fights to make sure that the evils that had crept
into the system do not deprive Clanton of justice . Though driven by
money making dreams , our hero writes a human interest article on a
Black woman and her near perfect family , in his efforts to do away
with racism . Our hero is brave enough to make sure that
the villain in the story , Danny Padgitt , rapist and
murderer , and belonging to a family of big time criminals , is brought
to justice . Traynor rationalizes this bravery by showing that the case
reporting has increased the circulation of his newspaper .
The author has succeeded in exhibiting his
understanding of social and emotional issues . A must for
Readers!!!