The Associate - John Grisham

Released February 2009. 384 pages.

The knock on author John Grisham is that he is a pop writer whose stories are simple stories about lawyers without a hint of artistic value. I don't disagree, but I do read most of them when they come out to give me a small dose of fiction from time to time. The Associate is the latest in his extensive body of work, and it fails to deliver the goods. As an associate at a semi-large firm myself, this book appealed to me because it charts the final year of law school and the first year of practice for a top student at a top law school headed to a huge firm. The tales of woe from these guys that start out at $180,000 in New York are fascinating, and in that regard the book is riveting, if only to other lawyers. Click below for more on The Associate:

The main character, Kyle McAvoy, is readying for a promising career when he is blackmailed by an unknown group in order to gain access to secret files located in his future firm. The group uses his proximity to a potentially explosive crime and the consequences of its publicization to subjugate him to their needs. He agrees to go along with it and works to unravel their identities throughout the book.

Along the way, he experiences the hellish nature of a big law firm practice (100 hr weeks, etc) and the sad existence its law partners live (100 hr weeks, dead in their 50's, barely know their kids). The details and situations the associates find themselves in are all very interesting, but the intrigue and blackmail piece is too unbelievable to work. I found the book to be tedious at times and just plain boring other times.

Kyle is a 2 dimensional character without much introspection or interesting features to liven up the action or at least pique the curiosity of the reader. Not recommended for non-lawyers, and only a decent read for the esquires. Read the first chapter for free here.