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Calico Joe

by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 12,021 ratings · 2,372 reviews

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, injure...more

Hardcover, 198 pages

Published April 10th 2012 by Doubleday (first published April 1st 2012)

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Jul 30, 2012 Jay Connor rated it 5 of 5 stars

The greatest triumph in today’s popular fiction could be the equal success John Grisham gets from his deepest hatred and his richest love.

Most know that Grisham the author of a number of good and best-selling legal thrillers hates the law. Or more precisely hates the act of lawyering. Fewer probably know that Grisham loves baseball. He coaches his son’s teams and gives mightily to building fields of dreams in both Virginia and, his native, Mississippi.

With “Calico Joe,” Grisham tells a wonderfu...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Ronna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

A MUST READ for all baseball fans!!! Brings back memories from your own favorite teams---- Cincinnitti pitcher hitting Cardinal's Pujols on his broken wrist last year---remembrance for me. We all love our teams and players!! I happened to finish this book on Friday, April13, when the Cubs beat my Cardinals 8-5, when one of our great pitchers, Wainright, pitched on comeback from Tommy John's surgery. I so wanted him to do great! So, we all have our great memories!!

Hitting on the head-----terrible...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Jane Stewart rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tragedy-and-relationships-fiction

It’s not my kind of book because it was sad and depressing. But it was well done if you like this genre.

Most of the book has me thinking about the terrible tragedy (view spoiler) But it didn't feel good to me. It felt too-little-too-late. There...more

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May 31, 2012 Noah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-reviewed

This was a pleasant read; I like baseball, so that made it easy. It wasn't a page-turner in classic Grisham sense, but I read through it pretty quickly anyway. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, which is why the word "pleasant" came to mind - just pleasurable reading. Despite the potential for sentimentalism there really wasn't anyway; it was almost as if the son was disinterested in the whole thing, not as in, not interested, but removed from being concerned about the consequences. Just thought t...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fan of baseball? Not a fan of baseball? Doesnt' matter-this book is a must read! This is so much more than a book about baseball. It's about family, heartache, broken promises, disappointments, growing up...mostly forgiveness and resiliance. You ache for Paul Tracey, his sister and Mom. You are so so disappointed in his father, MLB pitcher, Warren Tracey. He is far from a role model; even farther from father of the year. How could this emotionally charged story have a positive ending-what's the...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Viccy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: lariat-noms, 2013-lariat-books

In 1973, a shining star in baseball arose out of the Ozark mountains. He was named Joe Castle and he brought hope back to the Chicago Cubs. He swept all records off the books and created his own, until the day he stood in the batter's box across from Warren Tracey, pitching for the Mets. This is his story, told by Paul Tracey, the son of the infamous bean-baller, Warren Tracey. It is a story of redemption and horror. Grisham tells this baseball story well and takes the reader inside the game. An...more

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May 13, 2013 Don rated it 4 of 5 stars

John Grisham has written a most enjoyable novel about the circle of life. Paul Tracey is the son of a journeyman pitcher for the New York Mets. Paul loves the game, but sadly, does not have a very good relationship with his father, Warren, given his dad’s self-centered, reckless lifestyle.

Grisham has written this novel around factual events in baseball history – the beaning of promising rookie, Tony Conigliaro, and the Cubs collapses in both ’69 & ’73 to the Mets. Having been a Mets fan all...more

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May 03, 2013 Margo Howland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Just finished reading "Calico Joe" and loved it. My only criticism -- I could see the twists and turns in the plotline coming a mile away. Grisham telegraphs his punches but the story is sill enjoyable. It's 1973 and "Calico Joe" Castle is an up-and-coming young rookie with the Chicago Cubs. He's posting astonishing stats. Then a beanball by Mets pitcher Warren Tracey ends Joe's career -- and Warren's as well. Warren is toxic, abusive, runs around on his wife and is a first-class jerk. But thirt...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Susan Hatch rated it 3 of 5 stars

I saw this book in the aisle at the grocery store and came home and got it from the library. I used to enjoy Grisham's writings but the last few just didn't have the stuff the earlier books did. This is much the same. I started it this morning and finished it just after noon...and still did other things. It's an easy read. A nice story about much more than baseball altho baseball played a big part of the story.

Baseball is not my fav sport. But there's a line in this book almost near the end, whe...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Larry Rogers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Grisham's short baseball novel is a pleasant read, but it's not hard to see where it's going from the beginning. Paul Tracey, the narrator, is the son of a resentful, underachieving major league pitcher (a Met), who is also a lousy husband and father and a mean drunk. The father is the dark arc of the plot, the light being Joe Castle (from Calico, Arkansas, hence the title), who is the Cubs phenom to outclass all phenoms. True to his nature, Paul's father behaves incredibly badly when the two pl...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Steven Langdon rated it 2 of 5 stars

So it's April, spring training is over, and the fledgling days of the new baseball season are underway. It's a good time to relax with John Grisham's "Calico Joe." This is a book full of outlandish baseball anecdotes, the arcane statistics of pitching and batting records, and the open-and-shut judgements of young boys as they worship the ballplayers who become legends in their eyes.

It is a novel that echoes all those memories of first games seen, classic moments in green-grass stadiums where bat...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Stephen Foley added it

John Grisham: Calico Joe, Belfry Holdings Inc., Copyright 2012, 194 pages

John Grisham lives up to his title of “America’s favorite storyteller” with his amazing novel Calico Joe. This magnificent story about baseball, including the opposing ways to play, and how to face your enemies greatly appeals to the average teenager. Grisham presents a fantastic knowledge of the game of baseball on the field and off as he depicts the internal struggle between the main character, Paul Tracey, and his feeli...more John Grisham: Calico Joe, Belfry Holdings Inc., Copyright 2012, 194 pages

John Grisham lives up to his title of “America’s favorite storyteller” with his amazing novel Calico Joe. This magnificent story about baseball, including the opposing ways to play, and how to face your enemies greatly appeals to the average teenager. Grisham presents a fantastic knowledge of the game of baseball on the field and off as he depicts the internal struggle between the main character, Paul Tracey, and his feelings toward his childhood hero versus his father.
John Grisham describes the life of Paul Tracey, son of baseball’s most notorious beanballer, Warren Tracey. Through excerpts from Paul’s childhood and of his present, he evaluates the harsh relationship between father and son. Meanwhile, Warren battles internally with pancreatic cancer in addition with the struggle to apologize to Calico Joe, to whose baseball career Warren ended. Through blackmail and reawaking Warren to his inevitable passing, Paul was able to present an apology to baseball’s beloved rookie, Joe Castle. Grisham defines several themes throughout the book, for example an apology can fix the most brutal injuries. Grisham uses this as his message to the audience in order to influence their lives following reading the book. Warren Tracey’s journey for peace between him and Joe should affect how readers keep friends.
I believe this book is wonderful and perfectly well written. The plot is well set up as far as the back and forth between past and present. I believe the message Grisham tries to portray is poignant to the young audience. On the contrary, Grisham also exposes a totally different motif throughout the book that fascinated me as I read. Paul and Warren view baseball different from each other based on experience, and they constantly debate how to play the game. This raises the question: Is it ever appropriate to bean the batter? This continuously made me think as Grisham provided more evidence through their characters’ arguments. I stand neutral between Paul’s view that in the Little Leagues hitting the batter is childish and purely unacceptable, and Warren’s belief that hitting the batter teaches them to stay away from your team, prevent them from showing off the pitcher, and to show them who’s in control of the game. I lean towards Paul’s view and reason that hitting batter’s out of anger and embarrassment is obnoxious and shows weakness.
To further my positive opinion on this book, I believe that Grisham’s portrayal of Paul’s story is very easy to read, entertaining, and supported with vivid detail. I found it very creative to depict a teen’s point of view and the grown-up’s perspective in every other chapter. It was interesting to follow alongside Paul, the journalist, while also witnessing flashbacks of Paul, the son of baseball’s beanballer. The evolution of the relationship between the father and son emotionally grabbed me as a reader and astounded me as a reviewer. In addition John Grisham provided ample evidence to prove his major arguments on the game of baseball and how to face your faults. Paul and Warren often argue about who’s strategy to playing baseball is correct, and this provides the reader with two views that he or she can relate to. Some will say that getting even with batters for showing off is tolerable, while others suggest that taking an eye for an eye is uncalled-for and selfish of the pitcher. In addition the struggle for Paul to find a way to get Warren to apologize to Joe exists throughout the book to show how difficult facing your faults can be. Paul’s journey serves as an example for those who are afraid of being wrong and facing their mistakes. This book’s major strengths include its breathtaking messages and themes for the reader and the effective integration of baseball game settings to portray a real life scene during the story. If I were to recommend this book to a future reader it would be the pre-teen athlete that is curious to read about life off the baseball field.
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Apr 08, 2013 Ryan C rated it 5 of 5 stars

