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Rogue Lawyer: by John Grisham | Summary & Analysis
Rogue by John Grisham | Summary & Analysis
This is a Summary & Analysis. John Grisham offers readers a sort of slice-of-life view of Sebastian Rudd as he handles a few cases amid a long and not-always-pleasantly-storied career representing those whom the legal system will not otherwise touch. An enjoyable read, it takes an interesting narrative tack, and it comments on the state of the legal system in the United States – one in need of much reform. It offers an enjoyable read. Despite some critical panning, the text draws readers along through a part of the legal system not often explored in popular conceptions of lawyers, and the divergent viewpoint is refreshing.
John Grisham’s novel follows Sebastian Rudd as he litigates a series of cases and attempts to navigate a personal life that suffers from his work. Ranging from small-town persecutions through suburban mischances to death-row work and bigger-city notoriety, the novel examines the less glamorized aspects of legal work as Rudd represents those whom other lawyers will not in situations where they dare not, as well as some of the less pleasant aspects of the legal system and broader society of the United States. The novel is set for the most part in an ambiguous city. It is large enough to host a lively fight scene, yet not so large as to have major landmarks identifying it. Unnamed, it allows for universalization of the narrative; readers across the United States can look on the setting and see something, perhaps many things, familiar to them, easing their access to the narrative.
This companion includes the
• Book Review
• Story Setting Analysis
• Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel
• Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed
• Thought Provoking /or Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs
• Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols…
• And Much More!
This Analysis fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.
This is a Summary & Analysis. John Grisham offers readers a sort of slice-of-life view of Sebastian Rudd as he handles a few cases amid a long and not-always-pleasantly-storied career representing those whom the legal system will not otherwise touch. An enjoyable read, it takes an interesting narrative tack, and it comments on the state of the legal system in the United States – one in need of much reform. It offers an enjoyable read. Despite some critical panning, the text draws readers along through a part of the legal system not often explored in popular conceptions of lawyers, and the divergent viewpoint is refreshing.
John Grisham’s novel follows Sebastian Rudd as he litigates a series of cases and attempts to navigate a personal life that suffers from his work. Ranging from small-town persecutions through suburban mischances to death-row work and bigger-city notoriety, the novel examines the less glamorized aspects of legal work as Rudd represents those whom other lawyers will not in situations where they dare not, as well as some of the less pleasant aspects of the legal system and broader society of the United States. The novel is set for the most part in an ambiguous city. It is large enough to host a lively fight scene, yet not so large as to have major landmarks identifying it. Unnamed, it allows for universalization of the narrative; readers across the United States can look on the setting and see something, perhaps many things, familiar to them, easing their access to the narrative.
This companion includes the
• Book Review
• Story Setting Analysis
• Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel
• Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed
• Thought Provoking /or Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs
• Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols…
• And Much More!
This Analysis fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.
103 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2015
12 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 2, 2020
Great story, flows and not very complex. Grisham is one of the talented authors of our time. The moral issues he raises are scary and we can only hope exaggerated and scarce. Read whilst recovering from an anesthetic and it gave me just the right amount of escapism
October 31, 2015
ROGUE LAWYER is six novellas than a typical John Grisham novel.
The law says that everyone is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Everyone is entitled to be defended by a competent lawyer. Sebastian Rudd defends the clients that nobody else wants to defend. He operates out of his fully-equipped van and lives in hotel rooms, which he changes frequently, because there are many people out to get him, sometimes clients or their families, sometimes victims or their families, sometimes people involved in the legal system. He has one friend: his bodyguard and paralegal, Partner.
Rudd does not like corruption or incompetence. He frequently encounters both in ROGUE LAWYER. In Part One, he is trying to defend a brain-damaged eighteen-year-old, drugged-addicted, school dropout who is accused of the horrible murders of two young girls. His client insists he is innocent. But the police stopped looking for any other potential perpetrators after he was arrested and adjust their evidence and stories to prove their case, the town is looking for fast vengeance, the judge does not display the required impartiality, and the client’s friends don’t make good witnesses because of their appearance.
