Bleachers

by John Grisham

2004

Status

Available

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Standard Shelves

Publication

Dell (2004), Edition: 1st ptg., 240 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty. Now, as Coach Rake�??s �??boys�?� sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake �?? or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach �?? and himself �?? before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from John Grisham's Th… (more)

Media reviews

The New York Times

Mr. Grisham's stories -- even the short, anomalous ones like his last small book, ''Skipping Christmas'' -- generally have more storytelling force than ''Bleachers'' does. His purpose this time seems more reflective than showy, and his love for this sports-related subject matter is palpably real.

User reviews

LibraryThing member loveseabooks

Small Town Football combine to create a wonderful story.

In "Bleachers", John Grisham took me on a trip to the small town of Messina, Mississippi, where Friday night football reigns supreme. No pro football here, just the home grown college and high school teams. The story brings back lots of

memories and if you enjoy football this is the story for y. In the story, Coach Eddie Rake, who has had a long career as football coach that he built into a football dynasty. Because of it, he is the most important man in town, and he is loved by everybody in Messina and of course the players, both present and past, of the Messina Spartans.

This story takes place over the course of four days as the Spartans from different eras return to stand vigil over their dying coach. The players sit in the bleachers, share stories and memories. They relive old rivalries and victories. Most of all, they remember the times, both good and bad, that they had with their coach. They also, remember the miracle 1987 game, and in the process, let out a secret that had been kept for a decade. While this short story is out of Mr. Grisham's usual genre, it still has the elements of a down home, wholesome story with a twist. Enjoy.

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LibraryThing member MarysGirl

I jumped into this one looking for a thriller and found...well...not a thriller. No bodies, cover-ups, or government corruption - at least in the traditional sense. A man does die, long-held secrets are revealed and the steamy underbelly of championship football is aired. Grisham takes a break from

his usual genre to provide us with a sensitive look into the rough and tumble world of high school football and the incredible bonding experience of playing for a charismatic coach in a small city of rabid fans. Generations of players - cops, criminals, bankers, and gay book sellers - meet on the high school bleachers to relive old games, gossip, and come to terms with their own feelings about The Coach who is on the edge of death from cancer. As someone who went to OSU during the heyday of Woody Hayes, I have some insight into the phenomenon. This was an interesting exercise - not what I expected - but interesting.

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LibraryThing member MsBeautiful

Short novel about small town football team, involves the reader well but not a stellar book

LibraryThing member serbook

The book narrows in on a small town football coach and the extraordinary measures he takes to ensure that his team wins. Makes you question the whether winning at all costs is warranted.

LibraryThing member temsmail

This is a great psychological drama! The characters are "real" and the action is possible (with a little suspension of disbelief). The ending is poweful, and Gresham has done another good writing job, outside legal genre.

LibraryThing member edwardsgt

I really didn't enjoy this novel, partly probably because of the cultural gap between the US he describes as growing up in and personal experience. It all started with the title - what is a Bleacher anyway, to a Brit it is a completely alien word. I'll stick to his legal novels in future.

LibraryThing member CaptKirk

I didn't really like this book. Although I have read practically everything Grisham has written, I didn't consider this to be one of his best works. Not all that enjoyable.

LibraryThing member carmarie

This story was a fast read, not to mention a smaller book. I don't remember being "wowed" or anything. Typical-ish mall town Texas football story. Similar to Friday Night Lights (movie and television series).

LibraryThing member Natewheel

A very different Grisham book. It was an easy read about a former high school football star who returns to his home town after many years. It was an enjoyable read, but in the end I felt like it lacked any real "punch" like a typical Grisham book would have.

LibraryThing member rachelann

OMG, this was the worst book ever. I don't like sports and I didn't realize the whole thing was going to be about football. This was so bad, don't read it.

LibraryThing member tetchechury

John Grisham's first non legal thriller, and it holds up. This is a decent story, but nothing fantastic. The writing is solid, but nothing earth shattering. However, if you are a Grisham fan this is an enjoyable read.

LibraryThing member dvf1976

Audio

Recommended by Alan Fisher.

Pretty good little book. Coming back from 30-0 at halftime seems like a stretch, but I guess it's possible.

LibraryThing member jonwwil

This is an interesting little book. And when I say "little," I mean it - at just 163 pages, I'd call it a novella myself, even though it says "A NOVEL" right there on the cover.

I'm a high school football junkie - as much for the human drama it provides as for the action on the field - so I thought

this would be right up my alley, and I was mostly right. I'm also a fan of good writing, and on that account, well...it was okay.

I think the book would have been a lot better if Grisham would have left out the subplot about Neely's high school romance, but it also would have been a lot shorter. That part of the story felt contrived, and the character of Cameron was so flat and one-dimensional as to be barely there. It just didn't seem to serve a purpose, other than to provide enough pages to qualify the story as "A NOVEL." But at least she didn't swoon at the sight of Neely and fall back into love with him, so I suppose that's a point in Grisham's favor.

Outside of that one obvious misstep, the main characters felt real enough, and I think they provided enough story on their own. I enjoyed the banter that went back and forth between them, and the bond they still felt despite the different paths their lives had taken since their playing days. And I was fascinated by the Bobby Knight-esque figure of Eddie Rake, the coach they've come back to mourn, the brutal dictator they all loathed during their high school days but who actually turned out to be a pretty decent, if fatally flawed, human being in the end.

