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pgavinandrews's review against another edition
4.0
This was the best book I've read in a very long time. Grisham weaves fact and fiction flawlessly, spinning a tale of baseball lore that will prove to be timeless. This is a must-read even if you're not a baseball fan; Calico Joe is a universal story of a childhood hero, father-and-son, and righting wrongs.
adenise47's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great, easy book to read. The lives of a professional baseball player and how it affected the family was great!
happycamper12's review against another edition
4.0
I chose this for one of my CORE books and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it!
jenleah's review against another edition
4.0
Great read for baseball fans. It was a bit predictable, but I liked the feel-good ending of the story.
karieh13's review against another edition
2.0
I haven’t read a John Grisham book for a while…so I understand that jumping back in with a departure from his usual genre might make for a very different experience than I was used to…but I just didn’t take much away from “Calico Joe”.
I read it in one sitting – and other than being mildly offended by a sexist remark that the main character makes - “I did not want a boy, because I did not want to see him pick up a baseball and start tossing it around. Most of my friends have a boy or two, and they have all coached the game at some level. I am sure I would have felt the temptation to do likewise with a boy, so I am relieved to have all girls” - the book didn’t make me feel much of anything. As I read, I couldn’t help but compare it to “Shoeless Joe” which I read and loved, and it doesn’t measure up.
I didn’t get any real sense of anger or loss or even love of the game of baseball. The reader is told how the characters feel, but we never really experience emotion along with them. The premise could have been a powerful one if only the characters felt…more real. If only the story made me care about them. The description of the games, of the magical summer of 1973 was well done but the characters involved in the events of that summer come across as wooden.
There is a magic to the purest stories about America’s pastime as there is a magic to the game. That magic is missing from “Calico Joe”.
I read it in one sitting – and other than being mildly offended by a sexist remark that the main character makes - “I did not want a boy, because I did not want to see him pick up a baseball and start tossing it around. Most of my friends have a boy or two, and they have all coached the game at some level. I am sure I would have felt the temptation to do likewise with a boy, so I am relieved to have all girls” - the book didn’t make me feel much of anything. As I read, I couldn’t help but compare it to “Shoeless Joe” which I read and loved, and it doesn’t measure up.
I didn’t get any real sense of anger or loss or even love of the game of baseball. The reader is told how the characters feel, but we never really experience emotion along with them. The premise could have been a powerful one if only the characters felt…more real. If only the story made me care about them. The description of the games, of the magical summer of 1973 was well done but the characters involved in the events of that summer come across as wooden.
There is a magic to the purest stories about America’s pastime as there is a magic to the game. That magic is missing from “Calico Joe”.
skyring's review against another edition
5.0
In many ways, baseball is the perfect game. Unlike the open-ended contest between bowler and batsman in cricket, baseball limits the interactions and the tension mounts. Pitcher and batter are playing a game of wits and strategy, something like tic-tac-toe in the simplicity of the formula but with the element of chance and skill. A tiny angle on the bat can mean the difference between a grand slam home run and a foul ball. A keen eye can pick up a weakness in the opponent - or in the fielders.
John Grisham, turning from courtroom dramas to sports, reveals a hidden talent, a blinding and unexpected one, as if you open the oaken door of the courtroom, the stadium lights glare onto the packed bleachers and a ball whizzes past your ear. Here he pits the opposing teams against each other every bit as deftly as prosecution and defence. More than that, he brings the reader into the history, the culture, the tactics of the game, and perhaps best of all, opens up the characters and their motivations.
It's not all cut and dried. A quarrel with a parent, an awkward word, a foolish pride or a kindly gesture steers the course of the story every bit as much as the rules of evidence - or baseball.
Grisham tells this story with the skill of a master. He holds back on some details in this dual childhood/adult tale as the parallel worlds of 1973 and 2011 race along. Just what did happen in the backyard and why is it so crucial? The adult narrator knows, but he's not going to tell us, even after the appropriate place in the childhood retelling has passed. We know it's there, we know that both boy and man are aware of it, but Grisham holds back until the best place in his story.
And then it all slots into place and the jigsaw is complete apart from a few missing pieces which we fill in without drama.
Perhaps what I like best is not the calculated pacing of the plot, the keen characterisation or even the details of baseball. It is the unconscious presentation of America. It just flows out of the page, and we Australians (or Irish or French or Argentinians) are there, immersed in Americana. It's like a holiday in the States, with the smell of hotdogs and mustard lingering over the grandstand, the big ugly cars, the plastic sincerity of preachers and the crack of the bat against ball. Hear the crowd roar!
John Grisham, turning from courtroom dramas to sports, reveals a hidden talent, a blinding and unexpected one, as if you open the oaken door of the courtroom, the stadium lights glare onto the packed bleachers and a ball whizzes past your ear. Here he pits the opposing teams against each other every bit as deftly as prosecution and defence. More than that, he brings the reader into the history, the culture, the tactics of the game, and perhaps best of all, opens up the characters and their motivations.
It's not all cut and dried. A quarrel with a parent, an awkward word, a foolish pride or a kindly gesture steers the course of the story every bit as much as the rules of evidence - or baseball.
Grisham tells this story with the skill of a master. He holds back on some details in this dual childhood/adult tale as the parallel worlds of 1973 and 2011 race along. Just what did happen in the backyard and why is it so crucial? The adult narrator knows, but he's not going to tell us, even after the appropriate place in the childhood retelling has passed. We know it's there, we know that both boy and man are aware of it, but Grisham holds back until the best place in his story.
And then it all slots into place and the jigsaw is complete apart from a few missing pieces which we fill in without drama.
Perhaps what I like best is not the calculated pacing of the plot, the keen characterisation or even the details of baseball. It is the unconscious presentation of America. It just flows out of the page, and we Australians (or Irish or French or Argentinians) are there, immersed in Americana. It's like a holiday in the States, with the smell of hotdogs and mustard lingering over the grandstand, the big ugly cars, the plastic sincerity of preachers and the crack of the bat against ball. Hear the crowd roar!
snjluc's review against another edition
4.0
Joe Castle comes onto the baseball scene in 1973, and hits 15 for 15 his first 15 at bats. He is immediately loved by all, including 9 year old Paul Tracey, son of pitcher Warren Tracey. But Warren, an aging, fading pitcher (and abusive alcoholic) takes insult to Joe's success, and decides to teach him a lesson. The novel bounces between the present, as an adult Paul deals with his father's cancer, and the 70's, where young Paul watches a horrible event take place.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I wish Joe Castle was real! The narrative style of changing eras was catchy, and I liked knowing Paul's thoughts as both a child and an adult. It was not as in depth as many of Grisham's novels, but was a fun, quick, easy to get into story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I wish Joe Castle was real! The narrative style of changing eras was catchy, and I liked knowing Paul's thoughts as both a child and an adult. It was not as in depth as many of Grisham's novels, but was a fun, quick, easy to get into story.
nsam's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
shp49's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
Short and sweet, this novel evokes memories of loving baseball as a kid. It's kind of hokey, but in a good way.