Bleachers by John Grisham

Review by Gerti

Although John Grisham is best known for his legal dramas, I recently picked up a copy of his football-centric novel “Bleachers”. And just like those other books of his that I’ve enjoyed most, this one is personality driven story. The reader has to like former high school quarterback Neely Chenshaw in order to like the novel. The good news is, thanks to the lovingly human descriptions of Neely penned by Grisham, I do.

The story is ostensibly about the dying days of former Messina high school football coach Eddie Rake. The vigil in those final days has brought many former Spartan players back home, and they meet on the bleachers at the MHS football field to remember their Coach, and their own glory days. This is where the story is strongest, as these boys sit around and tell tales, revealing some secrets and keeping others hidden, all while drinking beer under those Friday night lights.

Not only do members of Neely’s ’87 state championship team show up, but guys who played the game for the Coach decades before and after make an appearance. Rake was an institution in the town for years and had a winning streak of about 80 games. But he was fired after a practice session in the hot sun caused one young boy to die of heatstroke, and the town was never the same.

“Bleachers” is a fascinating story of football and the men who play it, the fans who love it, and what really goes on behind the scenes at a high school and college level. I’m not normally given over to reading about sports, but Grisham made this a novel I did not want to put down. First there is the drama about when the Coach will die that drives the action, but mostly it’s discovering these men – the football players themselves – that is most fascinating. It is something that women don’t generally get to see, or understand, this comradery that comes to men in war and sports, and I loved this look behind the testosterone curtain.

Grisham gets a lot of credit for writing stories about lawyers and what happens in courtrooms, but this book shows that his true gift is writing characters, and it doesn’t matter what they do with their time. In a novel without much of plot and taking place within a short time frame, Grisham has built a real small town with his words and peopled it with girls, boys, boosters, business owners, criminals and cops. He’s shown us harsh realities and Friday night fantasies, and in such clear, lively language that I wasn’t even bored while he was practically doing play-by-plays of the big Messina ball games. A good writer can make you interested in any topic, and John Grisham certainly proves that here, with a protagonist who is every bit as real to me as literary icons like Rhett Butler and Mr. Darcy. This book is a must read for Grisham and football fans!