Daily Times

When you´ve written 35 novels and are working on a streak of 43 consecutive No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, you can write about whatever you want. That´s probably the simplest way to explain why John Grisham´s latest is a basketball story and doesn´t feature a single courtroom scene.

It´s not the first sports book for Grisham, of course, but it´s the first set in the big-time world of college hoops. Samuel Sooleymon, nicknamed Sooley, is a 17-year-old playing on dirt courts in his native South Sudan when we first meet him. Growing like a weed and with an infectious passion for the game, soon he´s in Orlando playing on a team of traveling Sudanese all-stars, showcasing his skills for college coaches.

The joy of a Grisham novel is turning the pages as the plot propels you forward, so I´ll avoid revealing too much. Suffice it to say “Sooley” follows the familiar Grisham playbook – short chapters, plenty of foreshadowing, and a rapid-fire prose that´s easy to read and hard to put down.

Grisham seems to enjoy moonlighting as a sportswriter. There are entire paragraphs that read like AP game recaps: “Central ripped off a 14-0 run and led by 15 at the half… Sooley grabbed 11 rebounds, for his first double-double… Sooley, still coming off the bench but playing 29 minutes, scored 31 and blocked four shots.” He relishes putting words in the mouth of Sooley´s fictional coach, who tells his team before their first-ever NCAA tournament game: “Men, we don´t deserve respect. Yet. Respect is out there on the floor, just waiting for us to go get it.” If they can get the casting right, it´ll make an action-packed sports movie.

Harder to recreate in a film adaptation will be the secondary plot of the novel, which focuses on the family Sooley leaves behind in Sudan. When a rebel group burns their village, they join millions of fellow refugees fleeing the country, eventually finding food and shelter in a Ugandan camp. They´re never far from Sooley´s mind as his basketball career takes flight in America and the juxtaposition of his fame and celebrity with his family´s plight back home is the heart of the story.

One quibble that probably won´t bother many other readers: In a work of fiction set in a world of fact – these are all real schools, but with made-up players – Grisham sometimes confuses the two. When Sooley´s college team, North Carolina Central, qualifies for March Madness, Grisham offends all University of Maryland, Baltimore County fans by writing, “Never in the tournament´s storied history had a No. 16 beaten a No. 1.” Maybe it´s just coincidence that UMBC upset Grisham´s favorite team, No. 1-ranked Virginia, in 2018, or maybe the author is having some fun by ignoring that fact in his fictional universe?

Either way, it´s not spoiling too much to say that Sooley´s team makes history in Grisham´s world and their dream season continues. The pages turn even more quickly after that, building to a climax that won´t leave readers doubting whether this is a John Grisham novel.