Throwback Thursday (March 14) – The Pelican Brief

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

Here’s how it works:
  • Pick any bookish or literary-related media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago.
  • Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
  • Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
  • Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

The Pelican Brief by John Grisham

(Also adapted into a film starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington)

Remember how I always talk about how I read all the John Grisham books in high school, yet I’ve only ever featured one here on Throwback Thursday?

Well. There’s a reason for that. And that reason is: I didn’t think many of you would be ALL OVER the legal thrillers.

BUT!

I only read so many books in years past. And John Grisham was a hefty portion of them. So. We’ve reached that time where I MUST talk about Grisham, or be left without anything to blog about. And that, dear readers, would be sad.

The Pelican Brief was my very first John Grisham book, which I read following my very first John Grisham movie. You may have seen it. Julia Roberts plays a very non-Julia-Roberts role. It is tense and unexpected and smart. Oh, and Stanley Tucci. It’s important to always remember Stanley Tucci in films, because he is always a highlight. It’s a fact.

Anyway, here’s the synopsis from Amazon, because I’m tired and it’s been years since I’ve read/seen this and my brain isn’t working.

In suburban Georgetown, a killer’s Reeboks whisper on the floor of a posh home. In a seedy D.C. porno house, a patron is swiftly garroted to death. The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief.

To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it’s political dynamite. Suddenly Darby is witness to a murder–a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds that there is only one person–an ambitious reporter after a newsbreak hotter than Watergate–she can trust to help her piece together the deadly puzzle. Somewhere between the bayous of Louisiana and the White House’s inner sanctums, a violent cover-up is being engineered. For someone has read Darby’s brief–someone who will stop at nothing to destroy the evidence of an unthinkable crime.

In a nutshell, I enjoyed the movie, it made me want to pick up the book, and I loved the book. Maybe it’s because my brain is wired in such a way I like logic and complex puzzles (my parents always suspected I would be a lawyer), but I am ALL ABOUT the legal thriller. They just push all the right buttons in my brain. And thus started my long-standing love of John Grisham thrillers. They’re smart, they’re tense, and they use ALL THE LOGIC. Sometimes, a person just needs logic. Perhaps it’s the Vulcan in me.

If you, like me, think crazy conspiracies and legal loopholes are WHERE IT’S AT, you should check it out.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!



4 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday (March 14) – The Pelican Brief

  1. Ooooh I love me some John Grisham. I have read just about all of them myself! Pelican brief was one of my favorites. But by far my ‘bestest’ was Run away Jury.

    I have however, not watched any of his movie adaptions other then The Pelican Brief – I do not know why, just have not gotten around to it I guess.

    Just wanted to say, I really enjoy your Throwback Thursdays. It is by far my favorite meme. 🙂
    Angelique recently posted..Throwback Thursday #4My Profile

    • The Time to Kill movie is excellent. And I really liked The Pelican Brief — which was mostly intact from the book — as well as The Client and The Firm, which were changed a lot. The Runaway Jury was okay, but nowhere near as good as the book (they changed a lot). And The Chamber wasn’t all that great.

      Man, I’ve read and seen a LOT of Grisham.

  2. Just because I’m not yet into legal thrillers doesn’t mean I won’t be in the future. 😉 Actually, The Pelican Brief sounds really good. I’ve probably missed the movie because I’m not a Julia Roberts fan, but the book is definitely getting added to my queue.

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