“Michael Brock is a big-deal lawyer in a big-deal firm when he ends up on the business-side of a gun as one of many hostages. Surviving the ordeal for everyone else means going back to work.. For Michael, it means asking the questions about why the person did it. As he starts to unearth the reasons, he begins to discover that his heart is no longer in the big bucks world of the major law firm. Instead, he becomes an advocate for the street people, and starts finding ways to bridge the gap between the classes.
While it contains some elements of the intrigue and thriller-moments that some of his other books do, this is very much a social commentary about poverty and the ways and means of the homeless. I was in the mood for something thrilling and fast-paced when I started this, and though there are sections of such, this isn't that type of book. Still, I was drawn into the compeling stories of some of the specific people Michael tried to help, wondering all the while if the big firm was going to get away with "it" (can't explain the "it"--might be a spoiler, so you'll have to read it yourself).
As the gap between the rich and everyone else grows wider, and as the line between everyone else and homelessness becomes ever-thinner, this felt like a very era-appropriate novel. In some ways, it was a bit of a warning about the direction things are going if we choose to avoid looking at those that are experiencing the worst of things. It made me feel very grateful that I did know where my next meal was coming from, and that I had the ability to shower or turn on the heat when I wanted to. It made me firm up my resolution made last fall that each time I return a book or books to the library, I will also bring in a canned food or jar of peanut butter for the food donation barrel in the lobby. It's something very small in a very big ocean, but at least it's something. I'm not sure what goal Grisham had in mind when penning this novel, but if awareness is at least part of it, it definitely worked for me.”
Jen M wrote this review Monday, February 6, 2012.
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