Grisham observes, “If a defense lawyer is caught cheating, he or she gets nailed with sanctions by the court, reprimanded by the state bar association, maybe even indicted. If a prosecutor gets caught cheating, he either gets reelected or elevated to the bench.”
In Part Two, a vicious serial killer is set to be executed within a few hours. He has other plans and is able to show his power while he sits in jail awaiting his fate. He is upset with Rudd because he expected to get off. The book discusses the fate of people sent to prison for non-violent crimes, often drug-related. “Our prisons are packed. Our streets are filled with drugs. Who’s winning the war? We’ve lost our minds.”
Part Three tells the story of out-of-control police who, when given heavy-duty equipment, like to use it. Looking for drugs, a SWAT team breaks into the home of a late middle-aged suburban couple at 3:00 A.M.. (Their next door neighbor’s son had piggybacked onto their computer wireless router.) Panic and bullets follow resulting in the deaths of the family’s dogs, the wife, and a policeman. The husband is arrested for killing the police officer. Rudd finds it hard to accuse the police because after 9/11...”any criticism of those in uniform...is stifled. Being labeled soft on crime or soft on terror is a politician’s curse.” This attitude is in the process of changing because of all the recent shootings and beatings of unarmed civilians by the police.
Part Four focuses on the disappearance of daughter of an assistant chief-of-police. A former client said he can provide some information about the location of her body in exchange for cash. It also involves an attack on a referee in a cage fight. Rudd has a financial interest in the defendant. A third point is the use of Professional Experts, people who travel the country giving evidence in court cases in hopes of getting the defendant off or getting a hung jury.
Part Five goes into more detail about the relationship between Rudd, his ex-wife, and their eight-year-old son.
Part Six wraps up the case of the cage-fighter as well as tying up the loose ends of other cases. Sometimes bargaining can be quite involved.
ROGUE LAWYER is a fast-read. Some of the situations seem too contrived, e.g.,how can someone who is able to know so much about where Rudd is at any given time manage to avoid the police who are actively looking for him. There is a big of repetition. His ex-wife’s behavior and actions are unbelievably awful. The book lacks the continuity that Grisham’s full-length novels but the shorter stories, with some interweaving of them in other parts, does make for a fulfilling reading experience.
The law says that everyone is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Everyone is entitled to be defended by a competent lawyer. Sebastian Rudd defends the clients that nobody else wants to defend. He operates out of his fully-equipped van and lives in hotel rooms, which he changes frequently, because there are many people out to get him, sometimes clients or their families, sometimes victims or their families, sometimes people involved in the legal system. He has one friend: his bodyguard and paralegal, Partner.
Rudd does not like corruption or incompetence. He frequently encounters both in ROGUE LAWYER. In Part One, he is trying to defend a brain-damaged eighteen-year-old, drugged-addicted, school dropout who is accused of the horrible murders of two young girls. His client insists he is innocent. But the police stopped looking for any other potential perpetrators after he was arrested and adjust their evidence and stories to prove their case, the town is looking for fast vengeance, the judge does not display the required impartiality, and the client’s friends don’t make good witnesses because of their appearance.
Grisham observes, “If a defense lawyer is caught cheating, he or she gets nailed with sanctions by the court, reprimanded by the state bar association, maybe even indicted. If a prosecutor gets caught cheating, he either gets reelected or elevated to the bench.”
In Part Two, a vicious serial killer is set to be executed within a few hours. He has other plans and is able to show his power while he sits in jail awaiting his fate. He is upset with Rudd because he expected to get off. The book discusses the fate of people sent to prison for non-violent crimes, often drug-related. “Our prisons are packed. Our streets are filled with drugs. Who’s winning the war? We’ve lost our minds.”
Part Three tells the story of out-of-control police who, when given heavy-duty equipment, like to use it. Looking for drugs, a SWAT team breaks into the home of a late middle-aged suburban couple at 3:00 A.M.. (Their next door neighbor’s son had piggybacked onto their computer wireless router.) Panic and bullets follow resulting in the deaths of the family’s dogs, the wife, and a policeman. The husband is arrested for killing the police officer. Rudd finds it hard to accuse the police because after 9/11...”any criticism of those in uniform...is stifled. Being labeled soft on crime or soft on terror is a politician’s curse.” This attitude is in the process of changing because of all the recent shootings and beatings of unarmed civilians by the police.
