Bleachers by John Grisham (2003. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-51161-2)
Better. Much better. I was troubled earlier this week by my review of Grisham’s latest, Calico Joe. I was pretty hard on the attorney-turned-wordsmith. But I try in this blog, just like when I’m at my “real” job on the bench, to call ’em like I see ’em. I was not impressed with Calico Joe, the story of two baseball players and how their lives intersect one fateful day. As the title to this review alludes, Bleachers has more heart, more soul, more point, and more quality writing in its first 30 pages than Calico Joe does in its entirety.
Neely Crenshaw was one of the stars of the Messina High Spartans football team coached by Eddie Rake. The ex-quarterback had a brief college career with a few highlights thrown in before losing it all. Fifteen years later, he’s still trying to find himself, trying to understand what it is about the sport of football and life he learned from the tough talking Coach Rake all those many years ago. It’s important for Neely to think about such things because the ex-quarterback is back in his hometown, waiting with other former players, for their old coach to die.
Grisham’s writing style is simple, concise, and straight on. The tale is constructed around a very simple premise: Yes, you can go home but you can’t change the past. If that seems a bit maudlin and predictable, well, it is. But unlike Calico Joe, where the dialogue and writing seems crafted for a juvenile audience, which made reading the book a bit of a chore, Bleachers flows nicely, with believable dialogue, characters and a well crafted setting in the imaginary southern town of Messina. There are a couple of plot twists to keep the reader on his or her toes: nothing earth shattering or dissonant but these moments make the book all the more poignant and worthwhile.
As leaves outside turn brittle and take on color, as morning air begins to hold the night’s cold, those of us that played high school football understand fully what Grisham is trying to recreate here. He’s done an admirable job of it and there’s enough of a story beyond the sports connection (Note: the play-by-play tape of one of Neely’s biggest games is rivetingly recreated by Grisham and is one of the highlights of the book) for those who never put on the pads (including the fairer sex) to hold their interest.
All in all, a fine summer read.
4 start out of 5.
