The Broker

I first read this one back in 2006 and absolutely loved it. I recently found the unabridged audiobook on CD at Goodwill for only $1, and I couldn't pass it up. Revisiting this book reminded me why it is probably my favorite Grisham ever. Even though it is light on the legal stuff, it's just a fantastic story that pulled me in both times. The beautiful descriptions of northern Italy captivated me each time I've read it and Bologna has been on my bucket list since that first reading. (One of these days!) Joel is a fascinating character, and the plot is compelling, but what I love the most is the atmosphere of the world the author describes. It's rather leisurely paced through much of the book, but it's simply fantastic.

Though slow in its build up, it does reach the point of engaging and interesting, though I never did like the main character and I rooted against him the whole way. I really enjoyed all the Italian and I'd love to travel to Bologna some day! Lots of pieces in place, lots of characters building up to a nice crescendo! And then? Poop. A horrible ending. Just abrupt and lame. I mean, what happened to Sammy Tin? (just for starters!) Because of that, I'd be hard pressed to recommend this.

I think maybe John Grisham bought some Rosetta Stone software to try to learn Italian, got frustrated with it, and then spent the rest of the day imagining a situation in which someone would actually be motivated to learn Italian quickly. Presto: you have The Broker, in which a felon is pardoned and whisked off to Italy in a sortof ersatz witness-protection operation, where his life depends on passing for a native Italian. There are pages and pages and pages of description of his Italian lessons and his motivation to learn (he keeps making the tutor start lessons earlier and earlier), and we're inside his head as he recites the Italian word for everything in his apartment.

Now, I like languages and occasionally mumbled some of the words show more out loud to myself while reading just to test my Italian accent, so I enjoyed the weird preoccupation with learning Italian. However, you have to admit it's a bizarrely academic preoccupation for a run-for-your-life thriller--especially when, in the context of the story, it's wholly unnecessary to the point of being unbelievable. Surely if the point is for this American guy to blend in while in hiding, you'd stash him in... Canada, Australia, England? You know, where the language skills he already has will be useful? And since it turns out that the US government us just waiting to see whether it's the Russians, the Chinese, or the Israelis who will find and kill our fugitive first, I don't understand why they'd bother paying a tutor a full-time salary to teach the guy flawless Italian. So I'm back to where I started: all I can figure is that Grisham really wanted to write a story about learning to speak Italian. show less

In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world’s most sophisticated satellite surveillance system.Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the show more Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive—there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him? show less

To be honest, I found this a little hard to follow. I couldn't help rooting for Joel/Marco, with everyone after him. He was trying to make amends. But I lost track of the politics and spy stuff. Not my favorite of his. 2.5 stars

This was a "good read" for me. The plot was a bit weak, the scenarios often implausible, but I didn't care about that because I loved the premise of the main character being on the run and learning how to (mostly) outsmart the pursuers. I liked the characterizations and I was okay with all the espressos and the culinary details.

I think Grisham must have been tremendously influenced by his enchanting visit to Bologna, and allowed his impressions to occasionally overwhelm his story. Unlike many of his newer books, this is a paperback I'll be saving to re-read in a few years time.

Joel Backman is "the Broker"--a Washington power broker-lobbyist. Then his empire collapses when a deal collapses involving a hacked spy satellite that nobody acknowledges, and Backman ends up in jail, broke.

Six years later, he's pardoned by a lame duck President, and whisked away to Italy by the CIA. Everyone's after him, including the CIA, though they're more interesting in finding out who kills him than in either killing him themselves or keeping him safe.

So Backman is completely out of his element, under constant surveillance, and kept deliberately short of money and paperwork so he can't run far, even if he tries. But he didn't get to be "the Broker" by being stupid, either.

This was a fairly low-key suspense book, but I enjoyed the show more transformation from wealthy cold-hearted power broker to someone who's dependent on others for everything, and who's learning to reevaluate his priorities. It was also quite lovely to revisit Italy. show less