Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Helsinki : Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, [2018]
Description
Mark, Todd, and Zola came to law school to change the world, to make it a better place. But now, as third-year students, these close friends realize they have been duped. They all borrowed heavily to attend a third-tier, for-profit law school so mediocre that its graduates rarely pass the bar exam, let alone get good jobs. And when they learn that their school is one of a chain owned by a shady New York hedge-fund operator who also happens to own a bank specializing in student loans, the three know they have been caught up in The Great Law School Scam. But maybe there's a way out. Maybe there's a way to escape their crushing debt, expose the bank and the scam, and make a few bucks in the process. But to do so, they would first have to quit school. And leaving law school a few short months before graduation would be completely crazy, right? Well, yes and no.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Clara53
What is it with Grisham - every second or third book is a decent read, but in between his novels are simply mediocre lately. Like this one... Where are the likes of "The Firm", "The Pelican Brief", "The Runaway Jury", or even his latest - "Camino Island"?...
In "The Rooster Bar" the plot is
In "The Rooster Bar" the plot is
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weak, the dialogue is primitive at best. Granted - two premises are deserving attention: (a) egregiously unpayable student loans (in this case - of law students who are lured into pro-profit law schools and cannot get jobs afterwards) combined with a scam that benefits a particular businessman, and (b) unfair and cruel deportation of hard-working illegal immigrants who work the jobs that most Americans wouldn't want to do. But that's it. The plot and the writing didn't measure up at all to these premises. Show Less
LibraryThing member ecw0647
A little difficult to determine what Grisham's point was in writing this book. The students at Foggy Bottom Law School, indeed had huge debts and had probably been promised future riches as law graduates. But surely they could not have been totally devoid of knowledge of what everyone else seemed
It was very difficult to develop much sympathy for the main characters. Not one of his better efforts.
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to know. Their knowledge of the economics of class action suits seems to contradict their ignorance of filing deadlines for a fraudulent malpractice suit they intended to file. All this mixed with the plight of Senegalese refugees who are being sent back to their country. It was very difficult to develop much sympathy for the main characters. Not one of his better efforts.
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LibraryThing member Jthierer
I'm very torn on how to review this one. On the one hand, the writing was breezy enough to keep me engaged and I don't have any real complaints with the characters. On the other hand...nothing that happened to the characters seemed "real." It just didn't feel like any of the situations they found
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themselves in had any weight even when they should have. There just wasn't any emotional investment in the characters from me (and quite frankly, I wonder if Grisham was any more invested in them than I was). So...it wasn't bad but I'm struggling to find any reason to recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member addunn3
Students at a suspect law college discover financial connections between the banks and the college that leads them to take a back door to the legal world. A promising premise for novel, but the character development and plot just didn't hold together.
LibraryThing member labdaddy4
Kind of a "blah" book. I expect better from Grisham based on his body of work. Out of the last 3-4 he has written the quality has really dropped off - except for "Sycamore Row" (exceptional). Plot was fairly straightforward - not too much suspense or many surprises. The book's pace was slow. I will
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not be recommending this one to many. Show Less
LibraryThing member flourgirl49
Subpar for a Grisham novel. Starring a couple of smartass 3rd year law students who decide to start practicing law without passing the bar exam. It took me a week to read which is much too long. Don't waste your time.
LibraryThing member lilibrarian
Three students about to start their last semester at a for-profit law school realize that their degree is worthless, and their student loans insurmountable. After one of their friends commits suicide, they decide to scam the scammers and in the meantime, support themselves as unlicensed lawyers.
LibraryThing member maryreinert
Mark, Todd, and Zola are all about to finish law school but now realize as third-year students that they have more debt than they can handle and little prospects of a job. When another friend commits suicide, they take steps to change the course of their lives. Their friend had researched and left
From there on things get complicated as the three of them begin to scam clients while acting as real lawyers. The complications get more complicated and the risks higher. Intertwined in this story is the story of Zola, a first generation immigrant from Africa whose family is being sent back.
Good read but typical Grisham.
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documentation linking a wealthy New York finance man to a chain of profitable law schools.From there on things get complicated as the three of them begin to scam clients while acting as real lawyers. The complications get more complicated and the risks higher. Intertwined in this story is the story of Zola, a first generation immigrant from Africa whose family is being sent back.
