Saturday, September 08, 2012

Calico Joe by John Grisham


Grisham, John. Calico Joe. New York: Doubleday, 2012.

Paul Tracey, the son of Mets pitcher Warren Tracey, wants to look up to his father and be loved by him, but his father is a jerk -- at home and on the baseball field. Paul idolizes the Cubs rookie Joe Castle from Calico Rock, Arkansas. Castle has wowed the baseball world with his performances after being called up from the minors. Then something tragic happens that ends the careers of Castle and Tracey. I'm not the world's biggest baseball fan (although I do watch games on TV and sometimes in person), but I loved this book. I don't know enough baseball history to know how much of Grisham's story is fictional and how much is fact-based, but his author's note makes it clear that both are part of the book. This is a wonderful story about forgiveness. (4 stars)

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