Sycamore Row: Jake Brigance, hero of A TIME TO KILL, is back

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I did not like it as much as A time to kill. I didn't like it as much as The Firm, The street lawyer, The Associate, etc etc. It moves at a much more leisurely pace. Slow burn kind of book. Initially I wasn't going to write a review for this forgettable novel but surprisingly I couldn't forget it. No, Sycamore Row is not a great followup to A Time to KIll. It doesn't even compare to Grisham's The Chamber. Neither does it compare to the one that Tom Cruise starred in. I can't remember the name at this time... but we all know which one I'm talking about. I'm pretty much a die-hard Grisham fan so I will not filter this review. He can afford to get one semi-rant-hateful-disjointed review. So... here we go!

I really seem to love almost all of Grisham's books. I keep waiting for one I will not like at all but it has not happened yet and somehow I think this is one author where that is not going to happen. The themes of “A Time to Kill” include southern culture, racism in the 1980s, deception, and forgiveness. It is written from a third-person point of view. The book begins with Seth Hubbard choosing to end his life by hanging himself on a sycamore tree in Clanton, Mississippi. First on the scene was Calvin Boggs, a handyman and farm laborer Seth had employed for several years. Early Sunday morning, Calvin had received a call from his boss. “Meet me at the bridge at 2:00 p.m.,” Seth said. He didn’t explain anything and Calvin was not one to ask questions. If Mr. Hubbard said to meet him somewhere at a certain time, then he would be there. At the last minute, Calvin’s ten-year-old boy begged to tag along, and, against his instincts, Calvin said yes. They followed a gravel road that zigzagged for miles through the Hubbard property. As Calvin drove, he was certainly curious about the meeting. He could not remember another occasion when he met his boss anywhere on a Sunday afternoon. He knew his boss was ill and there were rumors he was dying, but, like everything else, Mr. Hubbard kept it quiet. This was a great read written with a focused projection that kept the plot steaming toward a very grand finalé. The characters were colorful without being Southern stereo types; even without knowledge of the prior book, I was able to fill in their personalities and get that familiarization that makes you feel comfy with a book and its inhabitants. After graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981, Grisham spent a decade practicing law as a criminal defense attorney. Throughout his career, he dealt with many criminal cases and participated in numerous trials that would later serve as an inspiration for his famous legal thrillers.Seth Hubbard was a wealthy white man. He was also dying of lung cancer. After months of suffering, he decided he’d had enough, so he planned his own suicide and one of his workers finds Seth hanging from a Sycamore tree, on his own property, in Clanton, Mississippi. Before his death, Seth Hubbard leaves a suicide note, with burial instructions. He also re-did his will, the day before, having researched the laws in the State of Mississippi. Seth Hubbard knew that the hand written will, drafted by his own hand, without the presence of a witness was legal and it revoked all others. Sycamore trees have been revered by many cultures throughout history for their beauty, strength, and longevity. In ancient Greece, the sycamore was associated with the goddess Hera, queen of the gods and goddess of marriage and childbirth. The tree was also seen as a symbol of fertility and abundance. In Celtic mythology, the sycamore was associated with the world tree, a sacred tree that connects heaven, earth, and the underworld. The Celts believed that the sycamore was a home to fairies and other spirits, and they often planted sycamore trees near their homes for protection.

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( September 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Even accepting those choices Grisham made, I had serious issues with the story. It was too much like A Time To Kill. I enjoy the characters of Lucien and Harry Rex, but they felt a bit stale because there was no change in their relationships. Race was again the driving force of the narrative, but somehow in a scant three years, the n-bomb count in Ford County dropped from about 1,000 in A Time To Kill to 2 in this book. Either Mr. Grisham decided he was no longer comfortable casually mixing in that word, or he’s decided his original depiction was historically inaccurate (I’m guessing it’s the former). Most of all, I thought the answer to the question of why Seth Hubbard left his estate to Lettie Lamg was telegraphed from very early in the story, so there was less mystery than there should have been.Additionally, Camino Winds can entertain you as a standalone novel in case you did not have the chance to peek inside the world of the first book.