The Testament

I'm not a big Grisham reader. I enjoyed this book. I liked the sympathetic treatment of spiritual themes. I always enjoy books with the theme of redemption, and although Grisham seems to think that lawyers in general are greedy and self-serving, he obviously believes that they are not beyond redemption! I found the treatment of the missionary Rachael moving. I was given this book as a Santathing gift - a good choice.

I am an unapologetic fan of Grisham. The Testament revolves around a gazillionaire with a large family that could be the poster for dysfunctional (not to mention scumbags). He jumps out the window just after signing a will leaving everything to one heretofore unknown illegitimate child who is now a missionary in a remote jungle in South America. The story grabs you at the start and does not let go until … well, I finished it last night and it hasn't let go yet.

THE TESTAMENT by John Grisham
I started this book thinking “oh no, another bad will, lawyers fighting it out” book. I was wrong. This book is really a character study of two people: one selfless, powerless, kind, gentle, loving, astute; the other selfish, brutish, drunk, egotistical, powerful. It is also about a land – beautiful, treacherous, unforgiving, abundant. When these forces meet, the story begins.
Grisham is a great storyteller; his characters are real, the situations are plausible, the tension is unending. THE TESTAMENT has a clear message, told clearly in a powerful way. This is a story that will stay with you. I’m glad I read it and you will be too.
5 of 5 stars

Troy Phelan is a self-made billionaire who, at the end of his life, has no tolerance for fools or greedy relatives. With three ex-wives and six children who have all squandered the millions he has previously given them, he doesn't see any reason why they should get any more of his hard-earned money. In a planned, video-taped session with his lawyer, Josh Stafford, and three psychiatrists to declare his sanity, Troy surprises them all by producing a new, hand-written will leaving everything he has to his illegitimate daughter, Rachel, which he signs right before jumping to his death.

What ensues is a frenzy of litigation by Troy's heirs to break the will. At the same time, Josh sends one of his lawyers, Nate O'Riley, an alcoholic fresh show more out of rehab, off to the remote swamps of the Pantanal in Brazil to find Troy's estranged daughter, Rachel, who is a missionary. In this book, Grisham pits the greedy, who have never known how to live without money, against the impoverished, who do not need it to be happy. The story pivots back and forth between the lawyers and their schemes, and the suffering and near-death adventure in Brazil that becomes Nate's salvation. Humorous and entertaining, this book is a must-read for Grisham fans. show less

When billionaire Troy Phelan commits suicide just after signing a will, there is a surprise for his dysfunctional family. All of the three ex-wives and six adult children who had gathered for the signing, minutes after they left the room, were cut out with a new handwritten holographic will, given from Troy to his lawyer. The family had just had cameras in the room, and had videotaped three psychologists saying he was in his right mind when he signed the will they thought would make them all enormously rich. They are in for a shock when, one month later (after they’ve gone out and spent the money they thought they were getting), they learn that the will they saw him sign was no longer valid; the new will left his 11 billion to his show more long-lost illegitimate missionary daughter, Rachel, currently living somewhere in Brazil. Troy’s lawyer, Josh, sends one of the other lawyers in his firm to Brazil to find Rachel.

I thought this was really good. Boy, that family was hateful! We didn’t really get to know Troy, and apparently he wasn’t likeable, either, but you could sure see why he wanted to cut those ungrateful offspring (and ex-wives) out of the will altogether! Much of the novel was Nate trying to find Rachel in Brazil, which was entertaining, which leads me to mention that here were a number of humourous moments in the book, as well, which was kind of fun. show less

A story of inordinate greed, amoral lawyers, selfishly-entitled offspring, set against a search for Rachel, a related woman living in the swamps of the Brazilian Pantanal. The legal suspense was minor and much of the courtroom drama dragged on too long.

However, Nate, the lawyer in search of the actual heir to a fortune, was the best aspect of this novel. Grisham brought to life the realities of isolated natives living in nearly unreachable Brazilian wilds. The final twist at the end was ideal.

Había leído antes a John Grisham, pero hace mucho tiempo y con un libro que además de todo se ha hecho icónico gracias a su película, tenía ganas de leerlo otra vez y me decidí por este, la verdad es que tiene tantos que prácticamente lo he escogido al azar y la verdad es que no me ha defraudado en absoluto.

Es verdad que la historia es bastante sencilla, no es para nada un libro tipo thriller, tampoco tiene una historia trepidante, lo que sí tiene es un ritmo espectacular en su narrativa, lo que hace que sea muy fácil de leer, también es que la forma en que Grisham expone las situaciones, la manera en que describe escenas, su forma de contarnos esta historia que, incluso, podría resultar trillada, de manera tan natural, tan show more entretenido que al final no pude evitar engancharme.

Otra cosa que me ha encantado es la manera en que me ha hecho poder ver tan claramente a todos los personajes, desde el más insignificante hasta el protagonista del libro, lo que ha hecho que me fuera muy fácil identificarme con cada uno, ser empática, por lo tanto terminas comprendiendo las razones de todos, comprendiendo las personalidades y también las motivaciones de por qué hacen todo lo que hacen.

El libro básicamente nos cuenta lo que sucede con el testamento de un multimillonario después de que este se suicida, de hecho, la situación radica en el modo en que este hombre hace las cosas, por supuesto su legado de 11 mil millones de dólares no es poca cosa y por lo tanto los herederos pretenden impugnar la última voluntad de este hombre.

Gran parte de la historia se ubica en las amazonas brasileñas y tengo que decir que aún y cuando no conozco la zona, el autor hizo un trabajo estupendo describiendo no solo los paisajes, si no la situación social de los lugareños, me ha resultado algo muy interesante de leer y de conocer.

En general el libro me ha gustado mucho, lo he disfrutado y además me ha parecido muy fácil de leer, sobre todo en esta época donde no tengo tanto tiempo para dedicarme a la lectura, sin embargo, el final me ha dejado con ganas de más, si bien es cierto que la historia se cierra en su totalidad, cuando me di cuenta que había terminado, me dieron ganas de buscar las páginas faltantes, incluso pensé que a mi libro le habían faltado páginas, se termina tan de golpe que me ha dejado un mal sabor de boca.

Por lo demás es un libro realmente entretenido show less