Bleachers

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to like it.
Review: I like Grisham and I went into the book with a positive attitude. But, god, it took forever to read. I only finished it because I had invested the money. And then, the ending, was worse than everything that preceded it. These people should get a life.

Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: Aside from being boring, this story has been done many times before: athletic hero does semi-well, returns home to be confronted by characters from the past, the coach he hates turns out to have good qualitites after all, yada, yada, yada. Reminded me of Pat Conroy's "real-life experience" book, but was not nearly as interesting. John, give this up and go back to "dance with the one that brung ya".

Rating:
Summary: once again..
Review: Once again John Grisham delviers a hit. I've read all of his published books and even though I'm a big fan of all the court action, in my opinion shifting away from legal themes hasn't affected the quality, that was already shown in "A Painted House".

Bleachers is a touching story of a young man who returns to his childhood home and is surrounded by memories, both good and bad. the lead characters battles with his thoughts and desperately tries to make up his mind abotu certain issues while living through all of his memories. the book demonstrates how decision can affect your whole life, and even more importantly, how great of an effect certain people can have on you.

my only dissapointment in this book is the ending. I won't write about it so that everyone can enjoy their reading an make uo their own mind about it. nertheless, this is one of the best books I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Bleachers by John Grisham
Review: Eeeek! This is the first Grisham book I'm not buying. "John, Man, I miss your usual strong and wondrous writing voice."

Rating:
Summary: Skipping "Bleachers"
Review: Am a football fan but this had no appeal to me. It just dragged on with lots of play-by-play. Where did vintage Grisham go?

Rating:
Summary: A Great "Real Life" Book
Review: Bleachers is one of the best books I've ever read. The book will resonate with anyone who has been a high school athelete, grown up in a small town, or had deep regrets about events in their teenage events. The story in the book is probably similiar to the real life stories of millions of teenagers growing up in America at one time or another. The book resonates with the real sense that decisions we make as teenagers can effect our lives for years or decades.

Neely Crenshaws girlfriend tries repeatedly to downplay the importance of what happened in high school by saying "We were only 16". But as the book shows, those decisions by 16 year olds have effects for years to come.

And though Grisham never makes a point of it directly, one does get a real sense that he is trying to convey just how much pressure that a small community can sometime place on its youth.

Finally, the overall message of the book might be that one should not have great success in their youth. Since it places a person in the position of forever competing with themselves

Rating:
Summary: (4 1/2) The Lessons of Life by a Master Storyteller
Review: This book is defintely not for everyone, as illustrated by the fact that at the time that this review is being written aproximately one third of the reviews are highly negative. While I throughly enjoyed it, many readers were apparently disappointed in that it is not at all a "typical Grisham thriller". So, I will try to both outline the nature of this deceptively simple story and detail both my reactions to it and also the reason for my high rating.

An important fact in any description of this book is that it is really an extended short story. This is a book of only 163 undersized pages; it is comprised of only four chapters, which nominally encompass four days in the life of Neely Crenshaw, a high school all- American quarterback who played for the Messina Spartans under their legendary coach Eddie Rake. The team's multiple state titles and 84 game winning streak defined both the town and the players, and now as Coach Rake lies dying of cancer Neely returns to Messina for his first visit since his college days. However, rather than being the hometown heroes who are idolized on the playing field by their classmates and the townspeople, the players gather in solitude in the BLEACHERS and wait for night to come and the coach to die. And as they reminisce and relive the past, they have to come to terms with their feelings for the coach who molded their lives and drove them to excel whatever the cost. We gradually learn how high the cost has been for some of them; eventually the story of Neely's life and how Coach Rake's need for forgiveness is inextricably intertwined with Neely's need to let go of the past together form the basis for several cleverly handled flashbacks which illuminate their lives.

While this is not a sports book as such, an appreciation of sports and understanding of football will undoubtedly add to a reader's enjoyment of the story since it uses experiences molded within the crucible of sports as an analogy for life. However, the lessons are universal and occasionally worth contemplating, and this book reveals the superb storytelling talents of the author in that regard. As we read the absorbing story, we are faced with the age old dilemma of whether youth is wasted on the young, and the missed opportunities that we often realize only much later in life. The book captures the joy of victory counterbalanced by the agony of defeat, and the inevitable nature of their juxtapostion. It is about the unintentional impact that our goals sometimes have on others, and about the cost of the quest for greatness and fame. But most of all, this book is about the irrevocable nature of the forces often set in motion by a momentary decision and as Robert Frost so well articulated, how it is often impossible to return to the fork in the road and explore the direction not taken. If only!! - as Neely had belatedly come to realize, whether it related to rolling out rather than staying in the protection of the pocket during a crucial game or in his choice of the girl to date while enjoying his years of adulation as the team's star.

I actually debated how to rate this book since a novel of this brevity omits much potentially enlightening material. In the end, I decided that Grisham had accomplished his objectives quite well despite some shortcomings, and since these didn't detract significantly from my enjoyment I would round up my rating. In fact, a great deal of my enjoyment of the story was due to the fact that its limited length and fluid nature made it extremely easy to read. Therefore, I decided that since some of my criticisms (e.g. the need for more background information and more character development) would have interfered with its rapid pace, the author's tradeoffs may well have been appropriate. So, I suggest that you wait for a time when you are in the mood to reflect upon the lessons of life and the unexpected turns of fate and then spend a few hours reading BLEACHERS and enjoying the story of Eddie Rake and his boys as told by a master storyteller.

Tucker Andersen

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money.......
Review: Absolutely the worst Grisham book. I've read EVERYTHING John Grisham has written, and while some of his books were just okay, I feel that Grisham has more talent than what is shown in this mundane, repetitive boring story. Sorry I wasted my money on this one, but will faithfully look forward to his next release.

Rating:
Summary: the next chapter
Review: After reading the Painted House I was curious to read other Grisham books to see what all the fuss was about with this author. I am by no means an intillect but I do enjoy a book with more substance, enough to keep my heart beating. I have read most of Girshams books since reading The Painted House and have thoroughly enjoyed them all, most likely because they had something more thought provoking than a Sheriff eating biscuits and drinking coffee. I perhaps do not look into the meanings of some messages as deeply as I should (maybe thats what I am missing in The Painted House and Bleachers), things like not returning to a football field, I can't find the meaning. I should also mention I did not like reviewing Romeo and Juliet in high school either. Grisham should be writing thought provoking and hold your breath till the next page books. This was not.

Rating:
Summary: A very good read
Review: I side with the folks who liked this book. In fact I continue to be awed by what a skilled writer Grisham is. No matter what the subject he seems to always succeed in crafting an interesting tale, well worth the time spent reading it. This one goes fast, strikes home and brings tears. It most likely will revive nostalgic memories in all of us lucky enough to have loved/hated a coach or a teacher who entered our self-absorbed teenage sphere and made a real diffence in our life. I don't give it a 5 (reserved for hall of fame classics) but am glad for the small amount of time and money spent on this one, will definitely look forward to his next.