Ford County: Stories by John Grisham (Epub)

Description

New York Times bestselling author John Grisham takes us back to Ford County, Mississippi, the setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill. This riveting collection of short stories features an unforgettable cast of characters: Wheelchair-bound Inez Graney and her two older sons embark on a bizarre road trip through the Mississippi Delta to visit Inez’s youngest son, Raymond—on death row. A hard-drinking, low-grossing divorce lawyer fed up with his wife, his life, and the law plans a drastic escape after an unexpected phone call. A quiet, unassuming data collector sets out to bring down a flashy casino owner with his skill at blackjack—as payback for the theft of his wife. A stalker hunts victims in a retirement home, a lawyer confronts a vengeful adversary from the past, and a young man from a prominent family is driven off by scandal and fear—but finds unexpected redemption on the wrong side of the tracks. Often hilarious, frequently moving, and always entertaining, this collection makes it abundantly clear why John Grisham is our most popular storyteller.

User’s Reviews

Review “Grisham shows off his literary chops: He can do wry, emotional, funny, serious.”—USA Today “The best writing John Grisham has ever done.”—Pat Conroy “Terrifically charming . . . You absolutely can’t stop reading.”—The Washington PostFrom the Trade Paperback edition. From AudioFile The master of the legal thriller returns to his roots with this collection of short stories, which introduces readers to the residents of Ford County, Mississippi. Read by the author, the stories range from the bizarre to the melancholic and even the hilarious. Grisham’s narration is superb, particularly in the first tale, “Blood Drive,” in which three ne’er-do-wells venture to Memphis to donate blood to an injured friend but end up getting into a case of beer and a ton of trouble along the way. Each character is carefully crafted, in terms of both prose and performance. Grisham’s confident Southern drawl gives the stories a certain air of small-town myth. L.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ Not only a great collection of stories all set in Ford County, it is also a showcase of human follies, and in as few words as possible, I’ll describe each one of them:Blood Drive – a very point-blank demonstration of the saying “boys will be boys”.Fetching Raymond – it’s true that your character will most likely take after your parents or the people who’ve raised you, but it’s still up to oneself to set one’s course in life.Fish Files – this one, along with Casino, are the stories that had the villains got away with it. Nothing much in terms of life lessons there, so to the young people who read this, just remember karma.Casino – see Fish FilesMichael’s Room – taking revenge is better via an attack on the conscience. As well, maybe a little threat on the side, one that is not empty, would surely help.Quiet Haven – a bit in the category of Fish Files and Casino, only this story has the scheming con being able to help in some way while he carries out his mission.Funny Boy – shows how people, even those who preach to love one another, buckle down and pass on judgment like they were not sinners at all.I’ve always been hooked on Grisham, and I think I will remain to be.

⭐ This is a book of seven unrelated short stories; unrelated other than the characters are all residents of the same rural county in Mississippi. Some stories are better than others, but I dare say all will elicit emotions of one kind or another. And some will stay with you long after the story ends.The first story, “Blood Drive”, is rather humorous. It’s about three local yokels who hop in a pickup truck and head for the big city, ostensibly to help save the life of a buddy. What ensues is a tale that includes beer, strip clubs, jail, and worse.Several of the stories involve unsavory characters. “Fetching Raymond” is about Mrs. McBride and her three sons who all have long rap sheets. (Make that past tense for the son named Raymond) . “Fish Files” is about a small time bankruptcy and divorce attorney who answers the phone when his secretary is away from her desk. Quote: “He had never thought about the possibility that one call could so quickly and dramatically lead to his own divorce and bankruptcy.” Sometimes crime pays. Sometimes it doesn’t.”Michael’s Room” is sure to elicit outrage while at the same time bring the reader to tears. It’s about an attorney who makes a living defending incompetent doctors and their insurance companies against lawsuits. One evening, a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a frozen pizza for dinner, leads to an encounter the attorney will never forget. He is forced to confront the reality of what he does for a living and how a victory for his client can mean devastation for the human beings on the losing side. One would have to have a stone heart to not be affected by this story.My favorite story, “Funny Boy” is the last story in the book. It’s about a gay man with AIDS named Adrian Keane who comes home to Ford County to die. His family, prominent citizens of the county, fulfill their obligation to take care of Adrian by moving him in with Miss Emporia, one of their tenants living in a rental property they own on the bad side of town. Quote: The thought of a Keane living across the railroad tracks in the black section was hard to accept, but then it seemed logical that anyone with AIDS should not be allowed on the white side of town.” This story deals with racism, homophobia, ignorance and fear, and mortality. The relationship between Adrian and Miss Emporia is very poignant, and the image of them sitting on the front porch will linger long after the story ends.I think the last two stories (“Michael’s Room” and “Funny Guy”) are worthy of 5 stars, but I give “Ford County” as a whole a strong 4 stars.

