Book Review: The Broker

Book Review -> The Broker by John Grisham.

One more masterpiece by the thriller and mystery king Grisham. The broker is the story about an astonishingly successful attorney Joel Backman in Washington DC. The broker as the people in the business circle calls him, used to charge 5K per minute with a new client, before he himself pleaded guilty and sent behind the bars for 14 years. As media said, he was afraid that he will also be killed as his fellow partner Hubbard, an ex Illinois senator and a person with great influence at White house. What was that secret which already took many lives and that forced the broker to go behind the bars for 14 long years.
Well, Grisham is anything but not a science freak at least but here he brings fictitious spy satellites and the hacking software JAM to his resort.Developed by three Pakistanis, the software hacked a spy satellite unknown to many and hence could have reaped fortunes to them if sold to the one who can bid the most. And here comes our broker in picture who known for his contacts in White house, becomes the middle man to sell the software. The negotiations happened with Chinese,Israelis,Arabs along with Americans. The process in turn creates a lot of enemies all of whom wanted to get the same at any cost. The deal went good with Arabs but since others were also chasing it, Hubbard, Joel's partner gets killed in the process and this pushes Joel to go behind the bars for the charges of compromising the US security. Although, he reveals nothing and hence till the time he lives, the secret will also. As anticipated, CIA wants to bail him out and kill him, of course not on his own soil.
The pen picture of old man in his late seventies and about to retire but with ever lasting glory and guts on his side were neatly depicted to describe Teddy Maynard, the CIA director, who convinces the leaving President Morgan to pardon Joel at the 24th hour. This spreads the resting story of the broker after 6 years and Dan Sandberg, a Washington Post veteran with great contacts at every US agency publishes it as a scandal wherein the broker has paid a hefty amount to the president for his pardon.
However, things were completely different for Joel who was shifted to Italy in a town called Travisia with a fake name of Marco Lazzeri.He was then shifted to a slightly bigger University town of Bologna. He was made to learn Italian, which he hated continuously more for his depressive student tutor Ermanno. The perfection with which Grisham draw the pen picture of his characters and the daily routines of their lives and the surroundings is something to be appreciated. Italy will not be more beautiful than what Grisham has depicted through his words. The broker's attempt to learn Italian also leaves Grisham's readers to learn few of it. The concept behind Cappuccino aids in creating a picture of stranger in the foreign country forcing himself to learn it to live or to die. His numerous lunches and dinners at local cafe's and restaurants with Luigi, his CIA sent advisor cum spy also compels one to visit a foreign country and to stay there enough to learn and appreciate its culture and heritage through language and food habits and city guides.
The broker however continues to be a puppet at the hands of CIA till the time he learns the reason behind his pardon and his hiding from everyone including himself. He practically has no family now, his three wives had been nothing lesser than bitches, the only contact he has now is with his ailing mother in CA, and the son Neal Backman, who now is an ordinary lawyer in a small town of Culpeper, VA with no traces of Joel Backman on his career. Gradually, Joel learns that if he continues to live as Marco, he will be dead quite soon. But since he is also aware that he has been watched almost every moment, he cannot act openly. The broker than uses his tricks and techniques that he was quite flamboyant at when in full bloom at work. He makes a University professor, Rudolph his friend and in a uniquely plotted way reaches his son Neal for help. To do so he secretly travels to Milan int'nl Airport and hands a letter to a lady to mail it to Neal's address making her believe that its a greeting card meant for his mother and wants it to reach her before his birthday the next week as he is unable to travel after his passport has been stolen. As the letter deemed, the help comes from Neal, who somewhat perplexed, somewhat anticipated that his old father will contact him sends him a latest web enabled Motorola phone and some 2000 $ cash. Joel, who is not an internet- savvy person soon finds himself learning the new gadget and hiding it at the same time. With an encrypted e-mail account, Joel was able to talk to Neal and eventually plots his escape route. The climax however waits for the new Italian teacher Signorra Ferro who being a serious figure at one hand, is an attractive Italian woman. With the warmth of the company of a woman after 6 years. Joel keeps coming closer enough to Signorra to make her his partner in crime or escape.
Teddy Maynard, with the growing fear of the secret of the JAM software lying beneath the professional brains of the broker from the new president and with the increasing media pressure decides to leak the co ordinates of the broker to those interested before his forced retirement. CIA also tried enough to frighten Joel to get the secret, but he did not break and decided to move on. However, with the Israeli kudon(gang) in Bologna and Arabs, Chinese and Russian also suppossedly arriving soon, the broker is getting more and more worrisome and one evening after the lesson with Signorra, the feeling within is growing more and more panicking. Although, Joel already got admission to Signorra's residence after the nice feat. of rescuing her when met with accident atop the mountain ,since he learnt about her dying husband and her old mother taking care of him, he did not want to put Signorra in trouble by asking for a help. He also had to leak his originals if he wish to ask her any help , which he did not want to at the first instant. However, with his confidence with women, he decided to take this least preferred but only option and told everything about himself. He told her that he is not a Canadian and also that he is innocent enough to be trusted. Signorra already quite captivated by his chasm immediately rose to help him and offered her husband's passport and a leather suitcase and clothes to get dressed to disguise his onlookers. He was pleased to get her help and bid farewell and upon getting asked about his return to the streets of Bologna ever again, he simply told he owe one. Started for Milan, he wanted to reach Zurich, where he would meet his banker. Although the train would have taken him directly to Milan and then any rail/ road/ air connection would have taken him to his destination quickly, he decided not to leave his trail. Started in a bus, hiring a cab halfway, reaching Milan, dressing oddly again to get a 2nd disguised look, taking a train to some small town in Switzerland, getting midway at a small village, spending a short night in a deserted looking hotel, taking a cab to Zurich from there followed as a chain of incidences on his journey to the secret.
Adapted to his profession, he has always liked the quite busy attitude of the city of Zurich. He entered his vault at the bank and took out some cash, the set of CDs containing the software, wired 100K to a new account in DC and got the courtesy help with getting tickets to DC from Munich as asked to his banker. Finally he reached the most awaited moment of his second life and was at Marriott watching White House at a distance. Called his son, Neal and his partner at firm, Prats and an old friend, ex senator and ex head of Intelligence from South Carolina he went on with the entire sequence of events with him since the JAM curse was bestowed and discussed his next move wherein they agreed not to involve CIA but the Intelligence. The senator arranged for the meeting and eventually Joel got rid of the curse of JAM and was a free men now. Enjoyed his dinner with his grand daughter and daughter in law, he lived a moment he longed for when in prison. He got two passports one each for Canada and Australia from Intelligence in return but he never wanted to use them not for his own safety but he had a promise to keep, before he sleep.