A great sports book because it is not all about sports
Most sports books involve a team that is struggling, there is conflict, both internal and external and then they manage to rise up and win "the big game at the end." Fortunately, and that is one of the most powerful features of this book, that formula is followed, but largely in reverse. There was a big game that the team managed to win, but that was years ago, yet it is still a powerful memory in the participants and the town where the team was from.
Neely Crenshaw was an outstanding quarterback for the Messina Spartans, he went on to play at a major college and was on his way to All-American status and perhaps even the Heisman Trophy when he suffered a career-ending knee injury in his sophomore season. Since then, he has bounced around, never enjoying any significant success; Neely was never able to psychologically recover from the drop from major sports idol to the minimally competent at life.
Legendary football coach Eddie Rake is dying of cancer, so many of his former players are coming back to Messina for the funeral. They are joining a town in deep mourning, under Eddie high school football was a local religion and Eddie was extremely successful. There were long winning streaks and multiple state championships and during that time Eddie was close to a semi-god in the eyes of many of the people. Known to many but tolerated because of his success, Eddie was a sadist in his treatment of the players; most of them hated him but could do nothing about his abusive policies. Finally, when a player collapses and dies during a workout, Eddie is fired by a powerful local political figure, an act which leads to deep divisions within the town.
The past is no longer the past as people begin to come together for the funeral, the former players gather together to share stories about their football careers and their lives. Eddie Rake is a constant topic, but in this case their big game is one that they relive. The divisions in the town, past relationships and regrets all come to the surface as everyone tries to come to terms with their successes and failures, both in and out of football. The funeral allows many to experience closure as they get a long-delayed grip on their feelings for the man that took them through hell in order to win football games.
This is one of the best sports books ever written because it is about sports intertwined with life. In the modern world, Eddie Rake would have been in prison for his actions and his success provides the perfect backdrop for the "what have you done since high school" story. There is something in this story for every person that graduates from high school and then ends up living a life that is completely unexpected.
Terrific Tale of Hidden Pain and Triumph
I Read "A Time to Kill" a long time ago, and basically hated it.* So I have skipped the rest of Grishams career, I found this book at a rummage sale for a quarter and decided to give him a chance again.
Wow!
This is a very short novel that can be read in a day or two. The characters are not as fully formed as in longer works, but you only see what you need to see to stir up the right emotions. Very little wasted effort in this novel. I even teared up a little, as did my wife (although at different points). Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to look back at their youth and see it differently.
The novel centers around the impending death of legendary small town football coach Eddie Rake. As he lies on his deathbed, and ultimately passes, many of his former players come back to town to say goodbye and reminisce. The main character is Neely, the last QB to give Rake a state championship. At this point, Neely is in his 30s and a broken man. A destroyed knee ended his career, in the 15 years since high school Neely is finally outgrowing that concept of "I'm a jock and I am better than you because of it." Other characters are big and colorful and round out the scenery quite well.
This novel restored my faith in John and I will be picking up a few more of his novels in the near future.
T
* = The entire defense strategy was not "My Client is Innocent", but was "Yeah, he killed 'em, and you would have too." That infuriated me.
Rambling, should have been a short story
As described by the editorial review, this is "physically a narrow book" akin to a short story. I listed while driving on a long road trip, with nothing else to listen to, so I persisted, thinking the story must get to the point. The exploration of a former highschool athlete who doesn't make the big time could have been well done within the length of a real short story. Instead, very little was dragged out to create a book, that sells on the Grishom name. I've lost faith in what has become the Grishom book mill.
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