Bleachers - John Grisham

Background So many of my friends and family recommended I try a John Grisham novel, so I finally did. I saw this book in the market and at 50p so I thought I couldn't go wrong. About the Author John Grisham was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas in the USA in 1955. His first book called 'A Time To Kill' was written in 1989.Since then he has become recognised as one of the Worlds best selling novelists. So far he has written 18 novels, including 'Bleachers', which was first published in 2004. About the book The 'Bleachers' is about an 'old high school hero' Neely Crenshaw. Who returns to his old home ... more

This time last year I was quite often writing about my love for John Grisham novels and raving about this book or that. After a year of not touching any of his books I picked up a copy of “The Bleachers” for £3. That may sound like great value but at 180 pages long and an RRP price of £5.99 it’s actually grossly over priced. That didn’t deter me from starting it as I can usually find no fault with Grisham’s work, until now. Having read the blurb on the back of the book it really didn’t sound like a book I’d enjoy. I thought that when I read my first Grisham book as well so decided it might be ... more

First and foremost, while this book is written is written by John Grisham, this is not one of his legal thrillers. So, if as a fan of John Grisham, you're looking for more of the same, forget it. This is apparently his third venture into a different genre, and while others have been disappointed, I rather enjoyed it. I'm not an avid fan, but I enjoyed the movies The Pelican Brief and The Client, so I thought I might enjoy reading some of his books as well. Having read The Brethren, I was however slightly disappointed. This one, being of a different genre, I had no high expectations of. I might ... more

Everything Grisham writes is destined to become a best-seller. Most of his work is excellent, but it has to be said that his main strength lies in his ability to write stories with a law plot. Sadly, Bleachers does not have a law story and in my opinion does Grisham no favours at all. If you were disappointed with Painted House (as I was) I would not recommend Bleachers either. In a nutshell it's the story of a baseball coach who is dying and many of his old players gather in his home town to reminisce about him and how he affected their lives. There's no real action and quite a weak plot. The ... more

Think John Grisham and you think of crime, murder or mystrey, great characters and books that you just can't put down. This book, had nothing. I cannot think of anything in this book that would make me recommend it to others, there was no storyline. I admit i am a huge fan of his books but bleachers was a massive let down. The characters were not even recogniseable, there was no twist and no imagination. This was a book which merely went through an old school football team getting together to discuss their success as a young team through the guidance of their coach who is on his death bed ... more