The Last Juror
by John Grisham
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Book Summary Information
Author: John GrishamEdition: Paperback
Published: 2006-04-25
ISBN: 0385339682
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Delta
Book Reviews of The Last Juror
Book Review: Warm novel of the changing times
Summary: 4 Stars
The title may suggest a legal thriller but The Last Juror ,while it does revolve around a murder-rape trial and its aftermath is not a bbok that fits snugly into this category.The trial is that of Danny Padgett,a member of a notorious criminal family in Ford County ,Mississipi who kills a young mother while here two young children watch .The case is pretty cut and dried but the family is not above witness intimidation and bribery .Padgett is convicted however but escapes the death penalty ,vowing that if released he will exact revenge on the jury.Nine years later he is free and jury members begin to die .
The tale is narrated by the local newspaper owner ,a callow young northener named Willie Traynor who grows to love the community and to observe how it changes over the years -the book opening in the 1970's .The special focus is on his friendshsip with the remarkable black woman ,Callie Ruffin all of whose sons are PHD's and who becomes a surrogate mother to Willie ,sharing insights and philosophies over gargantuan home cooked meals at her home .
We trace the evolution of the community through changes both national and local -the integration of the school system and jury system (Callie is a juror at the trial),Vietnam and its impact locally ,the growth of corporate strip mall America and the demise of local ,family owned businessses.It is a warm but not sentimental book and while the court room scenes are handled with genuine drama and insight it is in the picture of a changing ,conservative rural community that the book has its greatest interest
It may not appeal to those who like the legal thriller side of Grisham but it is a compelling rural odyssey that manages to be warm ,nostalgic and curiously tough minded all at the same time
A slice of Americana that Garrison Keiller fans should like too
Summary of The Last Juror
In 1970, small town newspaper The Clanton Times went belly up. With financial assistance from a rich relative, it's purchased by 23-year-old Willie Traynor, formerly the paper's cub reporter. Soon afterward, his new business receives the readership boost it needs thanks to his editorial efforts and coverage of a particularly brutal rape and murder committed by the scion of the town's reclusive bootlegger family. Rather than shy from reporting on the subsequent open-and-shut trial (those who oppose the Padgitt family tend to turn up dead in the area's swampland), Traynor launches a crusade to ensure the unrepentant murderer is brought to justice. When a guilty verdict is returned, the town is relieved to find the Padgitt family's grip on the town did not sway the jury, though Danny Padgitt is sentenced to life in prison rather than death. But, when Padgitt is released after serving less than a decade in jail and members of the jury are murdered, Clanton once again finds itself at the mercy of its renegade family.When it comes, the d?nouement is no surprise; The Last Juror is less a story of suspense than a study of the often idyllic southern town of Clanton, Mississippi (the setting for Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill). Throughout the nine years between Padgitt's trial and release, Traynor finds acceptance in Clanton, where the people "don't really trust you unless they trusted your grandfather." He grows from a long-haired idealist into another of the town's colorful characters--renovating an old house, sporting a bowtie, beloved on both sides of the color line, and the only person to have attended each of the town's 88 churches at least once. The Last Juror returns Grisham to the courtroom where he made his name, but those who enjoyed the warm sentiment of his recent novels (Bleachers, A Painted House) will still find much to love here. --Benjamin Reese
In 1970, one of Mississippi’s more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23-year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper began to prosper.
The murderer, Danny Padgitt, was tried before a packed courthouse in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a startling and dramatic end when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they convicted him. Nevertheless, they found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
But in Mississippi in 1970, “life” didn’t necessarily mean “life,” and nine years later Danny Padgitt managed to get himself paroled. He returned to Ford County, and the retribution began.
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