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A review by guinness74
The Cactus League by Emily Nemens
4.0
So, first of all, since there's no baseball at the moment (Thanks COVID-19!), this was a balm to my soul. I needed the warmth of spring training in an otherwise bluefunk baseball depression.
I wasn't expecting much as I made my way through the first few chapters. It seemed like an updated version of Bull Durham which wasn't all bad, but then it morphed into an episode of Real Housewives of... (I assume, never having actually watched any of that particular nonsense.) and I started to lose interest. However, a new thread started with a different set of characters, which is really my main issue with book at all. There is an overall story arc, and by the end it is connected thoroughly, but reading the book, it seems more like character studies or vignettes, until you take in the whole of the novel. I assume the 'narrator' sections were supposed to link it together and as a geographer and a baseball fan, I really appreciated these passages, but they were either too spread out, or not connected well enough to glue the characters together.
I did enjoy it, and as previously mentioned, it certainly makes the lack of baseball at the moment not as depressing. Definitely recommended if you need some sun and sport in your life.
I wasn't expecting much as I made my way through the first few chapters. It seemed like an updated version of Bull Durham which wasn't all bad, but then it morphed into an episode of Real Housewives of... (I assume, never having actually watched any of that particular nonsense.) and I started to lose interest. However, a new thread started with a different set of characters, which is really my main issue with book at all. There is an overall story arc, and by the end it is connected thoroughly, but reading the book, it seems more like character studies or vignettes, until you take in the whole of the novel. I assume the 'narrator' sections were supposed to link it together and as a geographer and a baseball fan, I really appreciated these passages, but they were either too spread out, or not connected well enough to glue the characters together.
I did enjoy it, and as previously mentioned, it certainly makes the lack of baseball at the moment not as depressing. Definitely recommended if you need some sun and sport in your life.