Gray Mountain

A Novel

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Catherine Taber

John Grisham has a new hero...and she's full of surprises.

The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer's career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast track - until the recession hits and she gets downsized, furloughed, escorted out of the building. Samantha, though, is one of the "lucky" associates. She's offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one year without pay, after which there would be a slim chance that she'd get her old job back.

In a matter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady, Virginia, population 2,200, in the heart of Appalachia, a part of the world she has only read about. Mattie Wyatt, lifelong Brady resident and head of the town's legal aid clinic, is there to teach her how to "help real people with real problems". For the first time in her career, Samantha prepares a lawsuit, sees the inside of an actual courtroom, gets scolded by a judge, and receives threats from locals who aren't so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town. And she learns that Brady, like most small towns, harbors some big secrets.

Her new job takes Samantha into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, rules are ignored, regulations are flouted, communities are divided, and the land itself is under attack from Big Coal. Violence is always just around the corner, and within weeks Samantha finds herself engulfed in litigation that turns deadly.

©2014 Belfry Holdings, Inc (P)2014 Random House Audio

Gray Mountain

Any additional comments?
Catherine Taber does not do male voices. Any attempt is barely discernible and lame, at best. In conversations that include a male voice, it is difficult to decide who-is-talking-to-who, a listener nightmare of re-wind hell. John Grisham has a history of using narrators like Michael Beck or Scott Brick, and others who are stellar at their trade of voice-over or audiobook narration. I frown at my iPhone and wonder why Grisham went with Catherine Taber. Maybe, given that the lead character, the POV, in Gray Mountain is a woman? Although sweet, clear in diction, nice pacing, Catherine Taber’s voice is much more suited to young adult or children’s books. Her voice is child-like, teenaged, valley-girlish. Nothing against her … the reading is okay, but her voice simply doesn’t work for Gray Mountain, at all. Bad choice.

So, to those contemplating the audio version of Gray Mountain, do your best to ignore the reader and focus on the story itself.

Samantha, the lead character, is caught in the New York collapse of the financial world of a few years ago. Lay off from her job as a junior associate lawyer is the catalyst to a job at not-for-profit legal aid clinic in the boondocks of coal country. Black lung, crooked strip mining companies, and desperate poor people traverse the pages of a novel that is very typical of John Grisham. All of Grisham’s books involve characters and the locale of the deep south, i.e., A Time to Kill and Sycamore Row and A Painted House, etc. Write what you know is taken seriously with Grisham, as is the New England area with Stephen King.

Grisham has an incredible understanding and knowledge of the legal arena and of the southern psyche. His deep love of the south is very apparent in his words, his insight is a pleasure to read.

Gray Mountain is a David-vs-Goliath story, big coal company skulduggery vs the desperate little guy. The story is a bit longer than necessary, scenes and side-plots having little, if anything, to do with the story arc, but considering the arena of the Grisham books, this one fits in well. If you’re a fan of Grisham, you will enjoy the story.

Not the entertainment I was expecting.

Story lines were not finished.

I felt like Grisham wanted to educate people about problems in Appalachia - maybe to get support to change laws and get help for problems. So he wrote a novel about a lawyer who goes to Appalachia to work in a free legal aid clinic. Most of the book is sad stories about people who are hurting and come to the lawyers for help. The worst problems are black lung disease caused by coal mining. Coal companies won’t pay workers’ claims. The companies drag things out in the legal system for years before paying any benefits to sick workers. There are also cancers from coal related pollution. Instead of traditional underground mining, coal companies do strip mining which is like a rape of the land and destroys water sources.

I love Grisham because he makes characters so alive, and he does that here. But it was not a fun read. One main character gets killed but the rest are ok at the end, which made the ending sort of happy. There were two major court cases that were not finished, in Spoiler below.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
One case finished, but it was going to be appealed. The other case had important evidence that caused a lot of suspense with bad guys trying to get it. That trial had not begun when the book was finished.
END SPOILERS.

I was disappointed that a murder was not solved. Was the author in a rush to finish this book? The only reason I did not give it 2 stars was because I did not wish it would be over. I just wanted more so it would be complete.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Catherine Taber did a good job. She had a quiet serious tone to her voice which fit the sad serious material. She did men well. Some female narrators lower their voice in a way that makes men sound weird. This narrator did not do that.

