A review by uncle_nino
Bleachers by John Grisham
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Bleachers by John Grisham
🌟🌟🌟stars
There are mixed reviews for this one, and I suspected as much. If this didn't affect a reader, it's likely they 1). Don't care about football. 2).Never had a coach, teacher, or adult mentor influence their lives into adulthood.
This is a nostalgic piece about a high school football program and a dying coach. As it progresses, it's clear that it's about much more than football.
It also encompasses regrets. Regrets from mistakes made from lost love to lost freedom. I have an understanding of zealots. I don't necessarily agree or join in the ridiculous fever, but I accept that it exists. I mean, if people can get into screaming arguments over which senile corrupt old man they want as president, they can get obsessed over a way of life that football has guided.
This town and high school may be fictional, but there are towns and high schools all over that resemble this one.
At first, this just wasn't for me. Old teammates sitting in the bleachers of their hometown high school and reminiscing didn't make me feel anything. However, the more it progressed, the more I understood the impact and the bigger picture. I think Grisham conveyed that beautifully. From the reliving a championship football game to the eulogies at the end, it had a measure of impassioned feeling that was hot-blooded and fiery, then heartwarming and moving.
For me, it was just that.
🌟🌟🌟stars
There are mixed reviews for this one, and I suspected as much. If this didn't affect a reader, it's likely they 1). Don't care about football. 2).Never had a coach, teacher, or adult mentor influence their lives into adulthood.
This is a nostalgic piece about a high school football program and a dying coach. As it progresses, it's clear that it's about much more than football.
It also encompasses regrets. Regrets from mistakes made from lost love to lost freedom. I have an understanding of zealots. I don't necessarily agree or join in the ridiculous fever, but I accept that it exists. I mean, if people can get into screaming arguments over which senile corrupt old man they want as president, they can get obsessed over a way of life that football has guided.
This town and high school may be fictional, but there are towns and high schools all over that resemble this one.
At first, this just wasn't for me. Old teammates sitting in the bleachers of their hometown high school and reminiscing didn't make me feel anything. However, the more it progressed, the more I understood the impact and the bigger picture. I think Grisham conveyed that beautifully. From the reliving a championship football game to the eulogies at the end, it had a measure of impassioned feeling that was hot-blooded and fiery, then heartwarming and moving.
For me, it was just that.