Bestsellers

Scoring system:10 points for first place, 9 for second, down to 1 for tenth, on the lists of the American Booksellers Association (independent, sometimes highbrow stores), The New York Times (4,000 bookstores, plus wholesalers), USA Today (3,000 large-inventory bookstores), and Amazon.com (Web purchases). The Brethren John Grisham

40 points (ABA: 1st; NYT: 1st; USA Today: 1st; Amazon.com: 1st)

GIST Short on thrills, long on liberal politics

WORLDVIEW Cynicism

CAUTION Profanities, crudities

29 points (ABA: 2nd; NYT: 7th; USA Today: 4th; Amazon.com: 2nd)

GIST The world is made up of two kinds of women: Most are oppressed and reduced to slavery and prostitution, but a few, liberated by passion, become free. Allende refers often to the church and Christians, but almost always negatively.

WORLDVIEW Feminist romanticism

CAUTION Obscenities, sexual situations

28 points (ABA: 4th; NYT: 4th; USA Today: 5th; Amazon.com: 3rd)

GIST Julie Harmon, a strong female protagonist-this is an Oprah's Book Club selection-is 17 when she meets her future husband. We see Julie's romantic notions of love tested, overturned, and replaced by something much sweeter.

WORLDVIEW Biblical. Surprisingly, Christ is shown transforming this marriage.

CAUTION Sexual situations

19 points (ABA: 8th; NYT: 6th; USA Today: 6th; Amazon.com: 5th)

GIST Anti-terrorism task force battles a ruthless, revenge-seeking terrorist. In alternating chapters a former NYPD cop smart-mouths his way through danger, excitement, and love, while Asad Khalil plots his attack on the infidels.

WORLDVIEW Relativism. Some "good guys" are as bad as the bad guy.

CAUTION Obscenities, profanities, sexual situations

18 points (ABA: not listed; NYT: 2nd; USA Today: 2nd; Amazon.com: not listed)

GIST Harry lives in a topsy-turvy moral universe, a place where your friend may be your enemy, the person you are talking to might be someone else, and even your pet cannot be trusted.

WORLDVIEW Relativism. The line between right and wrong is often blurry (see World, Oct. 30, 1999).

CAUTION Witchcraft

John Grisham, "bestselling novelist of the '90s" (World, March 11, 2000), has made most of his money writing books that draw on his experience as a lawyer. His latest bestseller, The Brethren (Doubleday, 2000), is more concerned with politics than law, and it leaves the impression that Mr. Grisham is in over his head. The Brethren deviates from the traditional Grisham plot. Instead of the idealistic young lawyer, the usual protagonist, the book's title refers to a group of three ex-judges in prison who pass the time by blackmailing "pen pals": rich homosexuals who do not want to come out of the closet. Their scam suddenly becomes much more important when one of their targets turns out to be a presidential candidate. Like previous Grisham books, The Brethren deals with hot-button issues-in this case campaign finance, defense spending, and criminal sentencing. However, Mr. Grisham does not have the command of current events that a Tom Clancy does, so some parts of the plot seem improbable or simplistic. Literary readers will be frustrated by the weaknesses inherent in a Grisham book, while fans of The Firm may expect a little more action. Neither will be particularly satisfied with The Brethren.