Narrative mode: 3rd person.
Genre: legal fiction with a little suspense.

Not his best

I like John Grisham.

As a general rule, when I buy one of his books, I am confident that I am going to be entertained. But this one is an exception. Its the story of a young Ivy League Lawyer grinding her way up the corporate law ladder in New York City who is suddenly laid off when the sub-prime crisis hits. She is forced to find work in 'Discovery' country, a backwater in the Appalachian Mountains where corruption and exploitation of the poor by mining corporations is rife.

She eventually 'discovers' herself by finding fulfillment in helping these victims fight the evil mining companies. The trouble is that the story is disjointed and weak. The heroine is bland and its hard to empathize with her, and the plot never really gets going and then all of a sudden BANG!. Its over and you think. Is that it?

I'm surprised Grisham's advisors didn't get him to revise this one before publication. He must have enough money by now, so you would think that he would value his reputation for quality and his legacy too much to allow second-rate books like this one to tarnish his portfolio.

Story was ok but the narration was horrible

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was hard to believe the narrator was some one who is a New Yorker...she sounded more like a teen who should be reading romance novels. The story was without and ending...is this by design to lure us into a series of Samantha Kofer books?

What didn’t you like about Catherine Taber’s performance?

Not belevable as a New Yorker.

Excellent read

I have always appreciated John Grisham,s works but this one although older I somehow missed. It made me cry at times laugh out loud and snicker through the somewhat dry humor at others. The characters especially Mattie and Donovan were larger than life. Even though I found the main character, Samantha a little wussy at times she came through as a genuine personality. I loved the sub characters and found most genuine.

Good Book By Grisham

What made the experience of listening to Gray Mountain the most enjoyable?

The current strip mining of Appalachia is in the news today. It is a current story and brings to reality the hardships of mountain people and the greed of coal companies. This was not one of the better Grisham books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gray Mountain?

The end.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator's pronunciation of common words was distracting. There is no "m" in sandwiches? She repeatedly called sandwiches-samwiches. Also the book is based in the Appalachian mountains, she could not pronounce Appalachian. This distracted for the story line. Catherine Taber please ask how to pronounce words if you don't know how.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction.

Annoyingly Good

What made the experience of listening to Gray Mountain the most enjoyable?

Grisham's superb writing made this book wonderful, so why did I use the header, "Annoyingly good"? Mainly because the ending wasn't up to Grisham's usual standards. I won't say more except to mention that I recommend any Grisham fan to buy this book--you won't be disappointed, I promise.The narrator, too, was just superb.

It Was NOT what I expected!!!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If it is a person who reads Grisham I would say maybe. This book was not what I expected from John Grisham. I have read or listened to everyone of his books. It had the law factor, but did not have the punch I was expecting.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I did not like the ending, I wanted to know the decisions on the cases that Sam had. I felt that it left you hanging/wondering on her relationship with Jeff. Perhaps he has plans to write a sequel to this book?

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Catherine Taber?

I don't know, but she was not a favorite of mine. No one comes to mind at this moment. It was hard get the changing in person in her narration. I'm use to many of the male voices in the Grisham books. It was different with the female voice, I guess she was just a bit too soft.

Did Gray Mountain inspire you to do anything?

No it did not inspire me to do anything. It did give me a new perspective on the world of coal mining. How it has affected the environment and families. That aspect of the book enlightened me to how large corporations have no regard for doing what's right.

Any additional comments?

If there is another book that you really want, you can pass this.....but I can understand knowing for yourself is something that might draw you in, especially the Grisham name. I don't know what he was thinking, I still like the author, but this book is not one of his best.

Disappointing Narrator

Any additional comments?

I was really excited for this book. The story was good but the narrator was not. Her pace was way too slow and it really ruined the story. A couple of times I thought my ipod had accidentally shut off, but no, it was just another unnecessary dramatic pause by the narrator.

Taking down the big guys

Like many of Baldacci's books, this is all about taking down the big bad guys. I like that! I've seen the damage coal companies have done, and I was glad to see it addressed and well-researched. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep this story going, and the characters were appropriately presented. There were several story lines involved that intertwined, but sometimes it was less satisfying than it could have been. It's a good book, would probably make a good movie. It's not great, but it's entertaining.