John Grisham, Calico Joe

Calico Joe is a baseball book, but more than that it is a story. It is just what you would expect from Grisham. The book revolves around a bean ball. Joe Castle was a young phenom on a meteoric rise in the big leagues. His explosion onto the scene is historic, he just keeps getting hits. Warren Tracey is a pitcher who is barely hanging on in the big show. He has just enough success to keep him pitching for the Mets, but just barely. The only way he is distinguished is by leading the league in hit batsmen. In the amazing summer of 1973, their paths seemed destined to cross, and they did.

Paul is Warren's son. Their relationship is rocky at best, and now, many years after Warren has left the family far behind, Paul remembers back to that fateful summer, back to the events that changed all of their lives. He was there on that day. And he never played baseball again.

This is a story about baseball, and about some of the unwritten rules that sometimes govern the game. But more than that it is a story of two men whose lives were forever changed. It is a quick read, and is a tale well told. As with many of his books, it is a study in human character, in this case, a look at self-destructive tendencies, but also forgiveness and resolution. It's not a legal thriller, but is in line with some of his other little character-stories such as Playing for Pizza or Bleachers. It's a great book to pick up as baseball season gets going for another summer.

Thanks to the publisher and Amazon Vine for the review copy.

Jim Abbott and Tim Brown, Imperfect

Jim Abbott is an improbable hero. He overcame a handicap (being born without a right hand) to play professional baseball at the highest level. This book is his story. And it is a good one. This is so for a few reasons. The book gives an inside perspective on what it is like to grow up being "different," and especially being noticeably so. Jim was used to the stares, the comments, the questions, the doubts. In many ways this facet of the book, hearing what his experiences were like throughout his life (and this aspect of his experience stretches from his first awareness of his difference right up to the present), provides the most insight. For it serves to remind readers to treat other people as people. Noticeable differences may arouse curiosity or provide easy fodder for conversation, but that doesn't mean the other person wants to be defined by them. A second facet of the book that caught my interest was the idea of pursuing a passion and finding a place. Jim found baseball as his way to prove his sameness. Even with his missing hand, baseball was the great leveler. His performance dictated how people perceived him. It also helped him to shape his identity apart from his hand. Now you or I may not have the same issues with disabilities to overcome, but we all need to pursue a passion. This doesn't necessarily mean being defined by our jobs, but it does mean seeking a place, a fit, a calling. And in Jim Abbott's case, this calling may bring with it unexpected things, such as the role he played in the lives of countless disabled children who looked to his success as an inspiration to pursue their own. Jim persistently dedicated time to meeting kids and families touched by disability, even amid the relentless schedule of professional baseball, because he realized that even if he wasn't trying to be a role model or achieve on behalf of others, he was.

The book is the intertwining of this story, of baseball and of life. Abbott and Brown alternate between an inning-by-inning account of Abbott's crowning achievement on the baseball field, a no-hitter for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, with this tale of discouragement, aspiration, and achievement. It makes for a good baseball story, and it has insights to lend, even to those with no interest in that particular game.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine program and Ballantine Books for the review copy.

P. D. James, Devices and Desires

This twenty-year-old novel proves once again that P. D. James is truly a master of the mystery genre. In this installment of the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, her protagonist finds himself on England's sparsely populated headlands to attend to matters of his deceased aunt's estate. Meanwhile England's latest serial killer is on the loose. And his latest victim is an employee at the near-by nuclear power plant that dominates the headland. Though Dalgliesh is off-duty while out in the country, his proximity to events, and his discovery of what seems like the latest victim while walking along the beach involves him in the mysterious events.

This book, like all of James's mysteries, is filled with well-developed characters that give verisimilitude to her stories, that give real humanity to the victims, to those touched by the killings, and even to the suspects. This serves both to give depth to the narrative and to heighten the tension of the mystery, as it makes suspects more interesting but also keeps you guessing as to who the real perpetrator may be. Devices and Desires also contains some great dialogue that probes deeper issues, such as the detective's relationship to death, or the possible continuing relevance of the category of sin, or the possibility of justice in a world full of twisted devices and desires that enmesh our lives.

This mystery does not disappoint. It is well written, thoughtfull, and entertaining, and comes to a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it.