Good read but typical Grisham.
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The Rooster Bar, John Grisham, author; Ari Fliakos, narrator
There are four very close friends, Gordie, Todd, Mark and Zola, who are disillusioned after attending a poorly rated law school. When Gordie commits suicide, the other three are at loose ends. Although they are about to graduate from this
Since their future seemed bleak, they decided to leave law school and begin their own fraudulent practice of law. In this way, the author seems to be attempting to show the corruption of our legal system and those involved in all aspects of it. The reader meets crooked lawyers, negligent judges, and there is certainly no shortage of criminals introduced, who are being taken advantage of by the system that is supposed to protect them. The fact that they have committed crimes is given little importance when compared to the impossible bureaucracy they are required to face.
After trying their hands at practicing law without licenses, being discovered and just managing to barely outrun the authorities, the three surviving friends decide to try another avenue. They go after the man who is at the top of the fraudulent scheme their friend uncovered. They seem very cavalier and unrealistic about the nature of their own fraudulent behavior, the danger they face and the consequences of their actions. They don’t seem to believe that they will ever be caught or held responsible for their actions, although they daily compound their wrongdoing.
At the same time as they are engaged in these criminal activities, one of the friends, whose family came into the United States illegally almost three decades ago, from Senegal, discovers that her family has been caught and is going to be deported. She is not in any danger, having been born in America. This part of the book proceeds to seemingly expose some of the many diverse problems in our immigration system, as the family is shipped back, unceremoniously, to a country that is corrupt and not only doesn’t want them back, but resents their return and is known for its brutality toward returning citizens.
The author admits that he has taken many liberties in his presentation, and I felt as if the book not only made a mockery of our government, its agencies, our lawyers and our immigration and justice system, a bit unfairly, but it also seemed to hold no criminal accountable for the behavior that got them into trouble. I felt as if it was only the system that was being judged rather than those who had become trapped within it through their own actions. It took on the feeling of a fairy tale without any prospect of the novel ever approaching reality. It also took forever for the book to make its point. Those who were victims of their own irresponsible behavior came out as the winners, unscathed by their heinous behavior. Poor behavior was rewarded and most of the characters had no character!
There are four very close friends, Gordie, Todd, Mark and Zola, who are disillusioned after attending a poorly rated law school. When Gordie commits suicide, the other three are at loose ends. Although they are about to graduate from this
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rotten school, they have no prospect of a job, and they can not repay their accumulated debts. They discover that their despondent, deceased friend had been doing research on a swindler who was connected to their school, their loans and several companies that were making money by enticing students with false promises of successful futures. It seems that most of the students were unqualified, unemployable, unprepared and unable to pass the bar upon graduation. Massive fraud was taking place under a legal umbrella. Since their future seemed bleak, they decided to leave law school and begin their own fraudulent practice of law. In this way, the author seems to be attempting to show the corruption of our legal system and those involved in all aspects of it. The reader meets crooked lawyers, negligent judges, and there is certainly no shortage of criminals introduced, who are being taken advantage of by the system that is supposed to protect them. The fact that they have committed crimes is given little importance when compared to the impossible bureaucracy they are required to face.
After trying their hands at practicing law without licenses, being discovered and just managing to barely outrun the authorities, the three surviving friends decide to try another avenue. They go after the man who is at the top of the fraudulent scheme their friend uncovered. They seem very cavalier and unrealistic about the nature of their own fraudulent behavior, the danger they face and the consequences of their actions. They don’t seem to believe that they will ever be caught or held responsible for their actions, although they daily compound their wrongdoing.
At the same time as they are engaged in these criminal activities, one of the friends, whose family came into the United States illegally almost three decades ago, from Senegal, discovers that her family has been caught and is going to be deported. She is not in any danger, having been born in America. This part of the book proceeds to seemingly expose some of the many diverse problems in our immigration system, as the family is shipped back, unceremoniously, to a country that is corrupt and not only doesn’t want them back, but resents their return and is known for its brutality toward returning citizens.
