Bleachers

Rating:
Summary: It's Not about Sports , it's about Life Itself
Review: This is the second novel that i have read for John Grisham that is not a Courtroom Thriller ( the first one was the heart touching (Skipping Christmas) ) , and based on my reading i think that Grisham Has proved so much talent in writing those 2 off genre books .

The story focuses on the main Character (Neely Crenshaw) who is returning to his hometown after several years of being absent , but his coming back is not for vain , he was the most famous Football player in the Legendary Messina Spartans Team , and his also Legendary Coach ( Eddie Rake ) is living his last days , Neely arrives in town , heads for the bleachers , sits there , meets his old Friends and collegues and begins to remember the old glories .

Things is not actually this easy , for Neely there is some complicated matters , his relationship with his Legendary team has ended from many years in such tragic events , and it was the main reason for leaving his hometown , also he is still regretting his cheating on his Girlfriend (Cameron) who was the only girl he loved during his Glory days .

Neely beging to question himself , trying hard complete the unfinished business , ties the loose ends , and above all that trying to decide if he is Fogiving his coach or not .

there are many heart touching themes here mixed in this novel , the longing for the past days , the grieving for peole both dead and alive , and trying to find the happiness among all the sadness surrounding the characters of the novel , but the most amazing thing about this novel is Grisham's ability to create a very ALIVE characters , he will make you sympathy for them , hatem them or even cry for them , and here comes the wonder....how Grisham was able to create such ALIVE characters in very small space (163 pages) because you have used for the thickness of his past novels where he sits relations and events during a very comfortable space , but here in this book he was able to make you engage with those characters in only a very limited space , even some charcters gets only mentioned in three or four spots during the novel , but belive me they were very effective characters , and that is a part of Grisham's Talent .

The most effective chacter here is the coach (Eddie Rake) , we have't met him during the novel only from the stories that is told by the other people which their lives were touched by him , and you will realize that he has affected them not only during their Team's days , but during all the days of their lives .

Grisham has delivered a very sweet book full of emotions and questions , it really touched me , and it sure will touch you , it even has given me a brief information about the American Football(which i almost didn't know anything about it ) , but this book is not about the Football , it's about memories , life and death , and the sure thing that when you are folding the last page of this book you will do it with a HIDDEN tear in your eyes and a BITTER smile on your face.

Rating:
Summary: Overall it's mediocre; boring
Review: Bleachers is the second Grisham book that's very short-this one is around 160 pages. I read Skipping Christmas and liked it, so I thought this one would be pretty good also. I'm a long-time Grisham fan-I've read all of his previous books. I remember the good old days when I would be mesmerized by books like The Firm, The Rainmaker, and The Client. This book pales in comparison to those legal thrillers.

Bleachers is about Neely Crenshaw, a former high school football phenom who was quarterback for the Messina Spartans. Coached by the legendary Eddie Rake, who pushed his players to the limits of physical fitness and production, he led his team to a perfect season in 1987. This book takes us to the future, 15 years later, when he decides to come back to his town because Coach Rake is dying. He embarks on an emotional journey to find his true feelings about Rake. We witness many conversations on bleachers at the Messina football field, and many conversations in general. The book gets boring when they replay their football games. The football stories seem too unrealistic. It also gets confusing when too many characters are introduced and it's difficult to remember the difference between them. There were a few memorable moments and some great characters. I really liked Silo, a menacing and buff linebacker who "killed" his opponents. This book is a short read, though, so that's pretty good.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'm not a fan of John Grisham's legal thrillers (Scott Turow is a far superior writer), but I enjoyed "Skipping Christmas" so I thought I'd give "Bleachers" a try. Thankfully it was a short book, otherwise I may have quit halfway through. It's full of cliches and seems like it could have been written by an English 101 student. I'm giving it two stars instead of one because of a few nice touches (Nat the bookseller was a good character), but otherwise it was a disappointment. I agree with the other reader who wrote that this book is selling on Grisham's name alone; that's definitely true.

Rating:
Summary: great not just for the sports fan
Review: I have to admit at first I was a little hesistant to read this book even though I am a football fan. I've never really been a fan of Grisham books, but when my mother(who LOATHES football) told me how great it was I knew I would have to read it. Despite the length of the story (it was short), it was absolutely enjoyable...and definitely brought back alot of memories to an also former high school athlete. But I can respond on my mom's behalf that this book isn't just for the sports fan, it's for anyone who's ever wanted to be young again.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Grisham book
Review: John Grisham uses high school football in a small town to have us take a look at what really matters. A group of friends come together to mourn the loss of their football coach. The characters are well developed and you feel as though they are your old friends by the end of the book. The book addresses regrets, the need for forgiveness, and the importance of friends. You will enjoy this book even if you aren't a fan of football.

Rating:
Summary: Solid Effort / Fun Read...
Review: I'm not a huge Grisham fan and find myself only really reading his departures, Skipping Christmas, and now Bleachers. I have to say that I truly did like both novels. Bleachers is not merely a sports story and I would disagree that you need to be a football fan to enjoy this book. Bleachers is much more. It's a story of shattered dreams, potential, regret, and coming to terms with one's past. The story's central character Neely Crenshaw deals with a love that hurts 10 years later, a coach dying whom he is unsure if he loves or hates. Bleachers makes you think back to the one person that affected your life more thn anyone. Bleachers is not a great character study and is certainly not going to blow your mind, but Bleachers is a great escape and will make you think back to the days when you were 18.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't be more boring
Review: I look forward to reading new books by favorite authors, but this one was extremely not worth the price of the book. If I had written this, no publisher would have touched it. It will sell based on his name only. My advice--skip it.

Rating:
Summary: Football Player's Must Have
Review: Excellent book for former and present players and their coaches. This book does an outstanding job in relating what playing football on a team can mean. The lessons learned during the playing years are not always obvious until those lessons are used in the big game - the game of life. I recommend this for the dedicated athlete, fans - but the not the arm-chair quarterbacks.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant and emotional, but plotless and somewhat boring
Review: We wonder if this little hardback about little more than small-town high school football is somewhat autobiographical, given that the dust jacket mentions that for a while Grisham quarterbacked the Southaven High (Miss.) team? Like "A Painted House", this book is not about lawyers, and is definitely not a thriller. Rather it is a nostalgic look back at a group of boys who played football for a notorious love/hate-type coach, Eddie Rake. Rake is dying of cancer and many of the boys, some of whom still live in town, convene a vigil at Rake Field and sit on the bleachers to reminisce. That's about it. While at times the book showed insight and emotion, at others it was dull and plodding. An attempt by the central character (Neely Crenshaw, the old QB) to redeem a former love affair gone awry was pretty silly, and thankfully for the women, the girl tolerated no parts of it.

Anything Grisham writes, including this novella, will no doubt sell a bazillion copies. This quick read might just as well be checked out from the library if you insist.

Rating:
Summary: BORING! (Unless you love football)
Review: This book was extremely boring. I read the whole thing because it was short and I had nothing better to do last evening. I do not have any interest in football and this book is only for people who care something about the game (and probably only to people who care about football to the degree that southerners do). I had to skim through pages of boring replays of high school games as recalled by middle-aged men. I liked Grisham's other "nonlegal" book (The Painted House) but this book is not of the same calibre. Unless you are a huge high school football fan, skip this one.