For the first day of 2014 I finished off with another John Grisham's novel
entitled The Appeal--the book which was given to me by a friend.
As usual, Mr. Grisham started his piece with a mind-grueling description of
the place and of the people. I do not have anything against him—mind you, he is
even my favorite author and I collect his writings—this is just one setback I find
when reading his works.
Back to the book, it was only after the later part that I experienced the
page turning moments I usually experience reading Dan Brown’s novel. And I got
the unexpected dismay of a not happy-ending after days of reading The Appeal.
The infiltration described by the author in the United States is somewhat
similar with the judiciary of our country. The only difference is that in the
US Supreme Court justices are elected whereas in the Philippines they are
appointed. The Appeal is a grandiose explanation of how the thugs with money
manipulate the judicial system by penetrating and subverting the ideals by
buying votes, slick advertising, campaigning propaganda and the likes.
In our country, justices are appointed by the President after the Judicial
Bar Council selected from among the roster of the qualified applicants for the vacant
position. This is usually a controversial filling out because the position is
as much a responsibility as great power and authority is vested onto the
qualifier. Politics, more often, plays a major role not only in the selection
process but also in the appointment step. The same is also described generally
in The Appeal and this is what I like about Grisham. He is unwavering in his
quest to depict on his audience the rotting system.
When there is a problem, the first step is for you to acknowledge the existence
of the problem. It would only be after the acknowledgement that you can solve
the same. As much as Grisham is a critic on the topic, his books are eye-opener
that there is something wrong in the system and that there is a call and demand
for change.
Yes, the book might not be as cool as Harry Potter nor page-turning as that
of Dan Brown; but the Appeal is still worth your time because it will leave you
a message on the reality of the world—that it is not always a happy ending and
that in every mistake or wrongdoing, there is a lesson that should be learned.
