• Home

Teen as a legal Eagle

In John Grisham’s Theodore Boone, a small-town kid takes on a big-time case

He’s well below the legal age limit, but he knows the law and how it works. Everyone courts young Theodore Boone for advice when dealing with the intricacies of the judicial system in a small town named Strattenberg.

Theo is John Grisham’s surprise hero, a teenager in charge of proceedings, the author’s alter ego to connect with readers under 20.

You turn the first five pages of the book to confirm you’re dealing with a youngster and realise this kid talks sense. The free-flowing prose is a quick read and kicks in early into the novel. No quibbling over facts, no legal jargons, no long courtroom antics, everything is nice and clear... reminiscent of the Enid Blyton series, but with a legal twist.

The characters are down to earth and the average reader can easily relate to their hopes and fears, their desires and dreams for a better life in the land of the free and the brave. It’s a simple tale told with a touch of innocence by an author better known for his ability to churn out potboilers every year. Grisham’s previous novel, The Associate, was a disappointment, to say the least, as it took on Wall Street excesses and lost its way in the process.

Theodore Boone wafts through like a breath of fresh air sans the needless legal skulduggery with Grisham taking you by the hand and leading you into the courts and its many chambers to meet the judge, jury, lawyers, suspects, witnesses and others.

Family is important in Teddy’s tale, because he gets his legal brains from lawyer parents Woods and Marcella, partners in the Boone firm. It’s a daily dose of the law, for breakfast lunch and dinner. He’s a better lawyer than some career lawyers, says the proud author, of his young protagonist. At 13, Theo can quote from the legal books with élan, knows details of cases being heard in the different courts across town and is happier walking the corridors of justice than attending classes at school.

The plot picks up steam when a businessman is suspected of killing his wife to garner the spoils from insurance in a bid to shore up his finances and failing ventures. The case goes to trial and Pete Duffy looks good to walk away scot free, his defence has ensured that... well, almost. Only Teddy stands in his way to ensure 
justice prevails. Our hero knows someone, who knows someone else — a witness to the murder — who doesn’t want to be known, because he fears he will be picked up by the cops for being an illegal immigrant.

How the teen wonder resolves the situation to everyone’s satisfaction forms the rest of the story. He does some neat networking and ropes in good friend, the Honourable Judge Gantry, Uncle Ike and his parents. Moral of the story: no one messes with a happy family like the Boones, who have law coursing throughing their veins. They espouse the cause of the righteous, serve the needy and get into the swing of things playing a heady game of golf.

The writer has taken every effort to keep his book simple and focuses on smalltown America. It’s an honest portrayal of life away from the big city, lazy and laid-back, as the recession takes hold. You can read the novel in three hours flat, or in spurts without breaking into a sweat connecting people, places and events. The only plaint is about the denouement, or the lack of it; blame it on the Boones’ apparent closeness to the higher echelons of the law. The ending lacks spunk and the adrenalin drains out after the boisterous build-up. Makes you wonder if there is a sequel in the works from Grisham.

allan@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE