Discovering John Grisham

I'm on a John Grisham kick at the moment, since watching The Rainmaker on HBO channel. Intrigued, I picked up a couple of Grisham novels in Goodwill, quickly read The King of Torts, am reading The Summons at present. Next I found a used set of four John Grisham movies on Ebay. We've now watched all but one, which we'd both seen before, in my case more than once -The Client, saw it years ago because Tommy Lee Jones co-stars in it. I wasn't aware that it was an adaptation of a Grisham novel at the time. The other three: A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief and Runaway Jury have all been "right up my street".

How could I have missed John Grisham 'til now? Why does he appeal to me so much? His views on politics seem similar to my own; he writes in a "quick-reading, get hooked immediately" style I enjoy. His novels are classed as "potboilers" by critics and others. So what? I can't be bothered reading arty-farty long-winded tomes these days. I like a good story, with something of a message embedded.

From John Grisham's official website, the opening lines of his bio:

Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi, law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990....

So, Mr Grisham knows intimately that of which he writes so entertainingly and profusely!

John Grishamn's natal chart offers a clue to my new-found attraction to his work. Data is from Astrodatabank, rated only "X" (not reliable). Apparently there was some question about his birthplace. There's no time of birth available. Still, even from the 12 noon chart there's enough to identify the astro-source of my attraction. My father's birthday was 8 February too, coincidentally.



Sun and Mercury in Aquarius (my own Sun sign and re-located rising sign).
Mars in Aries close to my natal Moon.
Uranus and Jupiter conjoined in Cancer - my natal rising sign.

He has a nice harmonious trine from Neptune (creativity) in Libra to Mercury (writing, communication) in Aquarius; also Moon in Virgo (ruled by Mercury the writer's planet)....all excellent astro credentials for writers.

A clear attraction to his subject and earlier career, the law, is represented by Saturn (law) in harmonious trine to the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction in Cancer. Uranus's link to Saturn's more establishment "feel" reflects Grisham's often anti-establishment traits.

So there are astrological reasons why I enjoy Grisham's work; a real life one too: I worked for 24 years among lawyers and judges in the UK. I'm looking forward to sampling more from the wide choice of his book titles, as well as any adapted for movies.