⭐ This was a relatively quick read of shorts from the well-known author. I actually picked this off the TBR shelf without realizing that it was a compendium of shorter Grisham stories.There are some standout pieces, in my opinion. Of course, in a collection such as this one, it’s difficult to have every story hit a home run. The tales have the undercurrent of the south that is associated with Grisham.The author takes us out of the justice system and trials for this book (although the law is certainly an undercurrent). So, if you are not in the mood for court-room procedurals, you’ll enjoy reading this one.

⭐ This is a great book. After you read the first couple of stories, you might feel like stopping, but don’t. They’re not as good as the ones nearer the end. Keep going, then you will find it difficult, after getting invested in the characters, as you do when you read a novel, to leave his well-developed characters before you are ready to. That’s probably the worst of my criticism for this book. If you stick to it, you’ll regret getting to the end of this collection. For it’s the characters you will remember long after you finish reading this book, which I enjoyed much more than his last couple of novels. Here are the types of characters we loved in the earlier books. Characters you understand and relate too despite their faults and follies.

⭐ Ford County, Mississippi definitely defines life that most people to the north know little or nothing about. Having had parents from Tennessee I understood some things, but nothing like the stories coming from a Ford County in Mississippi. As it jumps from one family to another, the author kept me wondering who I would meet next. It was definitely interesting, but if you want to see why you’re going to have to read it. Have fun as you read & learn who did what & why.

⭐ I love John Grisham and have enjoyed many of his books. Ford County, however, was hard to read and finish. It is a collection of tragic stories with unusual endings in which you don’t really like any of the characters. I kept reading the book in hopes that the next story would be more enjoyable. None were.

⭐ Please note the title of this book is Ford County Stories….that tells you it’s a collection of things. It’s not a typical Grisham cohesive novel from beginning to end. Instead there seems to be a main thread that carries on for most of the book, then it starts diverging off in other directions. At first I just thought this was part of the historical Grisham pattern – and the stories would merge together in the future. It’s not.Instead this is a collection of writing – though not distinctly separated out. And none of them actually come to resolve.It is certainly weird, almost like he got started on a number of things – needed to fill some contractual obligation and published. If this was not a bestselling author, the book never would have made it to publication. But, powerful people can get away with stuff as we all know.I purchased it expecting a Grisham novel, one to grab and maintain my attention, divert me from day-to-day life and take me to a place of justice that always provides the fantasy that things actually will work out in the end. This is not that, the stories leave you hanging. But, they are written well, and they will keep your attention. It offers diversion (which we seem so willing to pay for), but it does not offer full illusion or resolution. That said, it comes up short. I’d say get another Grisham book, skip this one.But, like me, if you’ve already read all the others…well, it’s a short diversion for you.

