英文读书报告

1、Page 1the authorthe charactersthe plotthe understandingthe praisesOutline Jonh GrishamBorn: February 8, 1955 Occupation: NovelistNationality: AmericanAlma mater: Mississippi State University Period: 1989-presentGenres: Legal thriller Crime fiction FootballJohn Grisham is an American lawyer and autho

2、r, best known for his popular legal thrillers.He graduated from Mississippi State University (密西西比州立大学) before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade. He also served in the House of Representatives in Mississippi from January 1984

3、to September 1990.Beginning writing in 1984, he had his first novel A Time To Kill published in June 1989. As of 2008, his books had sold over 250 million copies worldwide. A Galaxy British Book Awards winner, Grisham is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing, the o

4、thers being Tom Clancy（汤姆克兰西） and J. K. Rowling. Characters Troy Phelan, a 78-year-old eccentric(古怪的 )and the 10th-richest man in America, is about to read his last will and testament, divvying up(分摊） an estate isteit（财产） worth $11 billion. Phelans three ex-wives（前妻）, their grasping off spring, a le

5、gion of lawyers, several psychiatrists and a plethora pler（过剩）of sound technicians wait breathlessly. However, the magnate（富豪） shocks everyone with a bizarrebiz:（奇异的）, last-gasp attempt to redistribute the spoils, setting in motion a legal morality tale of a contested will, sin, and redemptionridemp

6、n （赎回）.Rachel Lane is a young woman who chose to her life to God, who walk away from the modern world with all its strivings and trappings and encumbrances inkmbrns（累赘）（累赘）, and went to live and work with primitive（简单的）（简单的） tribe of Indians in the deepest jungles of Brazil.Nate ORiley-a washed-up,

7、alcoholic lawyer with two ruined marriages in his wake and the taxman on his tail-is dispatched dispt（派遣）（派遣）to the Brazilian wetlands in search of a mysterious heir （继承人（继承人) named in the will. After a harrowing hrui （悲惨的（悲惨的)trip upriver, he encounters Rachel Lane, a pure-hearted missionary living

8、 with an indigenous indidins （本土的（本土的)tribe and carrying out Gods work. Rachels grave dedication and kindness impress the jadeddeidid（疲倦不堪的）（疲倦不堪的） lawyer, so much so that a nasty bout（较量）（较量） of dengue dei （ 登革热）登革热）fever leads him to a vision that could change his life. The Plot In a plush Virgini

9、a office, a rich, angry old man is furiously （狂暴地）rewriting his will. With his death just hours away, Troy Phelan wants to send a message to his children, his ex-wives, and his minions, a message that will touch off a vicious vis （堕落的） legal battle and transform dozens of lives. Because Troy Phelans

10、 new will names a sole surprise heir to his eleven-billion-dollar fortune: a mysterious woman named Rachel Lane, a missionary living deep in the jungles of Brazil. Enter the lawyers. Nate ORiley is fresh out of rehabri:hb（修复）, a disgraced corporate attorney t:ni （代理人) handpicked for his last job: to

11、 find Rachel Lane at any cost. As Phelans family circles like vultures in D.C., Nate is crashing through the Brazilian jungle, entering a world where money means nothing, where death is just one misstep away, and where a woman-pursued by enemies and friends alike-holds a stunning stni（使人晕倒的） surpris

12、e of her own. The Understanding This is certainly the best John Grisham novel so far. A self-made billionaire commits suicide. When his last will is discovered, it is mind-boggling to the supposed-to-be heirs. He leaves his vast fortune to one of his children, Rachel. But shes enstranged to her fath

13、er, and has given her life to God as a missionary in the jungles of Brazil. Now, the lawyers have to find her, which is not an easy task. In the meanwhile, the supposed-to-be heirs are circling like vultures, trying to overturn the insaneinsein（疯狂的） will. The story is suspenseful（悬疑的）, heart-warming, adventurous, and beautifully written. Its also a picture of human nature, and the story carries a rare genuine denjuin（真实的）redemptive byline. Really a good bo