On a rack at the front of Burke’s Book Store in Memphis is a postcard showing the shop in an earlier era, overhung by a billboard that’s no longer there. GRISHAM IS COMING, it says in big red letters, next to a photo of the youthful lawyer turned author. His brow is knitted, mouth pursed. Below, a line of people wait for the store to open. John Grisham picks up the postcard and looks at it. “Oh, yeah, I remember those days,” he says in his honey-thick drawl.
The image is from a book signing for in 1994. It’s a memento of the heady days of his early success, when he released a succession of best sellers that became hit movies. People camped out in line for his signings, studios got in bidding wars for his film rights, and stores could barely keep