⭐ In an episode of the TV show, 3rd Rock From The Sun, the Soloman’s are sitting in a living room reading books, Dick asks what the others are reading, they reply, the “new John Grisham about the idealistic young lawyer” and they all switch books. That’s the way I’ve felt about John Grisham’s novels, they’re fast paced, keep the reader turning the pages, with a chase followed by an explosion, there wasn’t much depth to the characters, and the books will entertain you for an afternoon, but after you’re done there’s not much left to hang onto, they were interchangeable. With Ford County, Grisham plants those literary roots and takes hold, trading fast food for a feast.In Ford County Grisham doesn’t stray too far from his legal roots, most of the characters are lawyers, plantiffs, defendants or people suffering repercussions of the legal system. The difference from his other novels, he adds depth to the characters. The plots of the stories in Ford County are all character driven and Grisham adds dramatic tension and emotion of the characters. and the situations which might at first seem to have simple answers don’t seem as easy as when you started the story.All of the stories in Ford County have their own attraction. Blood Drive gives an altogether different meaning to the phrase and shows how the best of intentions can go all to hell in a short amount of time. Fish Files posits the theory that for lawyers, divorce is the way to realize all your dreams of success. Fetching Raymond and Michael’s Room are two stories that the characters are really well drawn and create their own tension. And they’ll really turn your head around and leave you thinking because the situations at the end aren’t as easily resolvable as at the beginning and leave you wondering who is right and who is wrong in the situations the characters find themselves in.Am I a literary snob? Yes. So is Grisham. He’s cited William Faulkner as an influence for years, but his novels haven’t lived up to the literary standard he wants to emulate. In the last story, Funny Boy, Grisham challenges those ideas and seemingly takes on Thomas Wolfe’s dictum “that you can’t go home again.” Funny Boy shows that bigotry hasn’t disappeared but has evolved. It’s not the bigotry of race but of ignorance, and the main characters discover they have some things in common they might not have otherwise realized. Grisham invokes Faulkner in the story, and the understanding and empathy the characters discover in each other are worthy of the Faulkner allusion.I don’t think John Grisham’s fans will be disappointed with these short stories, although, the stories are slower paced than his novels. And people who heretofore avoided Grisham will be pleasantly surprised at the discovery of the writer within John Grisham.

⭐ This book was not the norm for Mr. Gresham. It was a conglomeration of short stories, and as far as I can tell, didn’t connect to each other in any way other than the fact that the people all lived in the same county. However, I did find some of the stories quite interesting. I kind of wished that there was more to those stories that I really liked. It would have made more sense to me if the people in each of the stories had some sort of connection. Overall, this book is okay. I wouldn’t buy it if I had it to do all over again though. Any future novels of Mr Grisham’s, bought by me, will be scrutinized very well to make sure it’s an actual storyline about one particular subject matter. If you buy this book, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. After all John Grisham is an excellent author.

⭐ i bought this one since I had read all of John Grisham’s novels (except the baseball themed books–which didn’t sound like thrillers) and was looking to read some more until the next novel came out. I normally don’t like short stories much. My reasoning is that if I really like the story line and start to like the characters, I tend to get bummed out when the story ends abruptly after what seems like a short introduction. This one has mostly really good stories. I think part of the reason I didn’t mind the short approach with these characters lies in the general nature of most of Grisham’s characters. They are almost all dysfunctional–some a little and many wildly so. It makes for great entertainment, but I don;t fall in love with most of them easily–even most of the heros. They are quirky and full of strange ideals, but the author paints them so well that you just can’t help but get sucked into their stories. I would say this book is high on the list of books available from John Grisham (the top being classics like The Firm, The Pelican brief and the worst being The Painted House–no mystery at all but a strained study in metaphors). Some of the stories in this one are worth reading again after the details get a little foggy with time.

Keywords

Free Download Ford County: Stories in Epub format
Ford County: Stories Epub Free Download
Download Ford County: Stories 2010 Epub Free
Ford County: Stories 2010 Epub Free Download
Download Ford County: Stories Epub
Free Download Ebook Ford County: Stories