Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
by Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen King, Stewart O'NanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-12-02
ISBN: 0743267524
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
Book Review: "Ball Four", written from the fans' P-O-V; indispensible
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the more famous quotes made throughout the long history of baseball comes from John Cheever, who noted that "All literary men are Red Sox fans. To be a Yankee fan in literary society is to endanger your life."
Well.
Two of America's most noted literary men made arguably the most timely decision in recent sports AND literary history by deciding to chronicle the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who, as everyone knows by now, gave heretofore unknown comfort to generations of suffering fans (the "Faithful" of Red Sox Nation -did I really see that term copyrighted on the '04 World Series highlights DVD?) by exorcising the demons of 86 years of Autumnal frustration and imperial domination by the New York Yankees by yes, WINNING the World Series and designating the 27th of October as an unofficial holiday throughout New England from now on.
When Jim Bouton published "Ball Four" in 1970, he was an athlete writing as an author as he covered in extremely witty fashion the surreal existance as a former Major League star fireballing pitcher (with the Yankees, naturally) attempting to reinvent himself as a junkballing bullpen specialist as he wanders from the minor leagues back to the majors with a dreadful expansion team before a late-season trade finds him in the midst of a pennant chase in the previously unexperienced National League. It was considered revolutionary in its day and is still considered the standard when comparing similar works; it is a locker room confidiential, tell-all, and a rare glimpse into the mind of the modern professional athlete, shattering the myth of the "dumb jock" mentality forever. Well, at least as far as Jim Bouton was concerned.
"Fatihful", in contrast, is a book by two authors writing as sports fans, relatively lower rungs of the societal ladder of America. We don't associate "men of letters" with the stereotypical "superfans" that every sports franchise seems to have, baseball cap-and-jersey wearing, beer-drinking, sports talk radio-calling and fantasy-league playing dweebs (like myself, for example). To his credit, Stephen King has been a visible Red Sox supporter for years (as a noted writer of horror it was frequently suggested that the Red Sox provided inspiration for his craft that the follower of any other team simply could never know), and with Stewart O'Nan (who provides the bulk of the content of this book), the myth of the intellectually cold and distant New England auteur is as easily shattered as that of the dumb jock from Bouton's book a generation earlier.
These guys, while uniquely successful and (at least in King's case) living icons of their craft, are sports fans at heart and their love and respect for the game is evident. The uncertainty and tempered optimism in the lead-up to the season, the moments of doubt and frustration during the mid-season swoon (which any Red Sox fan will tell you typically occurs later in August-September), the return of hope as the ship rights itself, and of course the frantic conclusion of the season that no writer with any sense of realism could have ever hoped to actually write himself; down 3 games to none to the eternal enemy from New York, Hektor vanquished Achilleus and the Red Sox haven't lost a game since.
Having quality writers of this ilk chronicle and canonize the 2004 Red Sox is entirely fitting; the reality of the team's accomplishment defies appreciation even now. Of course all Red Sox fans need to read this; all baseball fans should as well (particularly you Yankees fans, who have never known the reality of the horrors of Bucky f***in' Dent or Aaron f***in' Boone; it will doubtless help you appreciate the glory years of 1996-2000 all that much more), and non-baseball fans who enjoy the work of the writers REALLY need to read this; I can't imagine a better introduction to the game of baseball, a game that, thanks to the year 2004, I find myself being drawn back to the point where I can safely describe myself as a fan of the game once again.
More Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season reviews:
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