The Testament - A Review

Originally published in 1999, I somehow never read The Testament.  At the time I had devoured John Grisham novels whenever a new one was published.  The year 1999 was a tough year for me, and my reading was slim.  Once I became a Christian, I stopped reading most of the old authors I had read in the past.  John Grisham was one that didn't hold my interest like he had.  While his books are mostly legal thrillers, I spent a time drawn to overtly Christian novels.

I still am, for the most part.  I enjoy all the camaraderie and inspiration I can get my hands on in this Christian walk. 

A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon The Testament being recommended as a powerful book by a Christian.  My curiosity got the better of me and I added it to my "to be checked out" library list. 

The Testament is, like most of John Grisham legal thrillers, the story of a cast of characters that almost seem real.  When an eccentric billionaire, Troy Phelan, commits suicide, his will becomes a hot issue.  To the shock of Troy's six children from three different wives, the bulk of the inheritance goes to an illegitimate daughter that none of them knew about. The irony is that the daughter is a missionary working with Indians in Brazil, with little desire for the money or anything that would take her away from the people she is serving. 

We meet Nate O'Riley, the lawyer pulled from another stint in rehab, as he is sent to Brazil to find the elusive heiress.  Nate is not a good guy.  He has damaged a lot of people with his alcoholism and drug use. Despite having been an incredible attorney, he has even found himself in trouble with the IRS for tax evasion.  He has two ex-wives and four children he hasn't had much contact with in the last year. 

He looks at finding Troy Phelan's daughter as an adventure.  The journey, however, changed his life forever.

I think we will all see ourselves in the characters.  Even the greedy Phelan children reveal a part of ourselves.  We will see ourselves as Nate, wanting to be better but not trusting that we will.  We will see ourselves in Rachel, longing to serve the Lord with such single-minded devotion that we can rise above the trappings of the world.  We might even see ourselves in Troy Phelan, untrusting of others, not wanting to give what we worked for to those that would waste and squander it in vain. 

In the end, The Testament held some inspiration.  I enjoyed reading the book.  While I probably wasn't as inspired as the writer of the review I read, I loved that John Grisham added such a tender portrayal of Christians in a world that seeks to cast the lot of us as fakes and hypocrites.  To me that earned my respect on a much deeper level than when I just enjoyed his legal thrillers.