The Confession … True Grit … Bonhoeffer
I’ve remained a John Grisham fan since the early days of The Firm and A Time to Kill. Years ago I got to interview him for Wineskins. In the interview he talks about his favorable impression of Churches of Christ but then lamented, tongue-in-cheek, “It’s just too bad we can’t spend eternity together.”
The Confession
I think Grisham is stalking me.
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Yesterday the boys and I went to see the opening showing of “True Grit.” Jeff Bridges was amazing as Rooster Cogburn; and the emotive music in the background was old Christian hymns: “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand,” “Gloryland Way,” “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
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This advent reading is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (via our friend Donna Hester):
Advent creates new men and women. Look up, you whose eyes are fixed on this earth, you who are captivated by the events and changes on the surface of this earth. Look up, you who turned away from heaven to this ground because you had become disillusioned. Look up, you whose eyes are laden with tears, you who mourn the loss of all that the earth has snatched away. Look up, you who cannot lift up your eyes because you are so laden with guilt. “Look up, your redemption is drawing near.”
Something different than you see daily, something more important, something infinitely greater and more powerful is taking place.
Used with permission
Lift up your heads, you army of the afflicted, the humbled, the discouraged, you defeated army with bowed heads. The battle is not lost, the victory is yours–take courage, be strong! There is not room here for shaking your heads and doubting, because Christ is coming.
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Christmas came early for us this year with our granddaughters staying at our house for the past several days. Today they’re leaving, but not before wonderful Jeep singing and dancing. The playlist this year featured:
CCR (“Down on the Corner” — of course)
Beatles (“Twist and Shout”)
Free (“All Right Now”)
Steppenwolf (“Magic Carpet Ride”)
Thanks for the recommendations. I’d be curious to know: What books of Grisham’s do people consider his best? I’d probably vote for “Pelican Brief.”
And it’s hard to imagine “True Grit” without JW, but we’ll probably see it.
The book is also a good read — it reveals that Rooster Cogburn was from Osceola, Missouri, just up the road from Neosha.
I also turns out that Mattie was a Presbyterian who was not pleased with lawyer Daggett’s choice of preacher for her father’s funeral.
She says, “A Baptist or even a Cambellite would have been better than him.”
Janice –
I’m still going with A Time to Kill as Grisham’s best novel. Maybe because it’s the first; but also because it tackles such important ethical questions. And when I see it, I sometimes think of the publishing companies that decided to pass on it (and on him). 250,000,000 copies later ….
The Client. I’ll never forget the trip to Michigan – and Wisconsin. First stop, Barnes and Noble. Matt chose “The Client” and Jantsen selected “1000 Knock Knock Jokes.” The number may be wrong, but you get the drift.
Dear Coping -
Thanks for all the Grisham books through the years. What a nice gift. I still have them lined up in order on the bookshelf. We still love the story of Matt and Jantsen with their books. In all fairness, the former was a year and a half older. Still, my beloved nephew remained a lover of knock-knock jokes and good southern humor his whole all-too-brief life.
My favorite book is The Firm — because it’s signed by Grisham. My favorite story is either A Time to Kill or The Testament.
Can I be the first one to give the seasonal answer: Skipping Christmas? I really did like the book. Showed that he has more than one formula. Though it’s quite a formula!
The Painted House…. because it happens in the part of Arkansas that I lived in for 3 years as a child and where I started school. I read it and I am transported to the sounds, sights and smells of being a sharecropper’s daughter.
“A Painted House” is my favorite, followed closely by “The Firm”.
Without a doubt-Painted House. Every time I see one of his books, I look to see if it has anything to do with growing up as a boy on a farm and being a baseball fan. I can forgive the SL Cardinals thing.
“The Firm.” Great story, but honestly it may have more to do with Tom Cruise (pre-kooky).
I, too, am a huge Grisham fan. I have loved all of his books, although I was upset at him for ending The Appeal the way he did!
My favorite book is The Firm. As I read each person’s “favorite,” I am reminded how much I enjoyed them all. The one that has most affected me is The Street Lawyer.
Just wondering: Am I the only one who has been disappointed with most of the movies made from Grisham’s books?
mike, the advent reading is so powerful! wanted to read it aloud to my family but knew that i couldn’t make it through without tears. thanks.
Can’t wait to see “True Grit”! I am usually let-down by remakes. I hope that is not the case this time. Picking a favorite Grisham book is just about impossible. I am partial to “The Testament” and “A Painted House”.
“The Partner”.
Because if you have ever been one, the thought has crossed your mind.
It seems to cross my mind more and more lately! Just haven’t reaaly worked out where I will go after.
I got the worst sunburn of my life reading “The Firm” on the beach. I was too entranced to flip over. At least the burn was only on half of my body. And Mike, I hate to tell you this, but a lot of people are stalking you. I talked to all of them daily when I was working for you. I gave the nice-sounding ones a map to your house. Hope that was OK.
The Last Juror, because of the great narration about the young newspaper editor making an effort to visit every church in the county and then write about the experience in a column. We get a few mentions, but the best lines were reserved for the snake handlers as part of a Pentecostal sect.
I’ve several times suggested that some year, I’m going to have the same experience of visiting a different church every week in our community…
I have all his books and my favorite is The Testament…I have read it 3 times and was hopeful that this would be turned into a movie…
I received his latest for Christmas and just about finished….since I grew up in East Texas-Kilgore, I am trying to imagine what city he had in mind for Slone.
I fell in love with Grishom’s novels with his very first, A Time to Kill. My passion was confirmed with The Firm. I read The Client before I got around to The Pelican Brief. Later my love of his novels was reawakened with Rainmaker, and finally among my favorites, The Painted House, which took my breath away. A great novelist, truly great!!
I’d have to vote for “A Time to Kill” – it was his first, it was tedious to get through the first few chapters, but once I did, I was hooked. Sat in our bathroom all night to finish it without keeping my husband awake.
The others have been good reads, but he got a little formula-driven by the time The Pelican Brief and The Client hit the bookshelves. (And you could almost read them as made-for-movie scripts instead of stories made to be read.)
Skipping Christmas was an enjoyable departure from the legal genre, as was Playing for Pizza (literary lightweight, but a fun read for this wife of a former football player and diehard fan.)
I confess I’ve never seen the original True Grit (I hear the gasps) and – grab your paper bags to hyperventilate into – I’m not really a fan of John Wayne’s movies. I respect those who love the Duke…I’m just not one of them. May see the remake though, if we can drag ourselves to the theater. Or wait for it to come out on video.
Love the playlist…those are all exceedingly jam-able tunes.
Favorite Grisham read: The Painted House. Favorite Grisham inspired movie: The Rainmaker. I confess that I really like movies that are filmed in Memphis, my hometown for more than 20 years before moving to Abilene.
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Concerning True Grit. I’ve seen both versions and really like the new one. You can catch glimpses of the The Duke’s version, like to 1-4 head-on confrontation on horseback. The young lady in the new one is way more appealing and believable than Kim Darby.
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“The battle is not lost, the victory is yours–take courage, be strong! There is not room here for shaking your heads and doubting, because Christ is coming.” Awesome!!
Mike,
Just now finding the website. Just now moving into the 21st century. Thankful to have this connect with you. A John Grisham fan, but much greater fan of Heartbeat and Life that Really Matters. Thanks for you and Landon for posing the question.