Ford County - John Grisham

I have just finished reading "Ford County",written by  John Grisham.  John Grisham's stories are intense as well as subtle. Every story narrated is full of simplicity and subtle comical that will  make you smile.

Ford County is the collection of short stories based in small Southern town of Clanton, whose population is about 10,000. The little town is surrounded by woods and farmland, which is home to poor farmers. The  racial segregation is prominent in Clanton with Blacks residing in the dilapidated low-town.

When I read these stories, I remembered the evergreen stories of Malgudi. Malgudi was also a small town similar to Clanton. The stories of Malgudi brought every minute character to life with enthusiasm. Similarly, Stories of Ford County  gave dimensions to every small character mentioned in the book.

The book begins with hilarious story of  "Blood Drive", in which one of the youth of Clanton is injured in accident in Memphis and has been admitted to hospital there. The county sends three youths to Memphis to provide blood since there was rumor that the hospital in which the injured man was admitted is out of supply of blood. The story revolves around three youths and their misadventures, which includes boozing and attending strip-clubs and also having a fight with bouncers, in their journey to Memphis.
 
In  "Fetching Raymond" , two "sometimes criminal-sometimes not" brothers  along with their mother attend the execution of their other brother, Raymond. The story was about self-introspection by mother and brothers while they were riding towards prison. The story was also about  Raymond's optimistic outlook till the day he is executed.

"Fish Files" is a story of an unhappy divorce lawyer married to a woman from an affluent family in the town. Some corporation wants an out of court settlement with this lawyer's clients, related to the old case, which the lawyer has nearly forgotten. The story describes how this change of fortune helped him to come out of unhappy marriage.

A woman dumps her husband for being simpleton and having  not so lavish lifestyle. Husband gets depressed and goes to casino so that he can forget his wife . He comes to know that casino is owned by a man for whom his wife has left.  He takes the revenge on the casino by winning huge stakes in Blackjack. How he does it explains the central plot of the story "Casino". The story also mentions in details how the casinos had been established by dubious builders on Native Indian's land.
  
There are many more stories which explore the lifestyle of every social class in the town. This exploration  helps us to understand multiple dimensions and interpretations of human nature and its effect on other humans as well as nature. Readers expecting twists and turns with big suspense will be disappointed. Even without major twists and turns, each page in itself is a page turner and thought-provoking.