I get a lot of reading referrals from my father-in-law Bud, and since he is very interested in law there should be no surprise that John Grisham is a common author in our discussions. Grisham is a lawyer's writer, and a practicing lawyer himself, but in his book Bleachers being a lawyer isn't enough to get you noticed in the small town of Messina. You have to play football, and play it well.
In the novel Bleachers, Grisham departs from the law offices of the South and enters Messina Spartans high-school football, home of the dying Coach Eddie Rake. It has been years since Rake's decades of coaching success ended, but the town and the players still remember. They still remember the undefeated seasons, and the big wins. Like the '87 championship game where Neely Crenshaw carried the team back from a 31-0 deficit at half-time to win the game. Some legends never die.
Legends do, however, fade -- Neely did. For almost every young man who has felt the sensation of success at the high-school level, he has felt the realization that the real world doesn't give a damn. High-school is what it is, and nothing more. Neely found this out the hard way after losing a knee near the beginning of a promising college career. But now he's back in Messina for Rake's impending funeral, and the town remembers. Fifteen years can change a man, but the fans in the bleachers still remember Neely as the great quarterback and the All-American athlete. The shoes are too big for him to fill.
This book was of interest to me because I'd "been there" to one degree or another, complete with knee injury and the town that remembers. I have a feeling that without that background, however, this book might not have been on my list. From the female perspective, there is a draw -- if you were the girl who's prom-date left you for the tramp with long legs and no brains, you may find solace within these pages. All in all, a decent book and a very quick read.
Kevin says: One read and back on the shelf
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (September 9, 2003)
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