The Litigators
Preceded by | The Confession |
---|---|
Followed by | Calico Joe |
The Litigators is a 2011 legal thriller novel by
The theme of a young lawyer being fed up with a giant law firm and bolting away to a less lucrative but more satisfying career is shared with The Associate. The theme of a lawsuit against a giant corporation appeared in The Runaway Jury, but in the present book, the corporation is vindicated and proven to have been unjustly maligned (at least on the specific drug which is the subject of the lawsuit) and the mass tort lawyers are seen as greedy and unscrupulous, ultimately bolting and leaving the protagonist's tiny Chicago firm in the lurch.
Critical reviews were mixed for the book, with several opinions noting a lack of suspense. Nonetheless, the book has achieved both hardcover and ebook #1 best seller status on various lists, including both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. However, since some services do not separate fiction and non-fiction books, it did not debut as a #1 bestseller on certain lists, such as the USA Today. Some reviewers noted that this story would lend itself to an adapted screenplay.
Background
Having sold 250 million copies of his previous 24 novels in 29 languages, Grisham had produced an international bestseller with each prior book.[1] Including the release of The Litigators, Grisham has produced 23 adult fiction novels and 2 children's fiction novels as well as a short story collection. In addition, he has produced one non-fiction book.
In the first of a two-part interview with The Wall Street Journal, Grisham claimed that although he usually attempts to include humor in his submitted drafts, it is usually removed during the editorial process. However, in this case much of the humor survived editing.[2] In the second part of the interview the following week, Grisham noted that his inspirations for the book included television advertisements and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[3]
Plot
Oscar Finley and Wally Figg are
Wally gets involved in a new scheme, finding claimants for a federal
In a subsidiary plot, David Zinc stumbles on a
Publication
Leading book
The book is also available as an
Critical review
The Litigators is said to be "an amusing and appalling look into the machinations of a nationwide class-action suit," according to Tobin Harshaw of
The book has been derided for its lack of suspense. Carol Memmott of
Some sources noted that the book has potential to become an adapted screenplay. Irish Independent describes Grisham's new book as "following his usual route to the bestsellers list" and projects it as a candidate to be his next Hollywood film. Although it is standard Grisham fare, Independent noted that it provides the usual thrills in Grisham's comfortable legal world and should be a gripping read for his usual fans.[17] The Sunday Express noted that the book could be readily converted to a screenplay, but its critic, Robin Callender Smith, viewed the "ambulance chasing" ethos as a foreign thing that Brits might have to worry about in the near future.[18]
Simakis praised the book for having more depth of character than Grisham's novels customarily do.[14] She compares the protagonist to Mitch McDeere from The Firm and Rudy Baylor from The Rainmaker.[14] Memmott says that most of the claimants that they find are unsympathetic, but a few are from somewhat sympathetic immigrant families.[16] Simakis notes that Wally trades sex for legal services with one claimant.[14] Harshaw says that the book is a bit sentimental and comparatively lacking in terms of secondary character development for Grisham.[4] Larry Orenstein of Canada's The Globe and Mail notes that on the dramatic scale this book has instances of laugh out loud humor that make it more like Boston Legal than The Practice, which Boston Legal was spun off from.[19]
Commercial success
According to
Hardcover
It immediately was listed as the Publishers Weekly #1 best-seller among fiction hardcover books according to Reuters.[23] It was also listed as the #1 best-seller by The New York Times in the November 13, 2011 book review section for the week ending October 29, 2011 for Hardcover Fiction, E-Book Fiction, Combined Hardcover & Paperback Fiction, and the Combined Print and E-Book Fiction.[24] It dropped from the #1 position in its second week on the list.[25] It remained on the Combined Hardcover & Paperback Fiction list until the February 19, 2012 list (15 weeks) for the week ending February 4.[26] It remained on both the Hardcover Fiction list and the Combined Print and E-Book Fiction list until the February 26 list (16 weeks) for the week ending February 11.[27][28] It remained on the E-Book Fiction list until the March 11 list (18 weeks) for the week ending February 25.[29]
The Wall Street Journal announced that on Saturday October 29, it would begin incorporating digital book sales in its best seller lists.[30] When the book debuted in The Wall Street Journal list on November 5 for the week ending October 30, it was listed first in Hardcover Fiction, Fiction E-Books and Fiction Combined.[31] It retained the hardcover lead the following week, but lost the other leads.[32] After two weeks it was surpassed on the hardcover list as well.[33] It remained on The Wall Street Journal Hardcover Fiction, Fiction E-Books and Fiction Combined best seller lists until the January 7 listing for the week ended on January 1, 2012.[34]
The book was released the day after Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, entitled Steve Jobs, was released by Simon & Schuster. Jobs had died on October 5 and the release date was moved forward.[35][36] The Jobs book's release had been moved forward twice; It had been moved from spring 2012 to November 21 after Jobs stepped down and then to the October 24 date after his death.[37] When The Litigators debuted on November 3 on the USA Today best-seller list, which does not separate fiction and non-fiction, it debuted at number 2 behind the Jobs book.[38]
Paperback