The author admits that he has taken many liberties in his presentation, and I felt as if the book not only made a mockery of our government, its agencies, our lawyers and our immigration and justice system, a bit unfairly, but it also seemed to hold no criminal accountable for the behavior that got them into trouble. I felt as if it was only the system that was being judged rather than those who had become trapped within it through their own actions. It took on the feeling of a fairy tale without any prospect of the novel ever approaching reality. It also took forever for the book to make its point. Those who were victims of their own irresponsible behavior came out as the winners, unscathed by their heinous behavior. Poor behavior was rewarded and most of the characters had no character!
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LibraryThing member andsoitgoes
What I liked best about this book was how anxious I was at the end to see how things turned out for Mark, Todd and Zola. The suspense was great which is not something I've experienced before in a Grisham book. I love it when the author makes you cheer for the lawbreakers!
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
A better Grisham than some of the other recent ones. The plot was a great idea and overall, the suspense builds as you wonder how the characters will manage. Unfortunately, the tale drags in the first third of the book, taking a longish time to develop the theme. I found some of the action pretty
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implausible and the lack of credibility detracted from really immersing in the story. If you've been put off of reading Grisham in recent years, this novel might draw you back. Show Less
LibraryThing member Smcgovern
Dragged on but interesting plot of three law students leaving law school with big student loans fron a bad law school with possible job. They quit school and began practicing law. Went to court to find clients with dui charges. And filed class action lawsuit which paid them millions. Left for Dakar
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Africa and bought a far on the beach. Show Less
LibraryThing member JeffV
Three law school students in a 3rd tier DC law school decide they don't need no steenking bar exam after a friend commits suicide. Before jumping off a bridge, the friend discovered a connection between the owner of the law school and a lending institution driving the student loan bus that was
You wouldn't think it'd be that easy, and Grisham doesn't let the fantasy continue for long. The scam is rather quickly exposed, and the kids are forced to go on the lam. But not before one last score...
That the punchline succeeded made the story beyond implausible. While it didn't help that none of the characters were particularly likable, I guess we get some consolation that they ride out their days exile. Grisham has done a better job with dark horse characters in the past...this book is just not of his better efforts.
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responsible for a quarter million in debt for each of them with highly uncertain job prospects. So what's an enlightened, disgruntled student to do? These three decide they can probably get away with faking it and set themselves up as courthouse DUI lawyers and ambulance chasers.You wouldn't think it'd be that easy, and Grisham doesn't let the fantasy continue for long. The scam is rather quickly exposed, and the kids are forced to go on the lam. But not before one last score...
That the punchline succeeded made the story beyond implausible. While it didn't help that none of the characters were particularly likable, I guess we get some consolation that they ride out their days exile. Grisham has done a better job with dark horse characters in the past...this book is just not of his better efforts.
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LibraryThing member JenniferRobb
I didn't think this was Grisham's best. The novel starts off okay enough--a law student starts unraveling a conspiracy of for-profit law schools being owned by the same people who offer loans to the students who attend there. The law schools promise mediocre students that lucrative jobs await them
The novel focuses on law students Todd, Mark, Zola, and Gordon (Gordie). Gordie is the one who starts unraveling the scam, but a medical condition and the realization of how hopeless his situation is causes him to check out after revealing his research to the other 3. Zola is dealing with her illegal immigrant parents and brother being picked up by ICE and being scheduled for deportation to Senegal. Even though she is an American citizen, she worries ICE will come for her as well.
It was at this point that I began to feel that the novel took a wrong turn. Rather than completing their last semester of law school and taking the bar exam or taking a semester off to recover from the loss of their friend, Mark and Todd decide to start a "legal clinic" and swindle cases like DUIs, personal injury, etc. for cash (though to be fair, they do plan to represent these clients in court--as "lawyers" even though they don't have the credentials). They don't seem too concerned that they might get caught or that anyone will check that they don't have the credentials they should.
They also plan to "disappear" and leave their loans to go to default--though they don't hesitate to take the last loan installment from their law school to start their "legal clinic". (Zola at least intends to continue with her last semester--until the other two convince her to join them and find her a safe place to live where ICE won't be able to find her to round her up.) Hardly shining examples for our youth.
