Bleachers – John Grisham
August 20th, 2004 | by Digvijay Lamba |
I am a marginal John Grisham fan, and I picked this up just to see how well he can write books outside of legal battles.
Let me warn you that this book has generally got mixed reviews, and not everyone has liked it as much as I did.
For me three things in a story make it worth reading. Motivation under duress; a tale of missed chances; and heroes when they are no more heroes.
This book has a bit of it all. Even though I don’t really understand American Football all that well, I still read it for its story of lasting bonds between people. I would suggest, you read up a bit on American Football and its rules to make the most of this book.
It’s a story of a high school football team, there extreme success, their towns high demands on them and now fallen hero in a coach that fulfilled those dreams. It’s a story of a coach who was hated yet loved, who motivated generations to better times, who had his failings, who made mistakes and who is about to die. It’s a story of heroes from among this team who have gone on to live different lives… never forgetting him… or their team. A superstar who is not a star any more, some criminals, a sheriff, a gay coffee shop owner and a banker. Friends because they belong to that team.
For any one who belongs to such communities… and I belong to two. Its a must read.
