Bleachers (novel)
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| Bleachers | |
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| Author | John Grisham |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | September 9, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-385-51161-2 |
Bleachers is a book by American author John Grisham. The hardcover edition (ISBN 0-385-51161-2) was published on September 9, 2003 and the paperback (ISBN 0-440-24200-2) was published on June 22, 2004. The hardcover edition was published by Doubleday and the paperback edition by Dell.
The book focuses on the death of a high school football coach, Eddie Rake. Rake was the coach of a big-time high school football team in the fictional town of Messina. The state where the town is located is unspecified but many hints in the book point at Texas. The book revolves around former players of Rake returning to Messina and how the now adults reflect on their lives. The players must decide if they love or hate Eddie Rake and his coaching methods.
[edit] Main characters
Neely Crenshaw (Born 1969) is a fictional high school quarterback and the protagonist of John Grisham’s novel, Bleachers.
“Number 19 was a high school all-American, a highly recruited quarterback with a golden arm, fast feet, plenty of size, maybe the greatest Messina ever produced,” the book mentions in its opening pages.
In 1987, trailing 31-0 at halftime to East Pike, crippled by a broken hand, and without the assistance of legendary head football coach Eddie Rake, due to an incident in the locker room at half time, the gutsy quarterback rallied the Spartans to a 34-31 victory for Messina's first state championship in seven years.
The following season, his high school number was retired at Messina. No number has been retired since.
After graduation, Crenshaw received 31 scholarship offers and chose Tech, a non-fictional university. He received $50,000 for signing with the school.
In the second half of the 1989 Gator Bowl, Crenshaw came off the bench for Tech in the second half, threw for three touchdowns, ran for a hundred yards, and led a last-second comeback.
As a sophomore, he was national player of the week when he threw for six touchdowns against Purdue University. But against A&M later that year, he suffered a career ending knee-injury.
“I rolled out, into the flat, saw an opening, tucked the ball and ran, didn’t see a linebacker.
Crenshaw left school shortly after the injury and drifted across the country. He now lives in the Orlando area and is involved in the real estate business. He returned to Messina to deliver the eulogy at Eddie Rake’s funeral in 2003.
Neely faces the question on whether or not he loves Coach Rake or hates him. He is in conflict with himself. Torn apart by his longing for glory days past, and the harsh reality of his now dull existence.
Eddie Rake was the fictional head football coach in John Grisham's football novel, Bleachers.
In Bleachers, most of the 714 football players Rake coached in his 34 years at Messina High School returned to the town for his impending death and funeral. The players spend much of the novel retelling stories about the legendary coach, a man who was both beloved and reviled.
Rake ended his career with 418 wins, 62 losses, and 13 state championships. During an unsanctioned Sunday morning practice on August 21, 1992, Scotty Reardon, a kicker on the team, lost consciousness during a grueling run up the bleachers. He died of heat stroke. Rake's brutal training methods were called into question, and the superintendent of education, who also was Reardon's uncle, fired Rake.
In a letter revealed at Rake's funeral, the coach states the two regrets of his life were losing Scotty Reardon and for open-hand slapping All-American quarterback Neely Crenshaw at halftime of the 1987 championship game against East Pike.
| Preceded by The King of Torts |
John Grisham Novels 2003 |
Succeeded by The Last Juror |
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