“Sycamore Row” by John Grisham – The Power of Will

Sycamore Row is yet another legal thriller from John Grisham, and for this one we return to the courthouse in Clanton, previously seen in A Time to Kill. This time around, Jack Brigance finds himself in the middle of a rather peculiar case, certainly no less strange than the last one.

Everything began when Seth Hubbard, a wealthy man dying from lung cancer, decided to hang himself on a sycamore tree. It wouldn’t all be so bad if it wasn’t for the new will he hastily left behind in his departure.

Needless to say, that little piece of paper with words on it turns everything upside down, as he suddenly decided to leave virtually all of his fortune to his maid (who is black, which is important in this book’s context) rather than his own family.

This rash act raises many questions and pulls Hubbard’s family, his maid and Jake Brigance himself into a very convoluted web of events where every answer gives birth to two new mysteries.

To begin, I’d like to address the John Grisham fans out there who are wondering whether or not this is really a sequel to A Time to Kill. To be frank, this depends on how you define what a sequel is. In my opinion, it is more of a spiritual sequel than anything, using some of the same characters and geographic location. However, the two stories are not related to each other and each one stands on its own as a separate case.

Now that we have that out of the way, the story itself is rather intriguing and also serves a study of race relations between white and black people in the South (though I’m sure it can be applied to many other situations).

Plot-wise, the intrigue rests in knowing why a very rich white man left all he had to a black man (not the best way to go in the South), and whether or not the will, though clear for all intents and purposes, was written by a man who was losing his head to chemotherapy and painkillers.

No matter what opinion you may have of Grisham’s writing style, if there is one thing he excels at, it’s making you feel something for the characters, regardless of whether it is love or hate.

The way in which his characters are described and interact with each other really helps to bring them to life and getting the reader emotionally-invested into the events surrounding them. In other words, while reading this novel you are not going to experience the absolute worst relation towards a character: indifference.

Going beyond the story, the whole plot with the rich white man and the poor black lady serves as an examination of racial relations, and how even in these modern days there are still countless tensions and prejudices between white and black people.

Unlike most books, this one actually sticks to theme it explores rather than going all over the place, and what we get at the end is a rather interesting, if not accurate picture of how easily hatred can grow, especially when the reason for it isn’t logical.

All in all, Sycamore Row is one of Grisham’s finer works, especially when taking into account the rather impactful and surprising ending that won’t fail to leave an impression on you.

I definitely recommend it to Grisham fans or anyone looking for a solid legal thriller.

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John Grisham Personal site John Grisham is an American lawyer, politician and author whose works have always been largely centered around the legal world. Many of his novels have been adapted into films, including The Firm, The Rainmaker and A Time to Kill. In 2005, he was the recipient of the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award.