John Grisham, the renowned figure in American literature, has solidified his status as a literary statesman. With a prolific career spanning over three decades, Grisham has consistently focused on his writing output, resulting in a staggering 49 published books and over 400 million copies sold.
Grisham’s latest work, The Exchange, serves as a sequel to his 1991 bestseller The Firm, a book that catapulted him to writing stardom. When asked about revisiting The Firm after all these years, Grisham nonchalantly replied, “Well, we’re always trying to angle a way to sell more books.”
The Firm centered around a tax lawyer named Mitch McDeere who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a secretive and shady law firm, entangling himself between the mob and the FBI. The book’s success translated into a hit 1993 movie starring Tom Cruise.
While Grisham enjoyed Hollywood fame during the early ’90s with several of his novels adapted for the big screen, he and his wife, Renee Grisham, remained cognizant of the cyclical nature of fame and the transience of success.
In The Exchange, set 15 years after The Firm, readers find Mitch and his wife Abby living in New York City with their children, embroiled in a legal battle over a fictional bridge in Libya. This book also delves into themes of injustice, a recurring motif in Grisham’s work.
Beyond his fiction, John Grisham has taken up the cause of wrongful convictions, actively participating in organisations like The Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries. He continues to advocate for justice reform and is currently working on a non-fiction collection focusing on individuals wrongfully incarcerated for crimes they did not commit.
Throughout his storied career, Grisham’s dedication to writing and passion for justice have remained unwavering, making him a true luminary in American letters.
