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The Brethren |
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 The Brethren byJohn Grisham Doubleday 366 pages, 2000 ISBN 0385497466 Reviewed by Nancy Mehl What do three aging ex-judges, who preside over a court for white-collar cons in a low-security federal prison, have to do with the next President of the United States? John Grisham spins a tight tale of political intrigue, personal greed and human weakness in his new release, The Brethren. The future of The United States is at stake and CIA Director Teddy Maynard decides that the only way to save it is to elect a President who will strengthen the military and thus protect the country from the foreign governments that he believes are plotting the nation’s destruction. Can Maynard do it? The answer is yes, and the ease with which his strategy is carried out is truly frightening. The three jailed judges, known as The Brethren, have hatched a nefarious yet brilliant plan to snare older gay men into a net of blackmail and fear. Everything goes as planned until they accidentally hook the biggest fish of all - the man being groomed to become the next leader of the free world. Grisham draws a realistic cast of characters - flawed, human and comprehensible. Everyone has his own agenda, including the Director of the CIA. In a daring and interesting undertaking, Grisham develops two different plots that seem to have no connection until they collide head-on, without ever giving us a single hero to cheer for - or a villain we can completely blame. In the end, the reader is left only with the sad inevitability of human nature and a terrifying look into what monsters may exist behind the secret doors of power, persuasion and politics in America. The Brethren is a fascinating and tightly woven story that is hard to put down. It lacks the one-two punch of previous Grisham novels, but the author seems to be trying to stay away from formula and instead offers a satisfying and thoughtful foray into the "back-streets" of our nation’s political principles. |
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