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Past, Present and Beyond: Two Novels of Inquiry

© Nancie Metro

Bleachers by John Grisham, a departure from his usual legal thrillers, had been recommended to me by a friend whose opinion I highly value. When she remarked that we must read this for our book group, I was interested enough to pick it up. However, as I read it, I wondered where was the great message that my friend had seen. It is a rather sad and poignant story with a lot of "what ifs" implied. And maybe that is the message-are the what ifs in your life detracting from your future?

The book recounts the story of a high school football coach's life as many of his former players reunite prior to his death. Neely Crenshaw, All-American player, is the focus through which the story is told. He recalls the glory days of his high school career, which has remained the highlight of his life.

Neely's life hasn't turned out at all like he planned. Sidelined by a knee injury in a college game, Neely hasn't progressed very far from that point-a college dropout with a failed marriage and a struggling real estate business. Yet this is the first time he has returned to his hometown; there are also painful memories associated with his demanding coach of those football years.

Personal Application:

Have you allowed a past event to become overly important in your present life? Is it time you moved on and lived in the present? Conversely, Neely discovers connections with old friends that he realizes are still important to him. How might reconnecting with your past enhance your present and future?

In One True Thing by Anna Quindlen, we meet Ellen Gulden, a young successful writer, whose father asks her to return home to help her mother as she suffers with cancer. Ellen struggles with being the full-time caretaker for her mother and with the absence of her father. These conditions force her to confront her relationship with her parents. In many ways, Ellen is very much a child in her parents' presence, reverting to old roles and patterns of behavior rather than being the successful adult she has become.

As the book opens, Ellen is in jail, arrested for killing her mother. But the book isn't so much about that as it is with her relationship with her parents. Reading the book, I often became impatient with Ellen, with her not standing up to her father as he imposes on her to do what he, as spouse, should be taking care of. Yet her resentment of this treatment does lead her to new insights about her father, her mother and her relationship with them.