Buy, Feb 28, 2012 Despite the fear and trepidation of returning to an area representing a different time in his life - a time he does not remember fondly, Ray leaves his home - in Charlottesville, Virginia - and heads toward Clanton. Give him a break. The Judge lived alone, spent little on the house, had no bad habits except for his pipe, and he preferred cheap tobacco. Everyone else is a supporting character. does he find out where it is from? But the family meeting does not take place. The judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.And perhaps someone else. However, his brother and friend - Harry Rex - do play important rolls. Knowing the end is near, Judge Atlee has issued a summons for his two sons to return to Clanton to discuss his estate. He and Forrest would sell the house for whatever it might bring and be quite happy to salvage anything from the last of the Atlee family money. The main character, Ray Atlee, is a law professor with a good salary at the University of Virginia. Forget e-mail and even faxes. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. He took off his jacket, hung it on the back of the door, stepped over a stack of thick law books he'd been stepping over for half a year, and then to himself uttered his daily vow to organize the place. The Judge's other assets had never been discussed. | ISBN 9780345531988 While most of the characters are cliched - Forrest is your typical addict seeking correction, Harry Rex your average small-town lawyer, and Patton is your typical rich snob with all the answers - the character development of Ray towards the last half of the novel is somewhat a pleasure to read. A shelter for stray dogs and cats in Ford County. His son finds some hidden money. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family’s black sheep. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use. Before she died his mother did her best to convince Ray and Forrest that they were better than most folks. He has a brother, Forrest, and a father, known to many as Judge Reuben V. Atlee. He and his brother could sell it for perhaps a hundred thousand dollars, but the buyer would need twice that to make it livable. The N was for Nathan, after the general, but few people knew it. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse. Forrest had always called it Maple Ruin. I can't afford Stanford. Ray Atlee is the main character of this novel. The red and yellow maples that once lined the street had died of some unknown disease. The Summons by John Grisham Chapter 1 It came by mail, regular postage, the old-fashioned way since the Judge was almost eighty and distrusted modern devices. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family’s black sheep. While I can recommend it to most, one should not run out and make this purchase while expecting greatness. Ray could not see him now, lost in the clutter and dust of his rolltop, pecking out short notes on his Underwood and sticking them in his chancellor’s envelopes with scarcely readable checks drawn on the First National Bank of Clanton–fifty dollars here, a hundred dollars there, a little for everyone until it was all gone. The idea of the summons was to discuss the inheritance, the will and the estate. He certainly couldn't afford the financial black hole of maintaining an estate that ought to be bulldozed. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep. Editor's Picks: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Discover Book Picks from the CEO of Penguin Random House US. With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. He drove an old Lincoln, ate bad food but lots of it, and wore the same black suits he'd been wearing since the fifties.