By John Grisham

For many years, I was a John Grisham snob, with reason, as I recall. I remember trying to read The Firm when it first was published, but thought it was plain awful and basically forsook any of Grisham’s subsequent books. Frankly, it drove me a little nuts, as an employee of the Latah County Library District, to process the four, five, or six copies of his books the district purchased for the fiction collection. What in the world did the world see in John Grisham, I wondered.

I’m not saying John Grisham is the greatest writer in the world; he’s no Jon Hassler or Louise Erdrich, but he is a good storyteller, and with Bleachers, Grisham tells a tale to which many of us can relate personally.

Bleachers is about high school football. It is the story of how one high school football coach, Eddie Rake, profoundly influenced the lives of all the young men who played on his teams. Anyone who grew up in a small American town can probably relate to phenomenon of Friday night football and is familiar with how it can dominate the life of not just the school but also the community.

Bleachers is not free of Grisham’s noted weaknesses: sentimentality, stilted dialogue, and one-dimensional female characters. But, on the other hand, there are truly fine characterizations in this novella as well as two truly funny scenes; the one in which the punter on the 1987 team fumbles the toss not once but twice and still manages to score the “ugliest touchdown ever” is laugh-out-loud funny.

The highlight of Bleachers for me was the re-creation of a radio broadcast of the 1987 championship game, a come-from-behind victory that was played in the absence of Coach Rake. (Grisham is really good at foreshadowing, so I’ll say no more.) Having listened to the book on CD, I’m not sure how the re-creation would work in print, but in audio, it is very entertaining because it is read, not by the author who reads the rest of the book, but by an actor who sounds very much like the radio sports broadcasters I’ve heard. The dialogue in this re-creation is sometimes downright unbelievable, but not so much that it detracts from its novelty. Despite its flaws, including a goofy happy ending, I recommend Bleachers, be you a Grisham devotee or snob.

Bleachers is available from the Latah County Library District and Book People in Moscow.

Julie Monroe, 1973 graduate of Sandpoint Senior High School, recalls one Bulldog football game with fondness. Then a student at the University of Idaho, she returned home for a weekend visit. She bummed a ride from Moscow to Sandpoint and was dropped off at the football field where she met her father, who was standing at the sidelines. He was not a coach, just a spectator, but perhaps after a long day of driving a lumber truck, he preferred not to sit in the bleachers. As she approached, her father turned, smiled, took her suitcase, and then turned to watch the game.