So Disappointing

Remember John Grisham? Remember the books that shot him to #1 over and over again? The Client, The Firm, etc? Gray Mountain is a pathetic shadow of one of his good earlier stories.
I kept waiting for the action to start. The beginning was great, loved meeting her parents and having her get fired, and getting the internship--all the parts that were written in the publishers description of the book. But after that, nothing happened. I was patient for hours as the story developed, but there was no climax. There was no one and nothing to cheer for, there was no John Grisham moment! The story is set in Appalachia, filled with colorful characters, but none of them really did anything. The stage was set, and then nothing happened.
The main character, Samantha, wasn't developed to the level you would expect in a 12 hour story. What she eats or doesn't eat is not enough for me to care about her as a character. What details were developed left her simpering and weak and a victim, when she was supposed to be the "heroine" of the story. Everything happened TO her, she didn't actually do anything. In the end, I just didn't care.
I know John Grisham isn't high literature, but I think it is fair to expect a level of entertainment from him and to hold him to the standards of his past books. I was very disappointed.
As for the narrator, yeah, she was terrible. She spoke way too slowly, which didn't help the fact that there was no action. She made me feel like she was reading to a group of 1st graders at a library. She also didn't change her voice for men vs. women so I sometimes couldn't tell who was saying what.
It's a John Grisham, so lots of people will still read/listen to it. But at least go in with much lowered expectations.
I do not recommend this book.

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161 people found this helpful

Painful to listen to

Would you try another book from John Grisham and/or Catherine Taber?

John Grisham - of course. Catherine Taber - heck no.

Has Gray Mountain turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

DISAPPOINTMENT

Any additional comments?

I have spent MANY credits on John Grisham books, and this is the only time I have regretted it. First of all, the narrator's voice is so SLOW and BORING I listened to the first 2 hours at a higher speed on my Kindle. I THOUGHT that once the story got going I could slow it back down to normal speed and just enjoy the listen. I was so wrong. I am not sure if it's the narrator or the story, but this book sounds like half of those stupid half-hearted romance/drama novels. Her voice is just horrible...point blank. But the story seems like a drag too. I just don't get the same feeling as I do with every other Grisham novel I have in my library. I am trying to get through it because I am a loyal Grisham fan, but I am at the 5th hour and I think I am just going to quit before I throw my Kindle against the wall for some excitement..

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117 people found this helpful

Sorry John... wanted to like it... love you anyway

Bought this as a pre-order, excited to read something similar to John's early books... I even like his later books and would have settle for one of those. I downloaded it the first day... took me three days of literally forcing myself to listen in order to reach the end. I hated the narrator, disliked the main character and found the plot insipid. Found some action about 10 hours in... a bit.
This book would not of made print had an unknown author written it. "Big coal" is the villain, and yes some of the victims cases handled by Samantha were interesting... but gracious to Pete, what happened here John? Pleased don't write the sequel which is obviously hanging there at the end. It is not a chick lit book... this chick didn't want to finish it.

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111 people found this helpful

What's Up with Early Reviewers?

I was prompted to write this review to counter the first couple of inexplicable one- and two-star denouncements of this book as uninteresting "chick lit." It is, quite simply, a well-told and well-written story about believable people and actual legal and social issues. Yeah, it's not the verbal equivalent of Terminator, and spends more time talking about thoughts and emotions than guns and ammo. But chick lit it isn't, nor is it anything like a one-star book. If you like Grisham, legal thrillers, well-developed characters and a story that deepens understanding of legal issues most of us our fortunate enough to never see, invest a credit!

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111 people found this helpful

A Waste of a Good Credit

So sorry to have to write a negative review for a John Grisham book but this one is really a dud. Had this been written in the early 80's when we were just finding out the evils of the coal industry it may have been more interesting. As it goes, this book has been told many times by many writers. The coal companies are scum bags who have and continue to ruin the mountains of VA, WV and KY along with other states. So what's new about that?? And the narrator doesn't do a very effective job. Just a bad read/listen.

And BTW, to the reviewer William Crovatt of Tokyo Japan......a 'chick book'.....one the 'ladies would like'.....Hey dude it's 2014. You need to find a real woman!!!!!

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74 people found this helpful

No ending

I prefer books with heroes and endings, this one had neither. Waste of money.

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44 people found this helpful

Chick Book

Would you try another book from John Grisham and/or Catherine Taber?

Yes if Grisham goes back to his usual good stories and if it is not another chick book.

What could John Grisham have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not write it.

Would you be willing to try another one of Catherine Taber’s performances?

No way.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None for me but I am sure ladies will love it.

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39 people found this helpful

Did Grisham really write this?

I'm thinking he had someone ghost write this for him. Weak plot, weak characters - they didn't act in an intelligent manner. I kept wondering "why did he/she do that?" There didn't seem to proper motivation for a lot of the actions. There was a lot of background filler that made me think I was a lecture. Really bad narrator - weak and whispery. More suited to a romance novel.

This is absolutely my least favorite of all of Grisham's novels . . . so disappointing.

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34 people found this helpful

Thought-provoking

This is an “issue” novel. It is not the first one Grisham has written. The 2013 book “Sycamore Row” looked at racism in his native Mississippi, and his 1994 book “Pelican Brief” attack the environmental problems of the Gulf. I think that some issues are better attacked/told in novel form and his true story “The Innocent Man” might have worked better in a novel format.

Our protagonist Samantha Kofer, daughter of two high powered attorneys graduated from Georgetown University and Columbia law. She was a third year associate at a huge New York law firm when the recession began. When Lehman Brothers failed she is laid off. The firm stated they will continue her benefits and seniority if she would work for free in a not for profit organization for a year. She got an intern job at Mountain Legal Aid in tiny Brady, Va. in the heart of Appalachia.

The author does justice to the physical beauty of Appalachia and to the decency of most of its people. Grisham’s portrait of the poverty and injustice is abrupt as compared to Samantha’s privileged upbringing. The real subject of the book is the suffering inflicted on the people by coal mining companies and politicians who pander to the mining companies. Of course, none of this is new Eleanor Roosevelt attempted to help the people of Appalachia back in the 1930s. She even took on the coal mining companies and got some mining safety laws passed.

Grisham covers the problems of black lung disease, domestic violence, meth production and addiction, illegal collection companies, as well as the death of children from falling boulders dislodged by mining companies. The first thing Samantha is told was do not drink the water. The rape of the land by strip mining as well as toxic waste that has poisoned the water makes the story appear to jump right out of the newspapers headlines.

Grisham makes his characters very real and the plight of the miners and the realities of their lives are heart breaking. The story delves into small town politics and of course, a murder to solve. The mystery is a minor portion of the story; the main thrust is coal mining. I hope this novel by Grisham will shame society to act against the destruction of the mountains and rivers by strip mining or enforce or enact stricter regulations. Catherine Taber narrated the story.

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34 people found this helpful

Not The best by John Grisham

Would you be willing to try another one of Catherine Taber’s performances?

No, she is a big part of the problem with the book.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoy john Grisham's books, even when he is trying to educate his readers, but this went a little overboard. The main character comes across as very spoiled, selfish and a whiner. The narrator, who sounds/reads like a teenager, makes the main character even more irritating and dislikable.

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33 people found this helpful