Ford County by John GrishamMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A collection of seven short stories, I bought it with high expectations. Didn't live up to it. The first one "Blood Drive" is about three people volunteering to go to the city to donate blood to one of the residents of Ford County. This is a funny account of their misadventures. "Fetching Raymond" is about a family of three, a mother and her two sons, visiting their third son in prison. This is somewhat a tragic story including "Michael'sRoom". "Fish Files" is about a down and out lawyer prospecting for a fortune by cheating his clients. It was kind of boring. I liked "Casino" & "Quiet Haven" but the last one "Funny Boy" simply takes the cake. It is a beautiful story about how a young white man dying of AIDS ends up in a black township near Clanton and is looked after by a black lady after being abandoned by his family.
The protagonist is not the character in the stories but Ford county itself. Its residents are depicted as racists, bigots, misogynists, petty thieves, creepy crooked lawyers and gold-diggers. I think this is the first book of its kind where the author has delved into short stoy format. But I liked Archer's stories more than Grisham's. Happy reading for folks interested in reading short stories ! Nothing great about it. Maybe for Grisham fans only.
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