I have just read the book – The Broker. I never read any John Grisham books prior to this one. The Broker was bought simply because it says its a New York Times bestseller and I like the green cover and the words are quite big to me. I didn’t get the summary at all – it sounded crap to me.
So I start to read, not knowing what kind of book I am venturing into. And the next moment, I was at page 2, and then page 3, and then page 4 and I went on and on and on. Boy, I was hooked.
The Broker is Joel Backman, the fallen lawyer who got into trouble after he got hold of the program to control a secret satellite system that is unknown and more powerful than U.S.A. technologies. The creators died for it, his partner too. Backman is to serve twenty years of jail and got out in just six years after a presidential pardon. He was then relocated to Italy by the C.I.A. And that’s when the hunt for him began.
John Grisham’s The Broker just kept me reading. I have no idea about how U.S.A. works, what is The Broker [I thought he does stocks actually] and nothing about Italy except that’s where my pizza came from. Grisham describes well and for an ill-informed Singaporean, I am comfortable with its setting as he did quite a good job telling me how C.I.A. and F.B.I. works and stuff.
There wasn’t really a moment that I was bored except for the Italy part. Grisham wrote a lot about the country, the people and the culture. It feels as if I’m reading some Lonely Planet tour guide book. Heck, I won’t be able to know if he anyhow introduce strange Italian words to me, I’ll believe everything he translates since I don’t know the language anyway.
John Grisham’s The Broker deserves 4.5 out of 5 for its brilliant plot and the wonderful font size the publisher chose. It makes good traveling companion. If you’re interested in Italy, that’s an extra bonus for you. 
Possibly related:
Tags: books