Part Four focuses on the disappearance of daughter of an assistant chief-of-police. A former client said he can provide some information about the location of her body in exchange for cash. It also involves an attack on a referee in a cage fight. Rudd has a financial interest in the defendant. A third point is the use of Professional Experts, people who travel the country giving evidence in court cases in hopes of getting the defendant off or getting a hung jury.
Part Five goes into more detail about the relationship between Rudd, his ex-wife, and their eight-year-old son.
Part Six wraps up the case of the cage-fighter as well as tying up the loose ends of other cases. Sometimes bargaining can be quite involved.
ROGUE LAWYER is a fast-read. Some of the situations seem too contrived, e.g.,how can someone who is able to know so much about where Rudd is at any given time manage to avoid the police who are actively looking for him. There is a big of repetition. His ex-wife’s behavior and actions are unbelievably awful. The book lacks the continuity that Grisham’s full-length novels but the shorter stories, with some interweaving of them in other parts, does make for a fulfilling reading experience.
November 15, 2015
Finished reading John Grishma’s “Rouge Lawyer”.
Since a long time I want to read John Grisham’s but didn’t do it till this point. “Rouge Lawyer” is a big disappointed, may be because of the reviews I heard about the author or may be comparison with the other authors I read in this genre. At times I was not able to make connection with characters and had to go back-and-forth to see the references he’s making. May be I had too much of expectations as it’s my first book of his. The cases mentioned or held by Sebastian Rudd [Rudd] – a street lawyer, are enjoyable and interesting. Initially stories look disconnected but in the end it was well connected though with little flaws on sides.
May be I chose a wrong book of Grisham’s to feel the essence, will give a try with one more book but not soon.
Happy Reading!!
Since a long time I want to read John Grisham’s but didn’t do it till this point. “Rouge Lawyer” is a big disappointed, may be because of the reviews I heard about the author or may be comparison with the other authors I read in this genre. At times I was not able to make connection with characters and had to go back-and-forth to see the references he’s making. May be I had too much of expectations as it’s my first book of his. The cases mentioned or held by Sebastian Rudd [Rudd] – a street lawyer, are enjoyable and interesting. Initially stories look disconnected but in the end it was well connected though with little flaws on sides.
May be I chose a wrong book of Grisham’s to feel the essence, will give a try with one more book but not soon.
Happy Reading!!
November 27, 2015
Sebastian Rudd is a defense attorney who fights tirelessly and brilliantly for his poor, outcast clients. A "man's man" who is an active fight fan and investor in fighters, he's not above bringing his 7 year old son to a cage match and cheering on the boy's fight escapades at school. The boy's mother (not married to Rudd) is gay and married to a woman. A tough, naughty, fighter, Rudd is an interesting character, but the plot and pace are not in keeping with some of Grisham's better books. Some of the chapters dragged and were uninteresting. The court system is often unjust and cops are sometimes corrupt -- not exactly a news flash -- and Rudd stands as a counter-culture champion in the same stripe as Bogart characters. Very dark.
November 13, 2015
Not Grisham's best, but stick with it. It gets better! It starts out like a collection of short stories but the last third comes together. It still lacks the continuity of his other novels but overall is not bad. Definitely far from the league of The Firm, A Time to Kill, or any of the earlier works. I think he's running out of ideas!
October 28, 2015
Fantastic Read! This would have to be one of my favorite John Grisham novels!
November 4, 2015
Outstanding book. Really like how it all came together. It was hard to put book down. Can't wait for his next book. Highly recommend well worth the price
November 13, 2015
Far from his best story telling.
November 8, 2015
Good story with a lot of moving parts. Liked it!
November 22, 2015
Disappointed....feels like a bad copy of a Michael Connelly "Lincoln Lawyer" book.....and I usually love Grisham books.
November 25, 2015
Gritty, I loved it. Quick, fun read!!
November 30, 2015
Good book and complex main character. Pretty disheartening at times but that was because the storylines were realistic
January 3, 2016
Didn't feel like a Grisham book. Felt more like collection of short stories
November 22, 2015
Great book
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews