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Chris Bohjalian
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Past the Bleachers Paperback – January 1, 1992

4.2 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
Agreeing to coach what would have been his son's baseball team after his son Nathaniel's death at the age of ten, Bill Parris hopes to exorcise his grief, even when a new boy who looks disturbingly like Nathaniel joins the team.
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  1. Print length
    254 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Carroll & Graf Pub
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0881848026
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0881848021
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this accomplished third novel by the author of Hangman , narrator Bill Parrish and his wife, Harper, have lost their only child, Nathaniel, age 10, to acute lymphocytic leukemia. Searching for a way to deal with his grief, Bill agrees to coach the Little League team that Nathaniel would have played for had he lived to see another summer. Among his young charges is Lucky Diamond, a mute child with a mysterious background. Like Nathaniel, Lucky is a gifted natural athlete with a sweet smile. Gradually, Bill finds himself drawn into Lucky's mystery--a father no one has ever seen, school records that can't be found, a series of sinister accidents that point to Lucky as the possessor of strange powers. Indeed, as the book progresses one fears that Bohjalian will cheapen its very real insights into grief with a faux -Stephen King supernatural plot, but he is a better writer than that. The book's final revelations, while a trifle mechanical, take it in vastly more profound direction altogether. Bohjalian has a fine feeling for emotions, and draws his characters with real affection. Eschewing predictable melodramatic violence, he has created a moving portrait of some decent people trying to cope with the powerful forces of grief and loss, which he leavens withdb (too many some's) very funny recollections of life in Little League.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Bill Parrish coaches the little league team that his son would have starred on, had he not died of leukemia over the winter. A strange young boy--mute, motherless, living with a father Bill never sees--joins the team. He spooks everybody, including the coach, especially since bad things happen to people who cross him, but his neediness appeals to Bill's wife. When the child is completely abandoned, Bill realizes that he has been manipulated: the league director intended all along that the bereaved coach and his wife would replace their lost child with this waif. Although Bohjalian ( A Killing in the Real World , St. Martin's, 1988) sets up tensions and expectations he does not fulfill, this is an engrossing story of loss and recovery. Recommended for public library fiction collections.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carroll & Graf Pub; 1st Carroll & Graf ed edition (January 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0881848026
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0881848021
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

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Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian

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Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 25 books. His 25th book, THE JACKAL’S MISTRESS, arrives on March 11, 2025. He writes literary fiction, historical fiction, thrillers, and (on occasion) ghost stories. His goal is never to write the same book twice. He has published somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5 million words.

His work has been translated into 35 languages and become three movies (MIDWIVES, SECRETS OF EDEN, and PAST THE BLEACHERS) and an Emmy-winning TV series (THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT). He has two other novels in development for TV series as well.

He is also a playwright, including THE CLUB in 2024; MIDWIVES in 2020; and GROUNDED (now WINGSPAN) in 2018.

His books have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Bookpage, and Salon.

His awards include the Walter Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts; the Sarah Josefa Hale Award; the ANCA Freedom Award for his work educating Americans about the Armenian Genocide; the ANCA Arts and Letters Award for THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, as well as the Saint Mesrob Mashdots Medal; the New England Society Book Award for THE NIGHT STRANGERS; the New England Book Award; Russia’s Soglasie (Concord) Award for THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS; a Boston Public Library Literary Light; a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for TRANS-SISTER RADIO; a Best Lifestyle Column for “Idyll Banter” from the Vermont Press Association; and the Anahid Literary Award. His short story, SLOT MACHINE FEVER DREAMS was a finalist for Best Short Story from the International Thriller Writers Association and the audio production was an Audie Finalist. His novel, MIDWVES was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club, and his novel, HOUR OF THE WITCH, was a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. He is a Fellow of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He has written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Reader’s Digest, and The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. He was a weekly columnist in Vermont for The Burlington Free Press from 1992 through 2015.

Chris graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College. He has been awarded Honorary Degrees as well from Amherst, Champlain College, and Castleton University.

