The Associate: A Novel [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Das Buch handelt von dem jungen Anwalt McAvoy, der als einer der besten seines Jahrganges von einer Eliteuniversität abgeht. Obwohl er zahlreiche Angebote renommierter Kanzleien hat, will er eigentlich einen schlecht bezahlten Posten in einer kleinen Kanzlei annehmen. Dazu kommt es aber nicht, da er von einem mysteriösen Erpresser dazu genötigt wird bei der größten Kanzlei New Yorks anzuheuern. Er soll sich dort in einen wichtigen Fall einschleusen, in dem es um militärische Geheimnisse und Milliarden geht. Basis der Erpressung ist eine exzessive Party in seiner Studentenzeit und eine Vergewaltigung. McAvoy akzeptiert also das Angebot der großen Kanzlei und arbeitet dort unter menschenunwürdigen Bedingungen, um die Erpressung los zu werden.

Die Story hätte Potential gehabt, ist sie doch ist eine abgewandelte Version von "die Firma". Leider hat Grisham seit damals offenbar die Lust am Schreiben verloren. Dass die Geschichte teilweise grobe Logikfehler hat und extrem vorhersehbar ist wäre noch zu verschmerzen gewesen. Welcher Anwalt der bei Sinnen ist, würde sich durch eine obskure Erpressung in ein wirkliches Verbrechen treiben lassen und dem Erpresser dadurch noch mehr Handhabe geben? Es mutet nach einem billigen Horrorfilm an, wo man beim Zusehen denkt: "der kann doch nicht so dämlich sein und tatsächlich in das Haus des Mörders gehen in dem bereits 10 seiner Freunde verschwunden sind, anstatt um Hilfe zu telefonieren". Auch dass das Erpressungsmotiv für europäische Leser ganz und gar an den Haaren herbei gezogen ist, könnte man noch verzeihen. Eine junge Frau, die es bereits mit der gesamten männlichen Belegschaft der Universität getrieben hat und zum wiederholten Mal mit dem "Vergewaltiger" freiwillig beischläft ist plötzlich der Meinung sie sei vergewaltigt worden, nur weil sie mitten im Akt aufgrund massiver Alkoholisierung wegepennt ist? Und der Erpresste war nicht einmal der "Vergewaltiger" sondern ein ebenfalls schlafender Partygast? Ich habe schon solidere Erpressungsmotive gehört. Was mich wirklich wütend gemacht hat ist das lieblose Ende. Die Story hat gerade einen ganz ordentlichen Lauf, plötzlich ist sie zu Ende. Handlungsstränge die lange aufgebaut wurden, werden mit einem Federstrich abgewürgt und der Leser bleibt ratlos zurück: Hatte Grisham bereits Abgabetermin und musste sein Buch daher kurzfristig abbrechen? Oder hatte er einfach keine Lust mehr? Selten habe ich einen unbefriedigenderen Abschluss eines Buches gelesen.
Nicht alles am Buch ist schlecht. Vor allem die Schilderung des Lebens von Junganwälten in renommierten Großkanzleien der USA ist gelungen. Sie ist offensichtlich Grishams Abrechnung mit diesem Berufsstand und man merkt, dass ihm dieses Thema ein Anliegen ist. Auch der Erzählstil passt. Der Autor hat nicht ohne Grund zahlreiche Bestseller gelandet.

Unterm Strich ist das Buch eine Enttäuschung. Wer Grisham lesen will, sollte zu seinen früheren Romanen greifen.

The Associate is further evidence that John Grisham's best legal thriller writing was in his early days. From the concept for the plot to the character development to the ending, this novel shouldn't get past the defense's request for summary judgment to dismiss the book without offering a defense of the request.

If you haven't already read The Firm, The Associate would almost come up to average level. I'm sure you have read The Firm (probably one reason why you picked up The Associate), and in every aspect of The Associate you'll wish you were reading The Firm.

Don't judge the book by its first 57 pages. Those pages are vivid, interesting, compelling, and will get your heart pumping. After that, it's all downhill . . . a long way down.

So what's it all about?

Kyle McAvoy is a third-year student at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut where he's the star of the show as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Review. Having grown up in Erie, Pennsylvania where his father runs a "serve-the-people" practice rather than a "take-the-peoples'-money" practice, McAvoy is planning to take a job as a poverty lawyer for 2-3 years.

Fate intervenes while McAvoy is coaching a youth league basketball game. The FBI wants to talk to McAvoy. Before the night is over, a series of events begin to unfold that make McAvoy a pawn in a game so big he cannot even imagine who the players might be. It's all tied up with a moment he would rather forget, even though he doesn't remember much about the moment through the mists of time and drunkenness.

As a result, McAvoy joins one of the nation's largest and highest paid firms, Scully & Pershing, as a litigation associate. Once there, he's abused, overworked, and bored to death like everyone else chasing the plum of a partnership. McAvoy has another boss, the mysterious Bennie who wants secrets from the firm . . . and will seemingly stop at nothing to get those secrets.

Can McAvoy do what's right and escape the clutches of Bennie? That's the primary suspense in the story.

Don't read any further if you think you might want to read the book. Let's start with the plot's premise in explaining the book's weaknesses. I could not imagine someone with McAvoy's legal background and status knuckling under to this kind of blackmail without getting help from professors and a father who is a lawyer. If McAvoy had asked for help, the plot would never have developed.

From there, the blackmail activity puts enormous resources into influencing one law student. That makes no sense. There had to be easier ways to steal the information. I've been in many of New York's largest law offices after hours, and the security wouldn't be hard to overcome.

The side plot of a college rape doesn't add anything to the story other than to make it disgusting to read. Surely, Mr. Grisham could have thought of something else to blackmail McAvoy for that wouldn't leave such a bad taste in the reader's mouth.

On the character side, I didn't find myself rooting very much for McAvoy. And the other characters weren't particularly sympathetic either except for Baxter Tate, just before he was murdered. The character development was modest at best. The only character which came alive for me as a person was McAvoy's father.

Let's face it. Large law firms are indescribably dull unless you happen to be assigned an interesting question to research. There's a reason for that. Young associates don't know enough about the law to do very many people any good, but they can do a lot of harm. Picking such a firm for the story gave Mr. Grisham a target to criticize . . . but not much of interest to write about. Based on my experiences with top New York lawyers and the associates who carry their brief cases around, the criticisms rang more hollow than true.

Having McAvoy play cat-and-mouse with Bennie and his merry men did provide a little amusement, but to me it just stretched out the story to little purpose.

The ending just felt like the book contract required that so many pages be written and that Mr. Grisham wanted to wrap it all up quickly. Obviously one of the partners was playing ball with Bennie . . . but why . . . and what did they hope to accomplish by involving McAvoy?

I suppose that I'm supposed to riddle over that set of questions (like The Lady or the Tiger?). I didn't riddle a bit because I didn't care who did what.

I think I'll wait to look at a few reviews in the future before I read any of Mr. Grisham's future legal thrillers.

Grisham has certainly not lost his talent for writing joyful readings, but obviously run out of stories. This is a plot that is neither realistic at any time nor satisfying because it leaves nothing but loose ends and is a zillion miles below the standard we were used to. Painful, after so many good books. Is he past his prime?