Book Review – The Rooster Bar – John Grisham
Table of Contents
My Rating : 3.5 out of 5
Plot Summary – The Rooster Bar
Growing up as angsty teenagers, facing an uncertain future out of the parental umbrella, it is easy to be fooled by the lure of professional courses – what with the glitzy ads, smiling mug shots of historical successes. Standing at the threshold, many a young adult – burdened by societal and familial expectations and the lure of success, fame and money – go to colleges and do courses they have no knack for.
Couple that with the easy availability of funds, through educational loans, showpiece scholarships and what not – you have people flocking these diploma mills, passing out and then facing the grim reality of joblessness.
They are now part of the great ‘rat race’, only these rats have immobile elephants of loans on their backs. Those that manage to find jobs go from one loan to another – home loan, car loan, personal loan etc. etc. Their middle class families look up at them to take out of the rut, only to realize that the rut’s getting deeper and deeper….
That, my friends, is the premise of The Rooster Bar, John Grisham‘s new gritty novel. Make no mistake, this is no Pelican Brief, for the writing is ordinary. The story is not.
Mark, Todd and Zola are three kids going to the Foggy Bottom Law School, aspiring for a bright future that eventually eludes them. They leave behind ordinary families with extraordinary situations, to find a life that is ethereal at best. The story paints them as flawed individuals, unethical perhaps, villains never. They stumble upon the scam of education, loans and business sharks all combined. And struggling against the unfair system, they try to extract revenge for their shattered dreams, mutilated lives and the unjustness of it all.
When their classmate, Gordy Tanner, points out to them, in well researched detail, the scale of the insurmountable Loan scam, all three are initially skeptical though stunned. After a tragedy they had no idea was coming, all three decide to put their heads together to break out of this vicious cycle. Though Zola is a reluctant participant at first, her family’s unclear immigration status helps make up her mind. The trio, set up their own Law Firm, acquire false documents and start getting clients and cases, in the hope of that elusive multi million dollar payday, which will take care of their financial woes.
Do they succeed ? Read to find out…
Conclusion – Book Review of The Rooster Bar
By the end of the novel, you’ll surely be rooting for them, doffing your hat at their audacity and daring… and then you look at the mirror and see a wry smile breaking through your lips, hands silently clapping at their achievement…. This is far from Grisham’s best, as he takes quite a few liberties along the way and this is not as taut as his best has been, but this is definitely worth a read.
Read it over a weekend, particularly if you’re feeling low. This book will remind you that however dark the night maybe, the sun will rise tomorrow.
* I hope you have liked reading this book review, as much as I have enjoyed writing this! Do watch this space for more such reviews and navigate through the links below for more reviews… Thank you!! *
