The Chamber

This is a book by John Grisham which I found surprisingly Un-Grishamlike. Being a Grisham fan, I started it with a lot of interest, however I personally think that he messed up somewhere.

This is the story of Sam Cayhall, an ex-Ku Klux Klan member who is sentenced to die in the gas chamber and the desperate legal battle to save him as his time draws near.

Grisham starts out promisingly enough and one soon gets engrossed in the moral dilemma of whether the death penalty of this former Klan member should be stayed. However, I felt that the book lapsed into unnecessary detail and was at least 150 pages too long. The basic elements of the plot, characterisation and dialogue are unmistakably Grisham-like, what I felt missing was the crisp sequence of events one comes across while reading his masterpieces.

There are a few notable points in the book like getting a brief idea about how the Ku Klux Klan terrorised blacks back before the 1970's, for those who don't know much about them; the myriad thoughts that go through the head of a man who knows the date and time he is supposed to die; the description of how the US judiciary acts in such case and a few others.

But given a choice, I would prefer his other books, which I feel were a lot more "snappier"

It is a decent read to pass the time if you are prepared to be patient and read it without any expectations.

My rating would be 2.5 stars out of 5