THE CLIENT by John Grisham is an action, suspense novel about boy who learned to much from a Mafia lawyer.
Mark is an eleven-year-old boy who is growing up in a trailer home with his mom Diane, and his nine-year-old brother Ricky. The incident all began when Ricky stumbled over a pack of cigarettes Mark was hiding under his bed, immediately Ricky was curious about smoking and wanted to give it try.
So he blackmailed Mark to teach him how. Mark was reluctant but agreed and they set out for the woods where Mark had spent most of his time.
This time was different though for some reason a car pulled in the dense woods a place where Mark had never seen another soul except for high school kids who came to smoke dope.
The car was a big black Lincoln Town car and it immediately caught Mark’s attention. Even more disturbing was when a heavy-set man came out of the car and set a water hose in his exhaust pipe, Mark knew at that point the man’s purpose was suicide. Mark took it upon himself not to let this man kill himself because he felt it was his obligation.
After Mark freed the hose from the car’s exhaust pipe several times he was caught by the man and dragged into the car to die with him. In the car, Mark learned the man’s story. He was a Mafia lawyer who represented the biggest and meanest Mafia man in the country “Barry the Blade Mulando.”
His client had killed a senator and buried the body so no evidence would be found; only this lawyer and his client and now Mark knew where it was buried. After a long while of being trapped in the car, Mark escaped and ran from the man who ends up shooting himself in the head when both Ricky and Mark were watching.
Days later back in New Orleans Barry hears of the kid and about his dead lawyer and concludes that the kid must know the location of the body, and then decides that for safe being the kid should be killed, and if was not for Marks lawyer this might have been the case. But the two of them were very persistent and had a strong will to do what they thought was right and to survive.
In The Client, Mark represents many kids who have tough lives and problems. Obviously, Mark’s case is extreme but on the same line, it’s not very different. Even though Mark struggles greatly he never gives up he was persistent.
This is what it takes for many young kids growing up with bad surroundings and no shelter, and this is a strong point in the book. Grisham does a great job of illustrating an important point.