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LibraryThing member GaylDasherSmith

It was a compelling story that kept me reading, but I am sickened by this sort of abuse of power in education

LibraryThing member madamejeanie

I finally finished this tiny novel,. I guess
it's odd that it took me so long to finish such a small book, I was at it
for nearly a week. My only excuse is that it was a busy week. Plus, I'm
not a real sports fan, either, and the passages that detailed football games
were hard for me to read since I

don't know (nor do I really care to know!)
much about the game.

Still, this was a good quality book. It's a character study of a character
who never appears in the book except in the recollections of others. It's
about a man named Eddie Rake, a legendary small town high school football
coach who had the best teams every year of his career. But the ruthlessness
of his training, the heartless way he drove the kids and his cruelty that
resulted in the death of a boy and his eventual downfall is the common
thread among all the remembrances. Digging deeper, though, the reader
learns of Coach Rake's tender moments and his humanity. He is a man that
his teams hate with a passion, yet love deeply even against all evidence to
the contrary.

For most folks, this would be a quick read, but I would advise you to eat
this thin book in small chunk and stop and think about it. It's not
Grisham's best work, by a long shot, and it doesn't resemble his typical
legal roller coaster rides in the slightest. But it's a good little book.
I'd recommend it.

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LibraryThing member csayban

There is no doubt that Bleachers is not your typical John Grisham book. There is no legal intrigue. There are no courtroom heroics. Nobody is murdered. However, there is a good story here. At 163 pages, this book is closer to a novella than to a novel in length. I read the entire story in one day

(I know, pretty lame) and it was a fun read. The story revolves around the return of football star Neely Crenshaw to his home town because of the impending death of his football coach Eddie Rake. Coach Rake made himself a town legend, but a controversial legend to be sure. Players from generations of teams migrate back to the field they played on – each for their own reason - to tell stories of their time in the program, both good and bad. Some see Rake as a hero while others can’t shake the man’s obvious flaws. But the real story is Neely trying to come to grips with his relationship with Rake – whether to hate him or respect him and the ‘incident’ kept a secret for 15 years – and the town’s reverence for both Rake and Neely over a ‘silly game.’ The book shines a light on the way sports can become far more than just sport and how people come to grips with their past when they are forced to come back to it. I think Grisham was wise to have written the story as such a short piece. It would have dragged if he attempted to turn it into a 350-page novel. But as it stands, it is a quick, fun read and I really enjoyed characters and the story.

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LibraryThing member kysmom02

Good book! I'm a football fanatic, so this book instantly appealed to me. I also live in a small town where the football program is highly anticipated and appreciated much like in this book, (though not to this extreme).

Neely comes back to the small town of Messina out of respect for his high

school football coach who is on his death bed. Though Neely expresses and explains his love/hate relationship of the man, he hopes to get the shadow of the man out of his head without giving up all the life lessons that the man instilled in all of his players.

This book is about passion. The coach's passions for his players and his teams. The player's passion for the game of football and desire to impress Coach Rake. Grisham does an incredible job with drawing emotions from the reader.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and am passing it on to my husband and brother-in-law who is a coach in this small football town.

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LibraryThing member TiffanyAK

Not a great book, but is okay. Basically it's about a bunch of guys that were small town High School football stars who come together again as their legendary coach is dying. I didn't much care for it, but it was a great commentary on the 'glory days' fof High School athletes, and how seldom their

stardom lasts for long, leaving them with nothing but the memories and a broken body to show for it. But, it's also a commentary on the lasting influence, whether positive or negative, a well-respected figure such as a coach can have on the young people they're around. Not a bad read, and it doesn't take long either.

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LibraryThing member zag

A quick read, only 176 pages. Read it if you are a fan of Football......

LibraryThing member hogg

Great book if you're a former football player. If not, you probably will miss it.

LibraryThing member lainieriley

It reads like an essay; not a novel. It made me think it was written as a storyline for a movie.

LibraryThing member adeej

This is by no means Grisham's greatest work. The chapters are painfully long. The story-line may be of interest to those who are keen followers of American football or small-town America. A certain level of knowledge about American football is ideal to understand all parts of this book. I read this

book to in my effort to read all of John Grisham's novels, but I certainly wouldn't rave about it.

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LibraryThing member tabitha6

Quick read and very emotional, touching.

LibraryThing member sallyawolf

Bleachers By John Grisham
Sometimes a sports team is the back bone and life blood of a whole town. In this book
a infamous coach is dieing. His death has brought everyone back to their hometown to honor him. In the process they lay to rest more then just a great man.
They learn to accept the power of

a man to motivate a group of people throughout their entire lives not just when they are on the field.
This book makes you realize that it is more than a sport it is a state of mind. I would recommend this book to anyone who has had a mentor not just those who like football.

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LibraryThing member burnit99

Neely Crenshaw has come back to Messina where he was the best quarterback ever to play for Coach Eddie Rake's legendary Spartans. Coach Rake is dying now, and as Neely and some former teammates sit in the bleachers and wait for his passing, they trade stories about their lives and the man they came

to love and hate with mixed and equal fervor. For Neely, this may be his last opportunity to find it in his heart to forgive his coach, and himself. A fine short novel that moved me; I've enjoyed every one of John Grisham's non-courtroom books and have yet to read one of the genre for which he is most well-known. I may have to correct that.

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