"Camino Island" - a reader's blog Chapters 1, 2 & 3

The plot of Camino Island is the search for the original manuscripts of five of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels that have been stolen from a library at Princeton. The characters include some of my favorite types  - book thieves, book collectors, book writers and extra-judicial detectives. Especially because of my interest in F. Scott Fitzgerald and my book, Jay Gatsby: A Black Man in Whiteface, and because no lawyers are involved, I chose this as my first John Grisham book. 

I was jarred by the plainness of the language in the first paragraph. And then in the first page. And then in the whole first chapter. He uses tenth grade vocabulary. The heist itself plays out with the simplicity of a a 1970's detective show -  distraction is the name of the game.

The second chapter. This focuses on the life of the book collector  - entirely. This Grisham guy not only likes clean language but also clean chapters. One does not spill over into the other.  Heck, you might have to check back to see if they are even in the same book. 

After another rather clinical cut comes chapter three. A new person, a new story  -  except this chapter shoots out a few streamers in the direction of chapters 1 and 2.  

I am floored. How much more basic can it get? This? This soars to the number one spot on the NY Times fiction bestseller list? Why does it seem so ... easy? (I know it is not.)

If you're asking what's not to like about straight forward language you haven't attended a writing workshop in the past 30 years.  There we are told to write with not-too-obvious purpose, with style. We must know why Gustave Flaubert's Monsieur Bovary refers to his wife's ear as a "lobe". (Hint: he is a doctor.) We must understand that you can't really see a thing until you lose its name. We must see how the shape of the paragraph itself conveys the tone of the novel. Surely, there must be a skillful way to help the reader understand the import of the third line in the first chapter by what you have written in the fifth chapter. We are told not to tell the story, but to show it. And a title without a trick? Please! (However, if you want to issue a piece without a title, now that might be something...)

But then here comes Mr. Grisham with a simple story that is, well, simply well-told.  Yes, I am only on chapter three, but it seems clear that this is going to unfold with Agatha Christie-like precision, pace and logic. Indeed, there is something weirdly comfortable about that.

What are the readers saying? The first laudatory comments on GoodReads.com say:

"Everytime I read a book by John Grisham I am consistently reminded of what a great storyteller he is..."  

"compact, direct and to the point -... pulls you in immediately"

 "the writing is very matter-of-fact, ....nothing very thrilling or exciting"

"It's divided into sections.." (!) 

"told on a minute-by-minute basis"

"the story unfolds bit by bit, section by section"

"the writing is trademark crisp" 

So, there you have it. There is a consistency, a pace, an order and clearness that seems to appeal. 

This is my first lesson: Grisham is a no-trick pony.