Sycamore Row by John Grisham

I am always so caught up in grading, reading discussion board posts, and doing other  Ivy Tech related duties, that I have put reading for pleasure on the back burner.  During this year's Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach, I decided to read something for myself.  I had added three books to my Nook and randomly selected Grisham's new title as my choice for the drive to South Carolina.

Grisham is a lawyer (or maybe the verb should be was, past tense, since he is probably earning more from his writing than he is practicing law--or maybe not?).  The characters in most of his books are lawyers or involved in court cases or connected to the law in some way.  Skipping Christmas is one title that comes to mind where there are NO lawyers of any kind mentioned (really enjoyed reading that one), but most are set in a courtroom at some point.

I began reading as we left Lexington, where we had spent Friday night, and before we crossed into Tennessee, I was hooked.  I remembered the main character, Jake, from A Time to Kill, and was happy to reconnect with him and his family.   The opening chapter began with the discovery of a suicide by hanging from a sycamore tree....and the exploration of the life of the victim, the hand-written will he sent to Jake, the family he cut out completely, and the manipulations in the courtroom were all intriguing.  I was captured.

Throughout the week at MB I could be found in the living room of the condo or on the balcony facing the Atlantic, reading by Nook.  The perfect setting for reading, relaxing, and losing myself in a plot with many twists and turns.

As our drive north took us closer and closer to Frankfort and a stop to see our youngest grandson, the race was on.  I wanted to finish the book before we re-joined reality.  However, I mourned the end of the story.  I didn't want to swish across the screen to the last pages---because that meant the story was over,  the book finished.  Have you ever felt so intertwined with the characters, so immersed in the plot, that when you turn the last page, there is an emptiness, a void, that can't be filled?  That is how I felt when the last pages of Sycamore Row were swished to the left. 

Will there be a movie version of this novel?  Only in Matthew McConaughey recreates the role of Jake would I want to watch it.  I remember watching The Firm in the theatre with my husband.  He hadn't read the book; I had.  He loved the movie; I didn't.  Maybe watching a movie version of Sycamore Row wouldn't be such a good idea, especially if there is no Matthew McConaughey.....

Yes, Sycamore Row was a great choice for my spring break reading.  After another seven weeks pass by, another selection from my Nook will be made and I will lose myself again.  Can't wait!