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Title: Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop ISBN: 0-553-56943-0 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 January, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Marvelous period piece on the segragated South and Baseball
Comment: This is a gem of a novel, a marvelous period piece with beautiful writing and a bizarre twist toward the end. Bizarre twists are a dime a dozen, but such beautiful writing as this is hard to find.
Rating: 5
Summary: They said it couldn't be done
Comment: Or maybe they did. Or maybe nobody ever thought of it before. If you had a contest of either the most unlikely types of books or ideas that you just didn't think would work, this would probably top the list. Baseball and Gothic horror? Taking place in WWII-era South? In the summer? But oh man is it good, in large part to Bishop's attention to period detail and his creation of a unique and feisty narrator in the young (and old) Danny Boles. The premise is that a young reporter has tracked down Mr Boles in an attempt to write a book about his life (he's a well known baseball scout) and Danny agrees, only if the first book the reporter does is a story of his only season playing in a professional fashion, with the Hellbenders. Thus the story begins, winding along, following Danny and his attempts to fit in with his team. The team consists of some of the most interesting characters, nay, people to come by in a long time. There is no one there that you can either straight out love or hate, the worst person has an endearing trait, the best of them hides a secret of some sort. Towering over it all literally is Jumbo Hank Clerval, the man who winds up being Danny's roommate (partway through the book he loses the ability to speak, which makes it even more interesting because Danny is forced to watch without acting more often than not) and the focus of the book itself. If you don't know how Mr Clerval is, well I won't spoil it for you, but that's where the unlikely concept comes in. The rest of the book is pitch perfect summer baseball, I don't even like sports that much and I loved this book. You sweat with the team as they win and lose game after game, fighting for the pennnant, trying to get some dignity and recognition in a country where everyone else is focused on the war effort and using baseball just as reason to forget their worries. Against this backdrop the summer falls and you are immersed into the South, warts and all, racism and truimph, tragedy and heroism. It's all there, this book breaks genres and it's a book you can recommend to most anyone. And I suggest you do.
Rating: 5
Summary: What a concept!
Comment: A fabulous combination of the horror genre and sports writing. To top it off, Bishop is strong writer. His characters are well-developed and likable (I hate reading a book where I don't like anyone) and he's excellent at turning a phrase. He's even able to provide a highly believable re-creation of 18th century writing. Some of the events are disturbing, some humorous, and it all comes together beautifully.
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