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John Grisham
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Pages: 200 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0099468190
Pub: Arrow Books Ltd
Pub date: 2004-07-15
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 19306
Reader Reviews:
None the worse for being diffferent (0/0 people found this helpful)
I picked this up as a light holiday read and unlike some of the reviewers loved it. I thought he dealt with the passing of time, the wasting of potential and the souring of youthful dreams in a brilliant way. I thought there was a definite ending in that some sort of redemption occured.
I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who likes sports novels.
Underrated (2/2 people found this helpful)
Being a huge John Grisham fan and reading other reviews relating to this departure from his legal genre I was a bit apprehensive at first. However, after reading this book (I picked it up and didn't put it down until i'd finished) I have to say the apprehension was truly misplaced. The novel examines the return of an All American hero to his small US hometown (Messina) and his nostalgic reunion with his former teammates (from the Spartans) and their reminiscence of High School and their former coach who is dying.
Whilst a departure from the usual Grisham fair it is a welcome one and is thoroughly enjoyable despite the widespread criticism it has received. Granted, if you haven't a clue about US football or it's importance to small town America then you'd find this book pointless. That aside however it drags out an important message that anyone can identify with; nothing lasts forever and it can be self destructive to hold on to a memory. A fantastic book.
Last Grisham I will buy! (6/9 people found this helpful)
This book is a shocker! Firstly, at only 229 pages and 52000 words, it is half the length of most current bestsellers - but still at the premium price. Secondly - there is no storyline, no action whatsoever!! This book is all reminiscenses of ex-American College footballers who return to their college campus on hearing thet their long-time coach is fatally ill. That's it: Reminiscenses about game X in year Y against college Z, followed by game A against college B in year C, followed by .... What is Grisham doing? This book is a con, a travesty of a proper novel, a rip-off! Grisham is treating his loyal readers with total disrespect by allowing this bokk to be published. For me, this is the last Grisham I will ever buy - David
An unpalatable mix of violence and mawkish sentimentality (1/3 people found this helpful)
I've quite liked the other books by John Grisham that I've read, but I couldn't really get on with this short story. The characters are only brief sketches: nothing wrong with that in itself, but it can make it difficult to care what happens to them, particularly when the central figure (the Coach) is out of focus. Grisham wants to raise questions about whether he was loved or hated by the members of his team (often going over the same ground repeatedly in the case of the feelings of Neely, the returning ex-star), but in the end, he appeared to be so evanescent that I didn't care what everyone else thought.
Others have commented on the lack of sympathy or understanding that non-US readers will have for a story about American Football, and I'd have to agree: I'm sure it's viewed as an elegant, exciting, engaging game, but you wouldn't really guess that from reading this story. Instead, there are episodes of violence and aggression which are first glorified in the name of winning a game at all costs, and then fondly remembered by an unappealing collection of middle-aged men harking back to their childhoods. Hard to admire, really.
Reflect on your past (4/4 people found this helpful)
This book made me cry. It made me reflect upon my own life. Looking back on missed opportunities and moments of greatness. Reminiscing. Approaching middle age and realising that those times now belong to the next generation. American Football was the medium in which this book is set, but that's not what it's about. It's about friendships lost and enduring, twists of fate that lead us away from our spiritual homes. It definitely struck a chord with me, and made me pick up the phone.....
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