Pete’s Pick
July 2018
Camino Island
John Grisham
Doubleday, June 2017
This book is one of the latest of famed author John Grisham. However, it is out of character for the way Grisham’s novels are usually cast. Normally the novel features some lawyer or lawyers who are fighting injustice. The injustice could be in a particular industry, it could be in a wrongful criminal or civil charge, or it could be against the country’s legal system. In this case, the story line doesn’t involve lawyers as the focus. It does involve a crime, and it does involve an industry. But in a far different way than Grisham usually depicts.
John Grisham is a well-known author of thirty novels, one work of nonfiction, a collection of stories, and six novels for young readers.
This book is the story of the theft of the five original manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald housed at Princeton University’s Firestone Library and the search to find the thieves and the manuscripts. The story begins with a gang of five professional thieves who specialize in art and rare artifacts (which can be sold back to the owners for ransom) carrying out the elaborately planned theft of the manuscripts from Princeton University’s Firestone Library. We are taken into the heart of the activity of the thieves as they carryout this masterfully planned theft. The theft was successful, and we are taken to the first few days after the theft. Ultimately, the members of the gang opt to go separate ways to lay low for a while. Two of the thieves are caught within a few days. The remainder of the story focuses on the search for the other three thieves and the missing manuscripts.
The remainder of the story takes us deep into the book selling industry, i.e., bookstores. The majority of the story takes place on Camino Island, Florida. It is a community with a well-known independent bookstore called Bay Books run by Bruce Cable. Bruce loves to read and if he isn’t talking with someone, he usually has his nose in a book. He accidently developed an interest in rare first editions when his father died, and Bruce discovered he had a number of first edition books. Over the years, Bruce developed both his knowledge of rare books as well as building a very respectable collection of his own.
The story turns to Mercer Mann, a 31-year-old adjunct professor of freshman literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has just learned that her position is being eliminated because of budget cuts. Her primary achievement to date was the publication of a novel and a collection of stories. She’s been trying to come up with an idea for a second novel and took the adjunct professor position to pay the bills. As she is pondering what to do, she receives an invitation to lunch under the pretext of someone searching for a teacher of creative arts at a private academy. As it turns out, the woman is a senior investigator with the private insurance company that has insured the F. Scott Fitzgerald collection of original manuscripts at Princeton University’s Firestone Library. They are on the hook for a $25 million settlement in six months if the manuscripts are not recovered. Elaine Shelby is interested in Mercer Mann for several reasons. One, she is a published author. Two, as a girl Mercer spent her summers on Camino Island with her grandmother in a cottage on the beach. The grandmother has passed away, but the cottage is still owned by the Mann family. Three, Elaine is convinced that Bruce Cable of Bay Books knows about the missing manuscripts and may even have them. Elaine is interested in recruiting Mercer to spend the summer on Camino Island and get to know the author community and Bruce Cable and see what she can find out about the possibility of the missing manuscripts through Bruce Cable.
The story does an awesome job of exploring the ins and outs of the bookselling business. If you like books, you will be intrigued by many of the tips of the trade and facts that are gleaned as the story takes place. It is a fascinating examination of the author’s mindset as each one struggles to leave their mark. It is also a fascinating look at the rare book world and the intrigue that exists in that world. For Grisham, this is a wonderful story outside the walls of the courthouse and lawyers’ conference rooms. I highly recommend this book if you like Grisham, and even if you’ve never read him.