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upon graduation and get the students deeply in debt--when the lucrative jobs don't materialize after graduation and passing the bar, the students are left with great amounts of debt that they have little hope of repaying. The novel focuses on law students Todd, Mark, Zola, and Gordon (Gordie). Gordie is the one who starts unraveling the scam, but a medical condition and the realization of how hopeless his situation is causes him to check out after revealing his research to the other 3. Zola is dealing with her illegal immigrant parents and brother being picked up by ICE and being scheduled for deportation to Senegal. Even though she is an American citizen, she worries ICE will come for her as well.
It was at this point that I began to feel that the novel took a wrong turn. Rather than completing their last semester of law school and taking the bar exam or taking a semester off to recover from the loss of their friend, Mark and Todd decide to start a "legal clinic" and swindle cases like DUIs, personal injury, etc. for cash (though to be fair, they do plan to represent these clients in court--as "lawyers" even though they don't have the credentials). They don't seem too concerned that they might get caught or that anyone will check that they don't have the credentials they should.
They also plan to "disappear" and leave their loans to go to default--though they don't hesitate to take the last loan installment from their law school to start their "legal clinic". (Zola at least intends to continue with her last semester--until the other two convince her to join them and find her a safe place to live where ICE won't be able to find her to round her up.) Hardly shining examples for our youth.
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LibraryThing member lewilliams
This is an uninteresting, story filled with boring characters. I gave up on this book early on.
LibraryThing member ChelleBearss
Typical John Grisham. He is pretty dependable for a decent, enjoyable read. It's no A Time to Kill but it is comparable to his recent works.
LibraryThing member jbarr5
The Rooster Bar by John Grisham
Starts out with the Frasier house, it's Christmas and the mother is busy with festive decorations and music.
The father had left them moving on to a new woman who he had pregnanted.
Louie was on house arrest. Mark, the older was back from lawyer school but headinb ack
Story follows a buddy of Mark and Todd and Zolta. They all attempted to watch over Gordie, he was off his meds, going to marry Brenda in several months and he jumped off the bridge instead.
Love the conspiracy wall and info on thumb drives, priceless!
Zola's parents are being deported-she's legal but they are not, heading back to Sengal.
Very interesting schemers and how they get away with claiming to be lawyers...
Every angle covered, love reading this author.
Starts out with the Frasier house, it's Christmas and the mother is busy with festive decorations and music.
The father had left them moving on to a new woman who he had pregnanted.
Louie was on house arrest. Mark, the older was back from lawyer school but headinb ack
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to school for final semester. They all have their burdens and struggles.Story follows a buddy of Mark and Todd and Zolta. They all attempted to watch over Gordie, he was off his meds, going to marry Brenda in several months and he jumped off the bridge instead.
Love the conspiracy wall and info on thumb drives, priceless!
Zola's parents are being deported-she's legal but they are not, heading back to Sengal.
Very interesting schemers and how they get away with claiming to be lawyers...
Every angle covered, love reading this author.
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LibraryThing member LivelyLady
Three law students listen to the theory of a friend who commits suicide. They see their school as a big scam providing no future employment for them. They drop out and then the adventure begins. They become the scam artists. Creative yet realistic. Made more entertaining by the ethnicity of Zola,
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one of the trio. Show Less
LibraryThing member diana.hauser
THE ROOSTER BAR by John Grisham was very disappointing. Even though I am a huge fan of Mr. Grisham and think that THE FIRM was an extraordinary thriller (and one of my all-time favorite books and movie), I can’t give this new title more than 3 stars.
I started this title many times and reluctantly
Mark, Todd and Zola are the main characters here - enrolled in a for-profit, sleazy ‘Foggy Bottom’ law school, where they learn nothing, have no job prospects and have little chance of passing the bar exam. But they do receive thousands of dollars each semester for ‘tuition’ and expenses. They band together in a rather shady (downright illegal) scheme after learning (in terrible circumstances) that their very incompetent, for-profit law school, is part of a chain owned by a New York banker.
I was interested in all the background information about for-profit institutions. ICE, immigration and mental health issues also have a central theme in the story.
