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THE CLIENT
--BY JOHN GRISHAM--
Some words about the author:
He was born in 1955, in Jonesboro. He spent his childhood preparing for a career
as a professional athlete with playing baseball. Grisham began writing in 1984,
and three years later he finished his first novel, A Time To Kill, published
in June 1988. It was followed by The Firm in 1987, The Pelican Brief in 1990,
The Client in 1993, The Chamber in 1994, The Rainmaker in 1995 and others.
Some words about the main characters:
Mark Sway: He is a young, cute boy who is really mature for his age. He is clever,
quick and remarkable. He takes care of his little brother and hismother. He
feels like the father.
Diana Sway: She is anxious and very worried about her sons. She has weak nerves.
She is very poor and works hard. She tries to enable her sonseverything. Diana
is a warm-hearted woman.
Reggie Love: She is a fantastic lawyer with many experiences. From the first
time she sees Mark, she loves him very much. She is a good friend forhim and
does nearly everything to help him and his family. She likes it to work with
children.
CONTENT:
This is the story of 11-year-old Mark Sway, who lives with his mother Diana
and his younger brother Ricky in a trailer park. They had a very terriblechildhood
because their father was hooked by drugs and alcohol. He often beat his family.
Fortunately, Diana is divorced now. Mark is very mature forhis age and he is
like a father for Ricky. One day Mark and Ricky go to the wood to smoke a cigarette,
which Mark has stolen from his mum. They hidebehind bushes and trees. Suddenly
they watch a big car which stands still only 40 feet from them. It is obvious
that the man inside the car wants tocommit suicide, because he puts a water
hose into the exhaust pipe and the other end through a small hole of the window.
Mark sneaks twice to the carto put the hose out of the exhaust pipe. Suddenly
the man, Romey Clifford a New Orleans attorney, discovers Mark and pulls him
into the car angrily.He wants Mark to die with him. The lawyer tells Mark a
deadly secret concerning the recent murder of the first US Senator. Romey’s
client, Barry TheBlade, a Mafia guy, has killed the Senator and has hid the
body under the fresh concrete of Romey Clifford’s garage. The police
and the FBI need tofind the body to start with legal procedures against Barry.
Ricky is brought into psychiatric care. He is very ill and Diana and Mark have
to stay with him at hospital. The police finds out that Mark was in the car,before
Romey shot himself. So the police, the federal prosecutor, special agents, like
Mr. Trumann, US attorneys like Mr. Foltrigg or Mr. Thomas Finkand the FBI pressure
Mark to tell them the attorney’s last word; But Mark knows that with
the mob ( Mafia ) is watching each of his moves and thatrevealing his secret
would almost surly mean his death.
Mark hires a lawyer: Reggie Love, a 52-year-old divorcee who’s been
through more than anyone could imagine basically, because she is tough. Sheloves
helping kids overlooked or abused by the system. She has a male secretary, named
Clint. Mark trusts her, so he tells her the whole story, exceptthe hiding place
of the body, to protect himself and Reggie. Reggie and Mark immediately go to
the hospital. The FBI is still waiting in a conferenceroom and want to talk
to Mark. Reggie hides a small record under Mark’s T-shirt and waits
outside the room. After a while Mark comes out of theroom. He is very scared
because the agents asked him unfair questions. Reggie goes into the room and
tells them that he represents Mark Sway. Sheshows them the recorder. She is
very angry that they have attempted to interrogate Mark outside the presence
of his mother.
In the meantime the Mafia, especially Paul Gronke and Bono, follow and watch
every single step Mark takes. They also threat on him in the elevator ofthe
hospital, where an ugly man clenches his fingers around Mark’s throat
and shows him a knife. Mark is very afraid of the Mafia.
The same night a big car stops at the trailer park and puts a box against the
Sway’s trailer. He has come and gone without a noise or a trace. Later
thebox explodes and a fire brakes out. The Sway’s home is nothing
but rubble. Diana has weak nerves. First she loses her job, because her chef
doesn’tunderstand the situation and fires her, second she is so worried
about Ricky who’s state will not be getting better and now she lost
her home.
So two policemen come to the hospital to fetch Mark. Diana is near a nervous
breakdown. She shouts and cries at the police as they take Mark. Theybring him
to the Juvenile Detention Centre. Mark is locked in, and a woman called Doreen
looks after him. So it comes to a hearing but Mark refusesto answer any questions
concerning his experience with Romey. He is locked up in "jail" again.
One evening, on the final room check of the Juvenile Centre they find Mark under
a big shock. He curls tightly with his knees on his chest,motionless, except
for rapid, heavy breathing. He has his thumb in his mouth. They bring him to
St. Peter’s hospital, where Ricky is. He isn’t escortedby
cops, security men or the FBI. They bring Mark to a small room. But he has only
simulated a traumatic shock. Mark gets up, informs Reggie of hisescape, and
sneaks out of the hospital. He knows all doors, exits and ways in the hospital.
Mark doesn’t want another hearing. Reggie comes to theparking lot
very quickly. Clint has given her his car and his credit cards. So Reggie and
Mark disappear. First Reggie doesn’t know where Mark wantsto go. She
only knows that she can loose her job and she can be arrested for this action.
Mark wants to go to New Orleans, to find out whether the bodyis really under
the boat in Romey’s garage. If it is not, Diana and Ricky would be
safe. Mark knows the FBI would never suspect them to be in NewOrleans because
there, Barry The Blade and the rest of the dangerous Mafia have their head quarters.
Reggie and Mark also head towards the garage. The house of Mr. Clifford is very
big and in the bend of an old, shady street. They park their car in oneof the
neighbours street and sneak through bushes and trees to the garage which has
one door and one window. Suddenly they can hear noises out ofthe garage. Mark
can see the men digging up the body. Both are afraid, because they know these
men are dangerous and would kill them if they findthem. They are killers. Mark
tells Reggie to stay under the bushes and not even to move a muscle. Mark crawls
to the neighbourhood garden andthrow a stone into a window. Suddenly an alarm
is wailing and Mr. Ballantine, the owner, runs into his garden with a gun. His
wife calls the police. Aftera few minutes the first police car arrives. The
cops search the area. The three men are so scared that they flee quickly. After
a while the cops leave.Reggie and Mark wait, trembling and holding hands. Then
they creek to the garage and look for the corpse. They can see the decaying
face of the lateSenator Boyd Boyette which is full of snakes, worms and other
insects.
Diana, Ricky and Mark fly to New Orleans. Mark kisses Reggie goodbye and wipes
his tears. He would never see her again.
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