Calico Joe
A Novel
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4.1 • 2.5K Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…
“Grisham knocks it out of the park.”—The Washington Post
It’s the summer of 1973, and Joe Castle is the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone has ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas, dazzles Chicago Cubs fans as he hits home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shatters all rookie records. Calico Joe quickly becomes the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing New York Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faces Calico Joe, Paul is in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his dad. Then Warren throws a fastball that will change their lives forever.
Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his latest, Grisham takes another break from blockbuster legal suspense to explore the world of athletics. Decades after the fact, Paul Tracey looks back on the fateful events of the summer of 1973 involving his drunken and abusive father, Warren a pitcher for the New York Mets and a red-hot Chicago Cubs rookie nicknamed Calico Joe. Narrator Eric Singer portrays both Joe and Warren the former innocent and earnest, the latter a bully with energy and passion. The narrator lends Arkansan Joe an accent and cadence that are equal parts aw-sucks nonchalance and deer-in-the headlights wonder. In his portrayal of Warren, Singer effectively channels the character's vitriol both on and off the field; the scenes involving Warren's abusive coaching sessions with young Paul pack a particularly powerful emotional punch. Singer's rendering of the labored speech of an aging Joe in the later portion of the book may seem heavy-handed in some respects, but remains compelling nonetheless. A Doubleday hardcover.
Customer Reviews
Calico Joe
Really enjoyed the book. Easy to read. Along the same lines of the novel "Playing for Pizza". If you are a sports fan, you should like the book
Great book
This will keep your attention from the very first word - even if you aren't a baseball fan.
See the movie...
...when it comes out. It will be better than the book, which, for me, was rather short, weakly written, contrived, very predictable, disappointingly sappy in its attempt not to be, and for the most part boring. Just my opinion. That said, I can see why some people will like it. It's a fast read, and was probably written by JG over a weekend with the idea of ultimately selling tickets at the box office as a movie. Reads like a screenplay. Just not a lot to get excited about as a book, however, and I am a JG fan, as well as a baseball fan. Frankly, I was expecting a lot more from JG with this book, and feel a bit let down. Could have been twice as long and twice as interesting, even given it's simple template, especially for baseball fans. I am looking forward to Spielberg taking this on as a movie, however. Should be easy to turn it into baseball's version of War Horse.