( #LincolnLawyer, #MichaelConnelly )
I finished reading “The Lincoln Lawyer” by Michael Connelly last night and here are my thoughts about the book…
I equate reading Michael Connelly’s novel “The Lincoln Lawyer” to eating McDonalds; it is geared for the masses, not great for you, but satisfying in that “know what to expect” and “good for what it is” kind of way. The story borrows a little bit from every kind of male-centered story:
- Motivated, success driven male lead (with “cool” career like doctor, lawyer, or journalist)
- Loyal friend that helps the lead and pays the price for the lead’s arrogance, which just helps the lead focus on success
- The women in the lead’s life love him, even though they leave him, but still take care of him and want to get back with him
- Unbelievable, evil enemy to overcome
- Crazy fight and/or car chase (yes, in a book about a fucking lawyer)
Even though the main character’s personality has been built from the “frat boy charm” template (the character listens to TuPac, loves Guinness, does freebies for prostitutes because his Daddy would want him to), it is still a fun read. I think Michael Connelly just decided to throw in whatever the hell he could to see if and when the editors would call him out. It doesn’t look like they did. The Mickey Haller character is completely unbelievable as a real person. If you try to identify with the character on a human level, it won’t work. Try to get into the mindset of Haller as a cartoon or a Stallone character, then you will enjoy the hell out of it.
While I am poking fun at the book, I read it all the way through and I wanted to know what happens next. This is the perfect read if you are stuck on a plane for 5 hours. You will knock it out, enjoy it, and never think about it again.
Saying all of this, look who they got to play the lead in the movie version…