It debuted at #1 on the New York Times Paperback Mass-Market Fiction Best Sellers list on July 15, 2012 (reflecting sales for the week ending June 30, 2012).[39] The book remained at #1 until the August 12 list (reflecting sales of the week ending July 28, 2012), making a five-week run.[40] It continued to appear on the list until the January 13, 2013 list (reflecting sales for the week ending December 29, 2012).[41] On the USA Today list, which include fiction and non-fiction as well as hardcover and paperback, it debuted at #10 in the week of July 5, following its paperback release.[42]
References
- ^ a b DuChateau, Christian (October 28, 2011). "Grisham talks ambulance chasers, eBooks". CNN. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ a b Farley, Christopher John (October 28, 2011). "John Grisham Gets the Last Laugh on the Law". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- ^ Farley, Christopher John (November 3, 2011). "Will There Ever Be Another John Grisham? John Grisham Has Some Thoughts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Harshaw, Tobin (October 25, 2011). "Grisham's Ambulance Chaser Pulls Gun on Deadbeat Client: Books". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0385535137.
- ^ a b c "The Litigators". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ "The Litigators". Walmart. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- Amazon.com UK. ASIN 1444729705.
- ^ "The Litigators". Random House. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ "The Litigators". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ The Confession by John Grisham. Apple. November 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Litigators". Publishers Weekly. October 24, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- ^ a b Bayard, Louis (October 20, 2011). "Book review: John Grisham's "The Litigators" a swerving, stirring retort". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Simakis, Andrea (October 24, 2011). "In 'The Litigators,' John Grisham fleshes out his characters". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ a b Arthur, Rick (November 4, 2011). "John Grisham: The Litigators". The National. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ a b Memmott, Carol (October 24, 2011). "Verdict: Grisham's 'Litigators' falls short". USA Today. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ Walsh, Rowena (October 22, 2011). "Review: Fiction: The Litigators by John Grisham". Irish Independent. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Smith, Robin Callender (October 30, 2011). "Book Review – The Litigators, John Grisham Hodder & Stoughton, £19.99". Sunday Express. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ Orenstein, Larry (November 4, 2011). "A visit to Grisham country north". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- The Huffington Post. December 28, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ DeBarros, Anthony, Mary Cadden and Chris Schnaars (January 12, 2012). "100 best-selling books of 2011, from the top down". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Amazon.com Announces Best-Selling Books of 2011". The Wall Street Journal. December 12, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ ""The Litigators" tops best-sellers list". Reuters. November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ "Best Sellers: November 13, 2011". The New York Times. November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ "Best Sellers: November 20, 2011". The New York Times. November 20, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
- ^ "Best Sellers> Combined Print Fiction". The New York Times. February 19, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
- ^ "Best Sellers> Combined Print and E-Book Fiction". The New York Times. February 26, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
- ^ "Best Sellers> Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. February 26, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
- ^ "Best Sellers> E-Book Fiction". The New York Times. March 11, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
- The Nielsen Company. October 28, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ "Best-Selling Books, Week Ended Oct. 30: With data from Nielsen BookScan". The Wall Street Journal. November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ "Best-Selling Books, Week Ended Nov. 6: With data from Nielsen BookScan". The Wall Street Journal. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
- ^ "Best-Selling Books, Week Ended Nov. 13: With data from Nielsen BookScan". The Wall Street Journal. November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ "Best-Selling Books, Week Ended Jan. 1: With data from Nielsen BookScan". The Wall Street Journal. January 7, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
- ^ "Bookmarks: News and notes from the First Coast world of books". The Florida Times-Union. October 23, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ Lynch, Rene (October 6, 2011). "Steve Jobs biography: Release date moves up, skyrockets to No. 1". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (November 3, 2011). "Steve Jobs bio tops USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list". USA Today. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ "Best-Selling Books". USA Today. November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ "Best Sellers: July 15, 2012: Paperback Mass-Market Fiction". The New York Times. July 15, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ "Best Sellers: August 12, 2012: Paperback Mass-Market Fiction". The New York Times. August 12, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ "Best Sellers: January 13, 2013: Paperback Mass-Market Fiction". The New York Times. January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ "USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list: Week of July 5, 2012". USA Today. July 5, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
External links
- Official Site at JGrisham.com
- Official site at Random House
- Excerpt at Doubleday (Chapters 1 & 2)