The Chamber (novel)

infobox Book |
name = The Chamber
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translator =


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author = John Grisham
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Legal thriller novel
publisher = Doubleday
release_date = 1994
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
pages = 496
isbn = ISBN 0-385-42472-8

"The Chamber" is a legal/suspense novel by noted American author John Grisham. It was first published in 1994. The novel features a discussion about capital punishment. Set around the Mississippi State Penitentiary, it is the story of an old man and former Klansman named Sam Cayhall who is convicted of murder and sentenced to death by gas chamber twenty years after his bombing of a Jewish lawyer's office.

Cayhall's paternal grandson, Adam Hall (whose father Eddie changed his family's name because of the disgraceful family history) journeys south from Chicago to represent Sam in the final month before the date of execution. Adam decided to become a lawyer soon after his father Eddie committed suicide on the day that Sam was convicted of murder in Mississippi. Adam is determined to argue a stay for his grandfather, in spite of Sam's violent past, because Sam is one of the few living links to his family's history. Sam and his daughter Lee Cayhall (Adam's aunt) reveal the gory history of their family. It transpires that Sam did not in fact commit the actual crime for which he has been found guilty, but has instead a long and largely secret history of the Klan-related crime. As Adam desperately argues motion after motion, the story moves to its last moments.

The novel combines elements of legal commentary and suspense to fully illustrate the complications surrounding various legal issues, such as the death penalty and racism.

In 1996, "The Chamber" was made into a feature film starring Gene Hackman and Chris O'Donnell. Former superstar athlete Bo Jackson had a supporting role as a prison guard.

External links

*imdb title |id=0115862|title=The Chamber