john grisham lives up to his name in this one... nate is a hard, tough living lawyer coming out of rehab for the umpteenth time for a specific purpose.. his boss sends him all the way to the amazon jungle to find a missionary as she is the heir of an eleven billion dollar fortune which is being fought over greedily by her various previously unknown to her siblings, left to her by her apparently crazy/lucid ailing father who jumps out of a window to his death upon signing his will, or testament, and after having lost contact with the said daughter at her discretion.
set half the time in the brazilian jungle, this story is set to a slightly different tune than his other standard courtroom jail themes, and endeavours more to the human spirit. a good read.
ben is a 41 year old liberated black... bought and freed along with his mother and sister when he was 7 years old, he goes on to become a talented pianist and a doctor in paris. upon his return to new orleans where he is robbed and is forced to foist upon his mom, he resorts to taking up an undercover job for cash to stay independantly, and also because his mom asks him to do the job... namely, to act as a black slave for the same white manager who used to be their master.... as a favour to him to discover who is sabotaging his plantation. ben undertakes the risk, and discovers many things long forgotten... what being a slave does to an individual, and he learns who his father was. this story describes the traumas that black people who are slaves have to put up with, their hardship and their struggles. not easy to read. not a very catchy writing style either.
