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Review
Praise for THE LITIGATORS:'Grisham is brilliantly comic in a novel that is full of zest and brimming with memorable characters and rich storylines... The legal storylines are typically rich in social detail and instances of entertaining rascality... Away from his usual southern turf, Grisham is turned by Chicago into a more Dickensian writer, soft-hearted at times but predominantly funny... a brilliant comic set piece' -- The Sunday Times 'The Litigators is up there with the best of Grisham's 25 novels... vintage Grisham. [His] style is direct and the result is a superbly plotted legal thriller' -- Sunday Express 'The Litigators is a thrilling romp through the murky world of lawsuits and shysters - rich and poor. Packed with [Grisham's] signature twists and turns, not to mention lots of double-dealing, be careful if you're reading The Litigators on the bus, you may just miss your stop' -- Irish Independent '[A] snappy, well-turned novel...Grisham brings his usual nuanced understanding of tort law and civil jurisprudence' -- Washington Post 'Vintage Grisham, highly entertaining' -- Sunday Examiner (Australia) 'A racy and clever read that will once again ensure Grisham fans feel they've got their money's worth' -- Daily Telegraph (Australia) Praise for John Grisham:'The best thriller writer alive' -- Ken Follett, Evening Standard 'His stories are ferociously plot driven: they will keep you awake all night' -- Independent on Sunday 'Grisham is a superb, instinctive storyteller' -- The Times 'No one does it better than Grisham' -- Daily Telegraph 'Entertaining... bitingly farcical' -- Publishers Weekly
Book Description
A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…
Whatever happened to Calico Joe?
It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.
In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.
Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…
In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.
Whatever happened to Calico Joe?
It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.
In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.
Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…
In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fathers, sons and the greatest game,
By
This review is from: Calico Joe (Hardcover)
John Grisham is one of the most recognizable names in fiction today. He is well known for his legal thrillers, but has also written a number of novels outside of that genre. His latest - Calico Joe - fall into that category.Paul Tracey gets a call one day - Warren, the father he hasn't seen in years, is dying. Paul's reaction? "After a few minutes, I admit the truth - life without Warren will be the same as life with him." But this call does stir up old hurts, memories and unfinished business. We're taken back to Paul's childhood for the beginning of the tale. Warren made it to the big leagues - he was a pitcher for the Mets in 1973. He was also a womanizer, a hard drinker, a man with a temper and a man with a family who was happy to not have him home. Paul loved baseball as well. He played himself and could cite the stats on any team. When a young phenom named Joe from Calico Rock, Arkansas is called up to play for the Cubs, he takes the country (and young Paul) by storm. Never before has there been such a player. And then the Mets and the Cubs face off... Yes, Calico Joe is a sports story, but it's much more than that. It's the story of a father and son and redemption. I played ball when I was younger, so the sports stats didn't throw me at all and won't detract from the story for non sports readers. They really set the scene for the emotional strings that Grisham deftly pulls as he carefully builds the story of Calico Joe, young Paul and his father. Calico Joe is listed as a novel, but I thought of it more as story telling. I could picture myself listening to this one over the radio in days gone by or sitting listening to a retired player sharing a tale from the old days. As one character in the book says "But it doesn't matter: he loves to talk and tell stories....I am delighted to be here and happy to listen." As was I. A one sitting read and another home run from Grisham.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointed,
By Colin Parker (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Calico Joe (Hardcover)
Quite frankly this book was a rip off for the money. Compared to other authors of Mr. Grisham's caliber (Yes there are a few), and previously being a big fan of Mr. Grisham I was very disappointed in the length of the book and the thinly veiled effort of an interesting plot.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Of Forgiveness and Reconciliation,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Calico Joe (Hardcover)
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." -- Luke 6:37 (NKJV)Much baseball fiction is all wrapped up in the kind of juvenile fantasies that grown men continue to indulge. I admire John Grisham for going against the grain and looking at baseball through the lens of what can be wrong about baseball: self-centered players, abuse, sexual infidelity, cruelty, envy, and lying. Rather than just portraying that dark side, Mr. Grisham also exposes the possibility of receiving forgiveness, being reconciled to those who have been harmed, and finding peace. It's a nice ethical journey carried out amid some pretty exciting baseball writing that is soundly based. Despite my admiration for Mr. Grisham's conception, I didn't feel that he carried it off nearly as well as he needed to. The rise of Calico Joe in the book's beginning is so far beyond possibility that reading those sections makes you feel that Mr. Grisham was just entertaining himself rather than trying to build the best possible story. A less over-the-top biography for Calico Joe would have worked a lot better, in my opinion. The fable-like quality led me to feel outside the story, rather than inside it with the characters. The dark side of the story also seemed overdrawn. It's as though only absolute perfect white and the blackest black would satisfy readers. That's not giving readers enough credit. What about writing about real human beings of the kind we've all met? That would bring the message home much more than having such an extreme contrast. I also found that the book lacked suspense. I didn't feel the tension build very much because what came next was kept quite predictable. That's not a good recipe for a fully entertaining novel. I think part of the reason that Mr. Grisham is such a fine writer about lawyers is that his writing builds on a sound foundation of our skepticism about them . . . but not lots of knowledge. When Mr. Grisham tells us what it's like from the inside (with an ironic sense of humor), it's a great trip. Those qualities just don't work so well when it comes to writing about sports.
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