| Description: |
|
With Bleachers John Grisham departs again from the legal thriller to experiment with a character-driven tale of reunion, broken high school dreams, and missed chances. While the book falls short of the compelling storytelling that has made Grisham a bestselling author, it is nonetheless a diverting novella that succeeds as light fiction. The story centers on the impending death of the Messina Spartans' football coach Eddie Rake. One of the most victorious coaches in high school football history, Rake is a man both loved and feared by his players and by a town that relishes his 13 state titles. The hero of the novel is Neely Crenshaw, a former Rake All-American whose NFL prospects ended abruptly after a cheap shot to the knees. Neely has returned home for the first time in years to join a nightly vigil for Rake at the Messina stadium. Having wandered through life with little focus since his college days, he struggles to reconcile his conflicted feelings towards his former coach, and he assays to rekindle love in the ex-girlfriend he abandoned long ago. For Messina and for Neely, the homecoming offers the prospect of building a life after Rake. Physically a narrow book, Bleachers is a modest fiction in many respects. The emotional scope is akin to that of a short story, with a single-minded focus on explorations of nostalgia and regret. The dialogue, especially that of Neely's friend Paul Curry, is sometimes wooden as characters recall Messina history in paragraphs that were perhaps better left to the narrator. But Grisham has otherwise written a well-made, entertaining--if a bit sentimental--story. --Patrick O'Kelley |
| Reviews: |
|
Cheryl Brigham (Canada) (2007/06/14):
Fifteen years afterhis promising football career is ended by injury, All-American High School football star Neely Crenshaw returns home to Messina when he learns of the impending death of his coach Eddie Rake a man he both loved and hated with equal passion.
The story of Eddie Rake unfolds through flashbacks as some of his former players reminisce about their glory days and how their coach touched their lives even after they stopped playing football. A tough but fair man Eddie Rake inspired his players to be better ball players and often better people, but his methods were often harsh.
The only suspense in the book concerns and incident between Neely Crenshaw and his coach during the 1987 championship game and whether he will finally accept his coach's apology and lay the past to rest.
This is not Grisham's usual court drama but rather a peek at the football mania that pervades especially in small southern towns where teen boys are worshiped with a fervor that often leaves them bitter and disillusioned when their glory fades. But most of all it is the story of an inspirational leader who uses and often abuses his power to mold and change young boy's lives.
Jeremy (USA: TX) (2009/06/29):
This is a very short book. I read it in about 3 hours. It must be nice to be a many-times-over bestselling author like Grisham. You can write about anything you want and still sell millions of copies. This book is about some former high school football players in a small town down South who all reunite when their legendary coach dies.The story telling walks a fine line between credibility and mawkishness. Having never played high school football, I couldn't tell if the reactions and sentiments of the old players were realistic or overdone. But it is a riveting tale and should prove highly entertaining for any type of football fan. A good portion of the book revolves around re-living a singular game that defined many of the former players forever. Definitely a quick and entertaining read, but I wouldn't imagine it's for everyone.
|
