Bleachers Book Review

John Grisham stole my heart in his novel, “Bleachers”, chronicling the life of one coach who lost the game he loved so much with injury and to come back to some painful memories of his past. Grisham capturing the true and pure spirit of the game of football and illustrated it in the purest form. I loved this book and it has been my favorite book I have ever read. 

            This story follows Neely Crenshaw, who is also the protagonist of the story, whose life took a different path than expected when a knee injury ended his football career during his 2^nd year at Texas Tech. His past comes back to haunt him as his Coach Rake, his high school football coach, passes on. Crenshaw is now faced with some old demons in his return to Messina.

            Grisham really captured the essence of the relationship between Crenshaw and the former players by using flashback to really build up the climax and showcase this story. I don’t think the book would have been this effective and heartfelt without this technique.

            Coach Rake affected Crenshaw the most after the falling out between them in the 87’ Championship game, after Rake struck Crenshaw. This one action stays with Crenshaw and haunts him through the rest of his life, carrying into his knee injury, wife leaving, and love-hate relationship with Coach Rake.  Rake’s death is the first time that Crenshaw has had to come to terms with his past and face what has turned him into a bitter, lonely man.

            My favorite part in the book was when Neely speaks at the funeral and really comes to terns in his speech with Coach Rake. Call me a softy, but it definitely brought tears to my eyes. I was rooting for Neely to have that closure with Coach and himself. I loved that he went back to talk to his old high school flame and mend things with her too. Neely grew, as a person by the end and it was fun to read about his transformation.

            Bleachers is a book that I would definitely read again and recommend to anyone. This book can reach the most loyal football fan or even just a person looking for a good drama. Grisham gets an A+ in my book for this novel.