The overall book was rather boring. There was little tension or detailed characters. The plot lacked details or believability.
My overall sentiment was - don’t come crying to me about your problems. You made these horrible choices that gave you nothing - no education, no work prospects and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that you are ‘supposed’ to pay back. So you (in turn), break the law and expect to skip off into the sunset?
I did like the name ‘The Rooster Bar’ and how it ended the book.
I did not like this book.
I started this title many times and reluctantly
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picked it back up again. I just didn’t care about the characters, the problems they had, the ending, the D.C. locale, the for-profit university scheme. I just had no interest or empathy.Mark, Todd and Zola are the main characters here - enrolled in a for-profit, sleazy ‘Foggy Bottom’ law school, where they learn nothing, have no job prospects and have little chance of passing the bar exam. But they do receive thousands of dollars each semester for ‘tuition’ and expenses. They band together in a rather shady (downright illegal) scheme after learning (in terrible circumstances) that their very incompetent, for-profit law school, is part of a chain owned by a New York banker.
I was interested in all the background information about for-profit institutions. ICE, immigration and mental health issues also have a central theme in the story.
The overall book was rather boring. There was little tension or detailed characters. The plot lacked details or believability.
My overall sentiment was - don’t come crying to me about your problems. You made these horrible choices that gave you nothing - no education, no work prospects and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that you are ‘supposed’ to pay back. So you (in turn), break the law and expect to skip off into the sunset?
I did like the name ‘The Rooster Bar’ and how it ended the book.
I did not like this book.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Audiobook read by Ari Fliakos
Three third-year law students are stunned when their friend and fellow student commits suicide. They hadn’t known he was bi-polar, and they are simply unable to return to classes once they look into his paranoid conspiracy theory of “Satan” and how the billionaire
Grisham knows how to write a thrilling adventure tale. Here he imagines three students on a mission to turn the system on its head. Who needs a license? They figure that they can perform at least as well as the sleaziest courthouse- or police-station trolling attorney, picking up poor and uneducated clients for quick plea deals. Learning on the fly they make mistakes, but they also begin making some money. And then they turn their attention to the billionaire who started it all …
The three main characters – Mark, Todd and Zola – are reasonably bright, motivated, and quick on their feet. I found their friendship and loyalty to one another and to the memory of Gordy touching and genuine. Grisham also peoples the book with a variety of colorful minor characters, from a black teen with a speeding ticket, to a high-powered attorney specializing in medical malpractice, to the owner of a number of bars in the DC area, and a highly-sexed cute-as-a-button prosecuting attorney bored with her assignment in traffic court.
I did think that Grisham wrote himself into a hole and was struggling to get out. There’s a significant side plot focusing on one student’s parents – illegal immigrants who fled Senegal decades ago (Zola was born in the USA). For most of the book I thought this was a distraction, though their situation becomes a key to the final resolution. Kind of a cheap trick, in my opinion.
Ari Fliakos does a fine job performing the audio version of this book. I did sometimes get confused between Todd and Mark, since Fliakos doesn’t give them much difference in tone or inflection. Since they have many conversations together it’s somewhat important to know which of them is speaking which lines of dialogue. Still, overall, I thought he did a great job. He kept the pace at a steady speed and the action moving forward.
Three third-year law students are stunned when their friend and fellow student commits suicide. They hadn’t known he was bi-polar, and they are simply unable to return to classes once they look into his paranoid conspiracy theory of “Satan” and how the billionaire
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has preyed on the hopes of marginal students by founding multiple for-profit law schools whose graduates can’t pass the bar or get a decent job. Drowning in debt, they decide to drop out of law school and find another way to make some money.Grisham knows how to write a thrilling adventure tale. Here he imagines three students on a mission to turn the system on its head. Who needs a license? They figure that they can perform at least as well as the sleaziest courthouse- or police-station trolling attorney, picking up poor and uneducated clients for quick plea deals. Learning on the fly they make mistakes, but they also begin making some money. And then they turn their attention to the billionaire who started it all …
The three main characters – Mark, Todd and Zola – are reasonably bright, motivated, and quick on their feet. I found their friendship and loyalty to one another and to the memory of Gordy touching and genuine. Grisham also peoples the book with a variety of colorful minor characters, from a black teen with a speeding ticket, to a high-powered attorney specializing in medical malpractice, to the owner of a number of bars in the DC area, and a highly-sexed cute-as-a-button prosecuting attorney bored with her assignment in traffic court.
