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Book Review: The Summons

by Lang Reid

Hot off the press, The Summons (ISBN 0-440-29600-5) is the latest fiction piece from well known author John Grisham (The Client, The Firm and many others). Like the previous examples, this is another thriller, set within a legal family, with Judge Atlee from Clanton Mississippi representing the typical conservative viewpoint of yesterday. His sons, one a law professor and the other an alcoholic drug addict are shown in their correct positions within the family hierarchy. However, all good things must come to an end, and the book really begins with the demise of the old judge, by then a cancer-ridden shadow of his former self at 79 years of age.

Grisham has the ability to describe life, its circumstances and the people in it with an amazing accuracy. Attention to detail is one factor that has made his books so believable, and if you then add in an exciting plot you have a classic book of this genre. It is no wonder that they have ended up on the silver screen.

In The Summons, following the death of the patriarch, his sons appear, the respected law professor and the hopeless alcoholic, with the latter letting the professor execute the apparently simple division of the estate. It all goes smoothly for a while until a large amount of money is discovered. Money that could not have been earned by the normal endeavours of a county judge.

The professor has now to attempt to find out just how his father came by this money. If illegally, it will damn the memory of his father forever, but if come by legally, and incorporated in the estate, it will be subject to investigation and tax by the Inland Revenue Service.

With his legal mind, the professor begins to attempt to find where the money came from. Gambling perhaps? Stocks and shares? The next factor was to see if any of his late father’s close associates knew of “extra” money. All this he has to do in a clandestine manner, something which is foreign to the nature of a law school professor.

When he finds out that someone else knows about the money, his troubles are compounded. The roller coaster ride starts about now and you will not be able to put the book down! Believe me!

The review copy was made available by Bookazine and has an RRP of 350 baht. It is a fascinating story, and not so much of a legal tale, as most of his previous books, but one that goes much deeper than that. This is not just corporate crime, or legal manoeuvring, this is examination of disturbed minds and the reactions of supposedly normal minds. Grisham’s book shows complete knowledge of small towns, small town legal issues and a keenly honed insight into small town human psychology. He does this with a dialogue that keeps the reader turning pages, wondering just what is coming next. The pace is too fast to attempt to reach your own conclusions, and the final pages are electric with suspense. A thriller in the grand manner and a damn fine read.

Movie Review: “Sweet Home Alabama”

By Poppy

This is a good-natured comedy about one of the hottest designers in the fashion world, Melanie Carmichael/Smooter (Reese Witherspoon) who, before she can marry a handsome young political hopeful Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey), has to return to her Alabama hometown to divorce the sweet but undistinguished husband Jake Perry (Josh Lucas) who she left behind seven years earlier.

Melanie’s character is a troublemaking, fun-loving small-town girl who left home and never looked back, then when she shows up again she comes across as a rather unpleasant snob that makes cruel, snotty remarks to her husband and her old friends. There’s a scene at a honky-tonk in which Melanie lays into all her old friends in a way that’s vicious and very real. She has always lied about her humble roots, claiming to have come from a rich Southern family instead of a working-class one.

When she approaches her deserted husband he calls her a ‘hoity toity madam’ and decides not to make it too easy for her to obtain the divorce. Needless to say these childhood sweethearts find that some things never change.

It’s an easy to watch movie if your expectations are not too high. The storyline gets a little lost at times. Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde) doesn’t have to do too much to be cute and sweet but she does push her luck a few times and you feel quite sorry for those at the end of her rather acerbic remarks. Candice Bergen is great as New York’s mayor.

