Book Review of "The Summons" by John Grisham

Well I finally read my first book by John Grisham, and I was very impressed. I have seen several of the books made into movies that he has written, and for the most part have liked them very much. I really liked the movie The Firm as well as the movie The Rainmaker. So I decided to read this book on the left to see what his writing style was like. This story is the story of two brothers who are summoned home to find that their dad has died and left several million dollars of cash around with no mention of it in his will. The oldest brother (Ray) finds the money in the story and decides he will hide it until he can figure things out. I don't want to give too much away (for those who haven't read it yet), but it was really a fascinating read. The story was fast enough pace to keep you interested, and I think did a great job showing the dangers of hoarding wealth. In fact, if I had to pick one verse in the Bible that illustrated what this story was about, I would pick Luke 12:15 where Jesus says:

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Greed can do all sorts of things to a person, and in the end cause him/her to hurt the ones he/she loves. This novel was an excellent story that helped to enforce that idea, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

Lucky You Review

I had seen several previews for this movie, and it looked good so while at the video store, I figured we would pick it up and see what quality of romantic comedy this proves to be. First mistake renting this movie, was thinking that it was a romantic comedy. It really isn't. All the commercials and previews make it appear to be a great romantic comedy movie, but in reality Lucky You is more of a sports drama about a distant son who is a habitual gambler and his rocky relationship with his dad who taught him the game of poker and who is always trying to show that he is a better gambler than his own son. However, that being said I have to admit I liked this movie. Eric Bana is the main character who is not necessarily a likeable character in the beginning as they show how desparate this guy is to gamble. He basically pulls all sorts of tricks just to get more money to hit the poker tables, and even steals from Drew Barrymore after taking her out for a romantic date. He not only compulsively gambles, he really has a chip on his shoulder towards his father who consistently beats him in gambling and makes him feel like he'll never measure up. That is what is great about this movie. Although it isn't really a comedy (OR that romantic), the complexity of the characters and the lessons that the main character learns about relationships make this movie worth seeing. I won't give away how things work out, but I will say it does prove to teach some very important lessons about winning, competition, and forgiveness. As long as you aren't watching this movie for a sappy love story, I think if you give it a chance, this movie may be an enjoyable watch with redemptive themes.