Book #59 – A Time to Kill by John Grisham

Welcome back to the Library, post-quarantine edition. The lack of updates is due to an inability to focus on reading for any length of time. I decided that I’m going to -once again- halt my travels across the US. This will be the last book for Reading Across America before I transition into my summer reading list which will be dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement. This is my pick for Mississippi, and while it does take place in a fictional town, the racial tensions it details are based on incidents that Grisham saw during his time as a lawyer in the Southeast.

Originally published in 1989, A Time to Kill was not initially a success, and was in fact rejected by many publishers before a modest 5000 book release by Wynwood Press. It was not until later novels by Grisham began cycling in the 1990s that A Time to Kill became a best seller. It was adapted into a movie in 1996, starring Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L. Jackson. The movie has nominations for a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor and the Razzie for worst written film grossing over $100 million. The book was also adapted into a stage play that ran on Broadway for 2 months in 2013. There is also a sequel, Sycamore Row, that features the attorney Jake Brigance taking on a different case in Clanton.