Cast:

Reese Witherspoon ... Melanie Carmichael, a.k.a. Melanie Smooter

Josh Lucas ... Jake Perry

Patrick Dempsey ... Andrew Hennings

Candice Bergen ... Mayor Kate Hennings

Mary Kay Place ... Pearl Smooter

Fred Ward ... Earl Smooter

Jean Smart ... Stella Kay

Ethan Embry ... Bobby Ray

Melanie Lynskey ... Lurlynn

Courtney Gains ... Wade

Mary Lynn Rajskub ... Dorothea

Rhona Mitra ... Tabatha

Nathan Lee Graham ... Frederick

Sean Bridges ... Eldon

Fleet Cooper ... Clinto

Mott’s CD review: 

Volume 4 - Black Sabbath

by Mott the Dog

***** 5 Stars Rating

As a big “Black Sabbath” fan I have to tell you that, if you can only own one Sabbath album, then this should be it. Now I’m not saying that most Black Sabbath albums are not good. (How can anything with Toni Iommi on lead guitar be bad?) In fact, the first six are out and out classics with “Heaven & Hell”, “Born Again”, and the wonderful “Re-union” album joining these ranks. It’s just that Volume 4 has got it all.

Already international superstars upon its release, “Volume 4” consolidated their position as the world’s number one Heavy Metal band, a position that has never seriously been challenged. (Have you heard Creed’s new album “Weathered”? Talk about a load of Sabbath Wannabes.)

Whilst recovering from tour exhaustion, Sabbath promised that their new album would be more experimental, more progressive, and unbelievably heavier than anything they had ever done before. This was quite a claim from a band whose last album had been the classic “Masters Of Reality”.

The opener “Wheels Of Confusion” was straight away a departure for Sabbath, clocking in at over eight and a half minutes. This was not some rambling heavy blues based jam, but a well structured epic with its inspiration coming from what was termed at the time as Progressive Rock, only, of course, played the Sabbath way. It proved that the band had no lack of inspiration either musically or lyrically. Ozzy singing Geezer Butler’s words with real menace:

“Lost in the wheels of confusion

Running Thru Valleys of trees

Eyes full of angry delusion

Hiding in everyday fears”

“Wheels Of Confusion” transforms from crunching power chords into a glorious Sergio Leone pastiche, overlaid with thundering guitars.

Bursting through the speakers after this was the new single at the time “Tomorrow’s Dream”, the first Sabbath single since worldwide smash hit “Paranoid”. A song that is about as commercial as Heavy Metal can get.

Then came the real shock, horror of horror, Sabbath do a ballad. Not only a ballad, but a piano led ballad that would not have been out of place on a Barry Manilow album. Fans were always prepared for Sabbath to experiment with different styles, and after the hard rockin “Paranoid” had given them a well deserved hit and a following of teenage girls, it is still frightening to imagine the audience of Radio 2 (Britain’s very staid radio channel) listeners this song would have attracted, had it been released as a single and been a hit.

But from here on out it’s pure Sabbath with Toni Iommi taking the lead and laying down some of his best known heavy riffs. Although it’s not all just a bunch of loud detuned e-chord riffing, as there are plenty of subtler moments, especially in the two instrumental Iommi solo spots “FX” and “Laguna Sunrise”, Vol 4 also catches Ozzy at his outrageous best. You can almost hear the frills on his jacket bashing together as he stomps along with the rest of the band in the heads down, no nonsense, mindless boogie sections of the songs. Geezer Butler not only gives Ozzy some wonderful lyrics to sing, but lays down some bass work that was going to become the template for all players of the four string guitar for years to come. Bill Ward is the only drummer for Black Sabbath. Full stop no argument.

If you are a stranger to Black Sabbath’s Volume Four and you like your rock music hard heavy with genuine excitement, acquaint yourself.

Musicians

Tony Iommi - Guitar

Geezer Butler - Bass Guitar

Ozzy Osbourne - Vocals

Bill Ward - Drum

(and Geoff Nichols - Keyboards un-credited)

Track Listing

1. Wheels Of Confusion

2. Tomorrows Dream

3. Changes

4. FX

5. Supernaut

6. Snowblind

7. Cornucopia

8. Laguna Sunrise

9. St. Vitus Dance

10. Under The Sun

To contact Mott the Dog email: mottthedog@shenanigens-pattaya.com

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