I did think that Grisham wrote himself into a hole and was struggling to get out. There’s a significant side plot focusing on one student’s parents – illegal immigrants who fled Senegal decades ago (Zola was born in the USA). For most of the book I thought this was a distraction, though their situation becomes a key to the final resolution. Kind of a cheap trick, in my opinion.
Ari Fliakos does a fine job performing the audio version of this book. I did sometimes get confused between Todd and Mark, since Fliakos doesn’t give them much difference in tone or inflection. Since they have many conversations together it’s somewhat important to know which of them is speaking which lines of dialogue. Still, overall, I thought he did a great job. He kept the pace at a steady speed and the action moving forward.
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LibraryThing member Carmenere
No doubt about it, John Grisham tells a very good story. This one involves four law school friends. They are just a semester away from graduation and face hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Graduates who attend top notch law schools normally are offered entry level jobs which
Gordy knows something's suspicious about Hinds Rackley, the man behind the law school .....and the loan provider ....and the loan collector.
Mark and Todd devise a plan to succeed without graduating and Zola soon follows suit.
Though the things they do are just as corrupt as Rackley's they believe taking down Rackley is fair revenge for what he's done to those who are financially disadvantaged or those not quiet law school material.
Although the reader may not be sympathetic to any one character, many can relate to the burden of student loans only to graduate and tend bar.
Tension is high as the students look for a way out before the FBI pulls them in.
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hold a promising future but those like Gordy, Mark, Todd and Zola, who've attended Foggy Bottom Law School get promised far less, if that. Gordy knows something's suspicious about Hinds Rackley, the man behind the law school .....and the loan provider ....and the loan collector.
Mark and Todd devise a plan to succeed without graduating and Zola soon follows suit.
Though the things they do are just as corrupt as Rackley's they believe taking down Rackley is fair revenge for what he's done to those who are financially disadvantaged or those not quiet law school material.
Although the reader may not be sympathetic to any one character, many can relate to the burden of student loans only to graduate and tend bar.
Tension is high as the students look for a way out before the FBI pulls them in.
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LibraryThing member 66usma
In my opinion reading this book was a total waste. Attempted to be topical with a story about 3rd year law
students attending a for profit law school with massive student debt. In addition one of the students was from Senegal and her family (illegals) after 20 years was being deported back to
students attending a for profit law school with massive student debt. In addition one of the students was from Senegal and her family (illegals) after 20 years was being deported back to
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Senegal. What else could you asked for a story about a for profit law school, student debt, and illegal immigration combined to create a best seller??? Show Less
LibraryThing member Doondeck
Not a great testimony to the honesty of the legal profession but a good expose of student loans & for profit schools
LibraryThing member beckyhaase
THE ROOSTER BAR by John Grisham
Should you cheer for deliberate, continuing law breakers? I sure did in John Grisham’s latest legal thriller. A bunch of disgruntled, under educated, over loaned law students attempt to wreak havoc on the dishonest, underhanded, money grubbing multi-billionaire who
Another well written, legal outing by a master of the genre.
5 of 5 stars
Should you cheer for deliberate, continuing law breakers? I sure did in John Grisham’s latest legal thriller. A bunch of disgruntled, under educated, over loaned law students attempt to wreak havoc on the dishonest, underhanded, money grubbing multi-billionaire who
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is behind their failing law school. The characters are unique and likeable. Although I didn’t follow some of the permutations of finance, it was easy to follow the plot. The indictment of our legal system and the sympathy with those innocent, and not so innocent, but usually poor, persons caught in the maelstrom of street lawyers and too busy public defenders is clear. Another well written, legal outing by a master of the genre.
5 of 5 stars
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LibraryThing member ZachMontana
Interesting story involving 3 Law School students and highlighting the problems of lousy Law Schools and Student Debt along with practicing law without a license.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017
Physical description
424 p.; 17.8 cm
ISBN
9789510447253