Grisham & See
Barb Moore

John Grisham just published another great novel, "The Appeal." The scene opens with a trial; a personal injury lawsuit filed against a huge chemical company, owned by Wall Street billionaire Carl Trudeau. The company, Krane Chemical, dumped toxic waste for years into the groundwater of a small town in southern Mississippi, causing the worst "cancer cluster" in history. The jury renders an astounding verdict against the chemical company. Of course the company appeals the verdict. Since judicial elections are approaching, Mr. Trudeau decides to buy a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. His operatives recruit a young unsuspecting attorney and mold him into a candidate for the Supreme Court.

This is Grisham at his very best. He shows how one (evil) man can manipulate the world around him; "buying" a candidate, influencing an election, controlling the stock market, and making it all look perfectly legal and above board. Grisham also includes a wide variety of characters, representing the good, the bad, the innocent, and the evil. While his author's note disclaims this as a work of fiction, remember, he once served in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He admits that there is a lot of truth to this story. I don't think Grisham fans will be disappointed. This one grabbed me from the first page.

Lisa See, of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," is also one of my favorite novelists. Prior to her latest book, "Dragon Bones," she's written of ancient China, a la Pearl S. Buck.

"Dragon Bones" is a contemporary tale of China. The main character, native Liu Hulan, is the Inspector in China's Ministry of Public Security, the most feared of all China's law enforcement agencies. She is also a Red Princess, the wealthy daughter or granddaughter of someone who had gone on the long march with Mae Zedong. Her American husband, David Stark, is an attorney formerly with the U.S. Attorney's Office. Now he practices privately in Beijing.

The story begins with Hulan in Tiananmen Square, gazing across a sea of people gathered for the first public assembly of the All-Patriotic Society. Religious cults are against the law in China, and part of Hulan's job is to do what she can to eradicate them.

She wholeheartedly believes that she is protecting the masses and ensuring the stability of her government by going after these "cults," especially the rapidly growing All-Patriotic Society.

When a dead American archeologist urns up in the Yangzi River, Hulan's superior, Vice Minister Zai sends her and David to Three Gorges, where China is building the largest dam in the world, and archeologists are frantically trying to save thousands of years of history before the valley is flooded and ancient tools and art are lost forever.

This is a fascinating look at China today, a blending of the ancient with the modern. It is a tale also of China's emergence into the world's political and economic arena. I found this book thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable.-- Barb Moore is assistant manager of Franklin Memorial Library.

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