Slotback Rhapsody
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- €5.99
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- €5.99
Publisher Description
At 27 years old, undersized but talented Nick "Mouse" Morrison has yet to realize his dreams as a professional football player. After several unsuccessful training camps, Nick decides a minicamp in Detroit will be his last go-round. His rejections have been tough on him, spiritually and emotionally -- not least since the previous year marked the end of his on-again-off-again relationship with his college girlfriend Henny. The only way he's able to regroup for this final try is by attempting a Buddhist approach to his life as well as football, but even that stresses him out. While going through an existential crisis from which only a thinking man's athlete can suffer, he's being absolutely crushed by 350-pound defensive tackles and bellowed at by coaches.
The novel follows Nick as he finally finds success as a slotback. But his compromises are many. His buddy Gasper hooks him up with HGH (human growth hormone), while Gasper is betting more money than he's got on football. Meanwhile, Henny makes a surprise visit, and now that he's a pro Nick suspects he might have another chance with her. With his life hinging on each game, how much of his identity will he sacrifice for success in a profession that thrives on conformity?
This is Friday Night Lights all grown up. Not since Don Delillo's End Zone has there been such a brilliant portrayal of charming meatheads and on-field action. From a writer who works as a journalist in professional sports, SLOTBACK RHAPSODY is a hilarious and surprisingly accurate inside look at what it's like to be a professional athlete in today's 24/7 idol-obsessed culture, as well as a meditation on the high cost of single-mindedness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The trials of a struggling, increasingly desperate football hopeful are chronicled in Harris's charismatic novel. Nick "Mouse" Morrison may be too small to succeed in a sport populated by lumbering linemen and huge defensive tackles, but he refuses to give up. Making a final attempt to realize his elusive dream at a training camp in Detroit, the undersized athlete befriends team employee Patrick Gasper and in a last ditch effort to go pro in his waning 20s begins using human growth hormones. Amid rigorous scrimmages, painful injections, and arguing with his pretty college girlfriend, Morrison's performance on the field reaches new heights. However, those heights having been achieved by artificial means and this doesn't jibe with Morrison's spiritual beliefs ultimately, he knows he must come clean. Peppered with football lingo, authentic play-by-play descriptions, and raw dialogue that may rise above the heads of less sports-savvy readers, the author's testosterone-fueled story trudges along at a steady clip that will keep football fans glued to the page. An ESPN commentator, Harris knows his subject matter and delivers a serviceable narrative that's lively and readable, but probably best suited for sports fans.
