Helpful Score: 1
John Grisham lays off the law books to focus on the legacy of a football coach who laid down the law. The book is a description of the final days of a coaching legend in a small southern town. Bleachers tells the story of coach Eddie Rake through the eyes of his former superstar Neely Crenshaw who has come back to town in anticipation of the coach's death.
While much has been said how this is a departure from Grisham's legal thrillers, I am not sure it is that much of a departure. Bleachers in some ways is a legal drama. Eddie Rake's life is on trial. His methods, his achievements, his defeats, are all scrutinized. At the memorial service, several witnesses even take the stand for him. Crenshaw is part prosecutor, part star witness, and part jury and ultimately it is not only Rake's life on trial but also his own.
While much has been said how this is a departure from Grisham's legal thrillers, I am not sure it is that much of a departure. Bleachers in some ways is a legal drama. Eddie Rake's life is on trial. His methods, his achievements, his defeats, are all scrutinized. At the memorial service, several witnesses even take the stand for him. Crenshaw is part prosecutor, part star witness, and part jury and ultimately it is not only Rake's life on trial but also his own.