He lives in Vermont with his wife, the photographer Victoria Blewer.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • RevRosebud
    5.0 out of 5 stars Healing
    Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I've just begun reading this book and I already love it. Took me a while to find it (Thank You Amazon) but so happy I did. Got it in the mail today. Immediately opened it to read. Chis Bohjalian is my favorite author. The parent's reaction and grief to the death of their child is right where I live as a healthcare chaplain. Thank you.
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  • mary fetcho
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    One of his earliest works
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  • I'm Just Saying
    2.0 out of 5 stars Movie is better than this book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is a great story of a grieving couple who lost their young son. Their son loved baseball. The tale of how another young boy named Lucky Diamond suddenly comes into their lives is gripping and suspenseful. The subject of old wounds and the need to move on are balanced nicely here. Baseball fans would love the story line.

    To be brief, just see the movie and skip the book. It is well written but in my opinion fatally and unforgivably flawed for the authors lapse in judgement. The young couple in the book want to have another child, but the repeated graphic depictions of their sexual acts is irresponsible. Parents should be warned not to let their young kids anywhere near this one.

    I couldn't wait to read this book, as I really loved the movie, filmed in Lithonia Georgia but depicted as being in the north. The writer is gifted certainly, and it only takes reading a few random pages to see it. The movie handles sex more appropriately. Look, we all know where babies come from at this point... give it a rest. I found his descriptions in the book to be bordering on smut.

    There is a fair amount of profanity as well, but it is usually brief. Too bad, cause it's an otherwise wonderful story. Its the first book I have read by the author and based on the objections I noted, it may be my last. It's a waste of a significant talent. He didn't add anything to the story with the profanity and smut. I had only read excellent reviews on this author so I was surprised to say the least.

    If the objections I noted don't bother you, you will find yourself turning pages quickly. As I said, he is a gifted writer.

    See the movie instead. It is a rare treasure. This is one of the few times where the movie is better than the book, much better in fact. That's just my two cents.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • krdito
    3.0 out of 5 stars First of Bohjalian's Book to Show His Writing Talent
    Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2017
    This was Bohjalian's 3rd book, and the first (in my opinion) that showed his writing talent. The story of Bill and Harper's grief is very well done. It feels authentic, raw, and heartbreaking. The rest of the book was average...it felt like Bohjalian could not decide if this book was meant to be a supernatural/ghost story or a mystery. Neither were very well done, nor very interesting. I would not recommend his prior two books (they were awful), so if you are interested in his earlier works, start with this one.
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  • Melissa D. Lucas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2007
    This book was pretty mesmerizing for me, I had a hard time putting it down at bedtime. Sort of spooky in parts, sad in others. Excellent book, one of his best.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • mmz
    4.0 out of 5 stars just a hint of a ghost
    Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2008
    Bohjalian takes the story of a father grieving over the death of a son and wraps it around hints of a ghost story. About a year after his son's death, Bill Parrish decides that coaching the local Little League team for which his son would have played will help him cope with the loss. When he gets the roster for his team, he notices a name, Lucky Diamond, that he's never heard before, unusual in his small Vermont town. A natural at baseball, Lucky should fit in well on the team. But the mystery surrounding him and his arrival deepen, and Bohjalian adds a few seemingly supernatural occurrences (strange cat behavior and the like) to a few odd and vaguely threatening coincidences (a boy who makes mean comments about Lucky is almost killed by a flying baseball bat) and Bill (and the reader) question who Lucky really is and what he's doing there. While the answer to those questions isn't overly satisfying (although it's reasonable enough) the resolution to the story is immensely gratifying.
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  • Lighthouse Angel
    2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Not liking this one as much as the other Bohjalian novels I have read.
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  • Diana Saeli
    2.0 out of 5 stars Past the Bleachers
    Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2003
    I have just started reading Past the Bleachers and he has used "slang" to describe what he and his wife have been doing in order to get pregnant. I really thought it was uncalled for and was greatly diappointed. But on a lighter note, I just finished Hangman and that was a four star. But, Trans-Sister Radio, was definitely a five star!!
    2 people found this helpful
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