Bleachers, John Grisham
Bleachers, John Grisham
407 Rating(s)
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Bleachers

Author: John Grisham

Narrator: John Grisham

Unabridged: 4 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/09/2003


Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A former high school football star bids farewell to his glory days in this poignant and nostalgic novel that’s “as taut and twisting as a well-thrown spiral” (People).

“[Grisham] makes this football game so real that the reader can almost see and hear it.”—The New York Times

High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.

Now, as Coach Rake’s “boys” sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake—or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach—and himself—before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high.

About John Grisham

John Ray Grisham, Jr. was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas on February 8, 1955. Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University and later from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He was a practicing criminal attorney for over ten years and then served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1990. He published his first novel in 1989 after working on it for five years. ‘A Time to Kill’, his first novel, launched his new career and was later made into a major motion picture. His first bestseller, ‘The Firm’, released in 1991, sold over seven million copies and was made into a box office hit starring Tom Cruise two years later. Almost twenty years later in 2012, a TV series was launched and picks up the life of Mitch McDeere and his family ten years after the events of the novel.

John Grisham has had his novels translated into more than forty languages and has sold nearly 300 million copies worldwide. He is a winner of the prestigious Galaxy British Book Award and is one of only three authors (the other two being Tom Clancy and J.K. Rowling) to ever sell two million copies of a first published novel. Nine of his novels (including ‘The Firm and ‘A Time to Kill’ have been made into major motion pictures.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Diane on September 21, 2017

Sporty read! enjoyable,heartwarming,well developed characters with good storytelling..recommend (paperback!)......more

Goodreads review by Paul on January 20, 2024

The good, the bad and the ugly ... ! If you're looking for a legal thriller, BLEACHERS, neither legal nor thriller, is certainly not the drink for which you thirst! In a quiet, pastoral yet moving style of writing which he was to re-use to incredible effect in THE LAST JUROR, Grisham has treated his......more

Goodreads review by William on October 07, 2024

A fun little book that's easy to read. I'm a slow reader yet still finished this within a few days. Two key takeaways from a book about a legendary high school football team and their hard-nosed coach: - Sometimes it's the people who are hardest on us who help us the most. - Always push to make sure......more

Goodreads review by Jane on February 07, 2012

It was not fun. Guys who played high school football 15 yrs ago reminisce about the past. Melancholy and sadness. STORY BRIEF: Eddie Rake was a tough, mean, high school football coach with undefeated teams for many years. He now has cancer and is expected to die any day. Guys who used to play football......more

Goodreads review by Lynda on July 19, 2008

Couldn't put it down. And it makes you think about how people influence you and how strong a bond is between coaches and players. This was excellent.......more


Quotes

“A sure-footed storyteller with an undeniable mastery of plotting, pacing, and tone.”The New York Times Book Review

“Some of the best writing from Grisham . . . [He] makes Bleachers sing.”—Los Angeles Times

Bleachers is touching not just because of its all-American story, but because its author is so sincere in telling it that it hurts.”—Boston Globe

“Engaging . . . There are echoes of Jason Miller’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play, That Championship Season, and Irwin Shaw’s classic short story, The Eight-Yard Run.”—USA Today

“Grisham’s theme is comfortably romantic: You can go home again . . . a reminder of what an effortless storyteller Grisham can be.”Columbus Dispatch

“Grisham does a fine job of capturing the atmosphere in a small town where every store has the game schedule in the window and no one plans any other activities on Friday night.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“With the Friday-night lights shining on football fields across the country, the bleachers filled with men who would gladly trade their aching knees for one more chance to be young gridiron gladiators, Grisham’s book should score big.”—Orlando Sentinel

“In Bleachers, the outcome is victory.”—New York Daily News

“Evocative.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“There’s plenty of play-by-play in Bleachers, whole games remembered with the dead-on accuracy of passion for the sport and shared experience.”—New Orleans Times-Picayune