Sparring Partners, John Grisham, author; Jeff Daniels, Ethan Hawke, and January LaVoy, narrators
In the first story, “Homecoming”, we encounter lots of familiar characters from previous Grisham books. Jake Brigance, a small town lawyer, is contacted by an old acquaintance, Mack Stafford, who disappeared shortly after he divorced his wife. He had not been heard from for three years. He had abandoned his two daughters, one a pre-teen and one a teenager. Margot, the daughter who pushed the envelope was the older one, and Helen, the obedient, goody two shoes, was the younger. Harry Rex had been Mack’s lawyer, but Mack insisted that he wanted Jake and Carla to come to Costa Rica for a week, just to talk. Harry would not be in a position to advise him. It seemed that his ex-wife Lisa was dying, and he wanted to return to Clanton to make amends of sorts, but he was not going to go to jail and needed to know if the law was after him. His wife and her family had other ideas. Was Mack guilty? If so, should he go to jail and pay for his crimes or did his unhappy life justify his actions? Will Margot reap the benefits of her father’s promise? This story is engaging, and is set up for a sequel.
The second story, “Strawberry Moon”, will tug at your heart strings. It is about a young man who is on death row, Cody, 29 years old, about to be the youngest man executed. He was only fourteen years old when his brother Brian, four years older, murdered two people. Although Cody never pulled the trigger that took the lives of the couple, he was there and was an accessory. At age 15, his trial ended, and he was sentenced to death. His brother, who did pull the trigger, had been murdered at the scene by one of the victims as he lay dying. Cody was traumatized but uninjured.
We enter the story on the last day of his life. His culpability and rehabilitation are both revealed. The reader is left to wonder if taking his life is the worthwhile solution. He really never had much of a life, to begin with. The simplest things impressed him. He had been abandoned by his prostitute mother and bounced around from orphanage to foster home until his brother Brian found him. They both lived off what they could steal. It turns out that his only friend ever, is his pen pal, Miss Iris. She gave his life meaning, encouraged him to educate himself and sent him over 1000 books in the 15 years he had been in prison and on death row. She may have rescued Cody, but he was still condemned to die and beyond the hope of redemption. He was both good and bad because of circumstances. Did his dreadful life justify his behavior? Was his punishment just? Will Miss Iris enjoy his “estate”?
The next story, which was my least favorite, gives the book its title, Sparring Partners. It is about the Malloy brothers, Rusty and Kirk. They are opposites in personality and lifestyle. One is a Democrat and the other a Republican. One is a stickler for rules, one likes to push the envelope. One is outgoing and the other is less so. Their father is in jail. He seems to have gotten away with the murder of their mother. He also made a lot of money from the settlement of a tobacco lawsuit that the boys did not want to join. He does not share the proceeds with his sons, and together with the accountant, he has hidden the funds from even the government. Rusty and Kirk resent him, and they profess to hate him. They also dislike each other.
Diantha Bradshaw is a lawyer and the managing director. She is a partner in the crimes the brothers eventually commit. Should she get away with her part in their schemes? Should the accountant? Are all of her actions justified? She resented not being made partner. There was little chance for advancement at Malloy and Malloy. She thought the brothers were guilty of having too much privilege. She was a bitter employee because she felt abused. Did Diantha’s actions justify her rewards?
All the stories are about two sides of the coin. Each talks about actions and reactions, lawfulness vs lawlessness, guilt vs innocence, reward vs punishment. In the end who deserves punishment and who deserves a reward?