The Confession

Title:The Confession

Author: John Grisham 

Pages:456 

Source: Borrowed 

Last Word - An absolute page-turner 

Afazal Guru (convicted for attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001) and Ajmal Kasab(convicted for Mumbai attacks in 2008) were guilty and were hanged. But Donte should have walked off scot- free. Just because he was a black, he was convicted and killed. The color of his skin spelled his doom. 

The Confession makes you cry. I've choked many a times. I've prayed many a times. But my prayers never got heard. Donte Drumm  was never released. Thanks to the Texas authorities who went out of their way to ensure that reprieve eluded him. On the contrary, they coerced him to confess a crime he had never committed. 

Grisham's narration is gripping. The book keeps you hooked all along. Donte Drumm - a young black man is convicted for killing Nicole.Yarber, a highschool cheer leader. Lawyer Robbie Flak is fighting a lost case for Drumm. Whites claim that Drumm killed this white woman. But, blacks are sure of his innocence. The animosity of whites toward the blacks is quite palpable. This helps white police and persecutors to successfully fabricate a case against Drumm and he is found guilty. Though the case is weak,
chancces of reprieve are dim. So much for the color of the skin. Robbie and his team pulls out all stops. His efforts did pay off, finally. But it was too late for Donte. 

You can't fight fate

The author narrates the story from the point of view of young pastor Keith from Kansas. Keith is unwittingly drawn into the story when the real culprit Travis Boyette, suffering from inoperable brain tumor, confesses to him about the crime. How Keith struggles to make the facts known to the world also makes an interesting read. 

Grisham has unabashedly brought out the white-black divide and how political and legal forces shamelessly cash on it. The divide is similar to the divide we face in the city of Ahmedabad. Ghettos in the U.S. seem similar to the Hindu and Muslim ghettos in Ahmedabad and in other major parts of India. The hatred runs in their genes...literally. Back to the Confession, the closing is excellent, when the two communities, irrespective of their color, come together and unite in a common cause - too punish Drumm's culprits.

Thoughtful lines

1] Who, exactly gives us the right to kill. If, killing is wrong, why are we allowed to kill. Donte's killing was similar to killing an old dog, a lame horse, or a laboratory rat. 

2] It's man's nature to strike back, but the second blow leads to the third, and the fourth. 

3] Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

4] He talked about the urge for revenge and how Jesus turned the other cheek.  

"He who lives by the sword dies by the sword"

"LTTE Leader Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son killed in a cold blooded murder in a military bunker", screamed the newspapers today. The headline reminded me of Jeffery Archer's latest book 'The Sins of the Father." Poor kid, he paid for his dad's sins. Whether his father sinned is still a subject of debate. But this cute-looking boy was so innocent and so harmless. Did someone say: he who lives by the sword dies by the sword ?

The Sins of the Father

Author: Jeffery Archer 

Pages: 383 

Genre: Fiction 
Source: Personal Copy

Last Word: Breezy Read 

The court is adjourned- Jeffery Archer's 'The Sins of the Father,' sequel to Only Time Will Tell' ends with yet another interesting cliff hanger. Yes, the wait for the next installment in the Clifton series has already begun. 

This book, of course, is a boatload of surprises. Here's a peek- a-boo: Emma bearing Harry's son, Sebastian, despite the duo sharing a 'shaky sibling status; Harry leading a prisoner's life despite not being Tom Bradshaw - the actual criminal; Maisie's marriage to Mr. Holcombe, despite her promiscuous past; Giles' military medals, despite his portrayal as lily-livered; Hugo Barrington's fortunate death, despite his dirty tricks to stay alive and thrive; the controversy surrounding the Barrington empire, despite Harry giving up his claim on it. Plus, the Giles escape from German POW camp and Henry fooling the Nazi commander into surrender. All this and the war background keeps up the tempo of the story.

 Some thoughtful lines :

1) Britain and America are "two nations divided by a common language."

 2) There are so many ways to skin a cat.

P.S. - It can't get better than this. Or it could have been? Archer walked into my book shelf quite recently. The two books that I recently read are not even a drop in the ocean. Perhaps it's too early to actually form an opinion on his latest works.