Sooley
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781529368000
After writing many books that feature action in a courtroom, John Grisham’s latest novel, Sooley, sees him taking the action to a different court - the basketball court.
This is a story of Samuel Sooleymon, a 17-year-old South Sudanese basketball player who journeys from his African homeland to the United States to participate in a tournament against national and international teams.
The life and times of Sooleymon make for thoughtful and poignant reading. We meet him on the mud-packed outdoor basketball courts of South Sudan as he gets an invitation to try out for the Under 18 National Team. During that summer, he grows from a scrawny, unpolished athlete to a superstar.
Tragically, while he is in America, his homeland is ravaged by the ongoing civil war. His father is murdered, and the remainder of his family flee their village and relocate to a refugee camp.
As the fighting continues, Sooleymon, who is still in the US, feels lost and isolated. He cannot return to South Sudan because his village no longer exists, and he has no idea where his family has fled.
But the basketball coach of North Carolina Central University, which is a Black college, takes a gamble on the young player and offers him a full basketball scholarship. As Sooleymon grows in popularity both as an athlete and as a person, he is eventually given the nickname “Sooley”.
Most of Grisham’s books touch on wickedness in society, ranging from cultural and political to just plain wrong and bad behaviour. The civil wars in Africa are a tragedy that the continent has endured for decades. And Sooley vividly describes the ongoing brutality confronting the citizens of the Sudanese and other African nations.
While making a name for himself in college basketball, Sooley keeps in touch with his family and works tirelessly to bring them to America. That’s the message the book tries to convey - that there’s hope even in a hopeless situation for people like Sooley and his family.
The joy of reading a Grisham novel is turning the pages as the plot propels you forward to its climatic ending. Suffice it to say, Sooley follows the familiar Grisham playbook – short chapters, plenty of foreshadowing, and a writing style that’s easy to read and hard to put down.
● Check out John Grisham's bio @ Biography.
