BradTaylor

Book Review: Calico Joe

A baseball book by John Grisham, you say? Why yes, I believe I’d be interested in that. I gave Grisham’s newest novel, Calico Joe, four out of five stars over on GoodReads.

I read this 200-page book in about two days, definitely a quick read for a Grisham novel. It isn’t nearly as prodigious as most of his earlier stuff, but it was very enjoyable. 

As usual, there are a few things I could nitpick. I don’t understand why an author like Grisham (and certainly why his editors) don’t catch little things like badly abbreviated words. I’ve been critical of Grisham on this front before, for choosing ya’ll instead of the obviously correct y’all. Likewise, in this book, instead of using ol’, which is the correct abbreviation of old (e.g., “good ol’ boy”), Grisham chooses ole. This just doesn’t make any sense. He also chooses to use multiple ellipses to indicate pauses in a person’s speech, which becomes cumbersome later in the book. 

The content, though, was terrific, especially for a baseball fan. Grisham told a fascinating tale of a brilliant young baseball phenom, Joe Castle, weaving the fictional tale into true baseball history. Even as a Cardinal fan and Cub hater, I found myself enjoying Joe’s success and fascinated by the quasi-reality of it all, what with all the familiar names, statistics and places. When you add in the other elements of the story, it makes for an easy and enticing read. Very different from what Grisham has typically written, but delightful in its own right.

I continue to feel that Grisham’s writing has tapered off in quality (hard to imagine it getting better than it was, frankly), and I confess my love for baseball may have me overvaluing this one a little bit, but I’d recommend it just the same.

Book Review: Imperfect: An Improbable Life

Last night I finished Jim Abbott’s autobiography (with Tim Brown), Imperfect: An Improbable Life. I enjoyed it greatly and gave it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The authors brilliantly interwove the story of Abbott’s life with the story of the no-hitter he threw in September 1993 as a member of the New York Yankees. I don’t know which writer deserves the most credit for the excellent tone and readability of the book, but I would imagine Brown is to credit for articulating Abbott’s stories so well. The book is conversational, but not overtly so, making it an absolute pleasure to read. With some athlete autobiographies, I’ve found myself wishing the athlete would’ve sought someone’s help in making their story more readable, but Abbott and Brown do a fabulous job with this one. 

I especially appreciated Abbott’s forthrightness regarding his handicap and how it affected him throughout his life. His story is an inspirational one for anyone who shares his condition, but likewise for anyone who doesn’t. One of Abbott’s great aims in life is to be seen as normal, to be treated just like everyone else. In this book he’s anything but normal, but it’s not because he’s handicapped in any way—it’s because he tells a remarkable story with vivid detail and considerable clarity, which is unfortunately abnormal these days.

There were many memorable lines, moments and quotes in the book, but one that stands out to me as a baseball fan. In his first start after the no-hitter, Abbott gave up a double to the leadoff hitter. He says as he looked in at his catcher with a knowing grin, he reflected on how baseball honors itself in its relentlessness. That’s a well-stated observation about an age-old game that is equal parts maddening and thrilling, but is, indeed, always relentless. 

Thanks, Jim and Tim, for this excellent work.

Book Review: Out of My League

I recently finished Dirk Hayhurst’s newest book, Out of My League: A Rookie’s Survival in the Bigs. Like he did well in his first book, Hayhurst writes an imminently readable story, writing chapters of just three to four pages to make it extra easy on the reader, but not in a condescending way. It’s easy to digest the story in manageable chunks, but it flows smoothly even through the frequent breaks. 

As a person rather obsessive about both baseball and grammar/spelling, I have to say I was disappointed in the editing of the book. Hayhurst’s editor could have done him a lot of favors, not the least of which would have been ensuring the names of Dirk’s teammates and opponents were spelled correctly. Hopefully Citadel Press will clean up the editing process in any further books by Hayhurst.

The story itself is engrossing. Any fan of baseball will enjoy the peek inside the game. The book hearkens back to Jim Bouton’s Ball Four, but without the controversy and done with much more tact, protecting the more unsavory characters from being identified. I was easily drawn into the two major plotlines which were woven together, the stories of Dirk’s baseball career and his upcoming marriage. My emotions rode right along with his because he very descriptively allowed me a window in. 

I gave the book four out of five stars over on GoodReads, and I would definitely recommend it, especially to baseball fans and/or folks who enjoyed The Bullpen Gospels.