In "Calico Joe" by John Grisham I thought Calico's love for baseball just shows the most throughout the book. His love for baseball is like mine own and that's why I enjoyed the book so much. His knowledge about baseball goes beyond anything you could imagine and it just seems that it comes to him so easily. Like on page 34 he says " the Giants catcher l, Dave Rader, had the ball and, when he dust settled, called time" he just knew automatically who the Giants catcher was. knowing a line up of a...more

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Apr 02, 2013 John Gardner rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I saw that John Grisham had written a baseball story, I knew it would be good! I wasn’t disappointed with this fun little read.

The mixing of fictional and historical characters and events takes some getting used to (if you’re familiar with baseball history), but all that was required for this baseball fan to get into the story was just a little bit of “cognitive estrangement”. I forgot what I knew and let Grisham’s portrayal of the summer of 1973 become my temporary reality.

Non baseball fan...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Kevin Miller rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was ok. Like Bleachers, a fast read. At only 200 or so pages, there's not much story you can tell. I read this on Easter Sunday which was appropriate, but I won't spoil it and say why. It's also the day before opening day for baseball, so appropriate again.

I will say there are a few thing I didn't like. The stats for starters. If this were an action book someone would have fallen from a plane and landed on his feet without a scratch. Just a little too unbelievable.

The small town portion of t...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Sriram Ilango rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not what you expect from John Grisham. But, over the years, he has proved that he can very well come out of his niche and write something like this book once in a while.

I've always liked his non-law books. Playing for Pizza is still one of my favorites and A Painted House too was fantastic.

This story, Calico Joe is short and simple. You can probably finish it off in a day or two. Before going into the story, Grisham writes a small chapter explaining Baseball to us. If you don't know Baseball a...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars

John Grisham is perhaps the best storyteller of our time. Whether his characters are actually people from his life or not, they seem to be so real and vivid that I frequently find myself wishing that I could find them and actually speak to them as if they were people and not just characters. Calico Joe, while not his best, is a continuation of this splendid pattern.

Calico Joe is not a baseball book in any traditional sense, although the familiarity of baseball provides the setting in which much...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jan 30, 2013 Harold Kasselman rated it 3 of 5 stars

This novel was entertaining but highly disappointing. The premise was interesting; namely a bean ball for no reason other than a malicious mind. Yet we know what will happen well in advance.The plot is telegraphed so there is no suspense.
There is also a lack of drama in the tale of redemption. For thirty years Joe Castle, his family, and indeed the whole town have stayed clear of the tragedy that happened to Joe. Yet in the space of two weeks, reconciliation occurs. It was just not credible to m...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Hilmi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-by-theme, john-grisham

Mengagumkan! Inilah apa yang mampu saya ringkaskan apabila membaca novel Calico Joe ini,salah satu novel terbaru John Grisham (JG) yang diterbitkan pada tahun 2012 yang lalu. Calico Joe merupakan sebuah lagi novel yang bertemakan/bergenrekan sukan. Kali ini,sukan besbol diketengahkan sebagai tema. Namun,jika kita menganggap bahawa novel in hanya berkisarkan besbol semata-mata,kita silap. Novel ini juga menyentuh mengenai penyesalan dan kemaafan. Berikut adalah sinopsis ringkas saya mengenai nove...more Mengagumkan! Inilah apa yang mampu saya ringkaskan apabila membaca novel Calico Joe ini,salah satu novel terbaru John Grisham (JG) yang diterbitkan pada tahun 2012 yang lalu. Calico Joe merupakan sebuah lagi novel yang bertemakan/bergenrekan sukan. Kali ini,sukan besbol diketengahkan sebagai tema. Namun,jika kita menganggap bahawa novel in hanya berkisarkan besbol semata-mata,kita silap. Novel ini juga menyentuh mengenai penyesalan dan kemaafan. Berikut adalah sinopsis ringkas saya mengenai novel ini:

Pada 24 Ogos 1973,di Stadium Shea,New York,berlakunya peristiwa besar yang akan selama-lamanya mengubah nasib dua individu/pemain yang berbeza latar belakang sama sekali. Seorang,Warren Tracy,seorang 'pitcher' veteran untuk New York Metz. Manakala,yang seorang lagi bernama Joe Castle,'batter' untuk Chicago Cubs. Joe juga merupakan seorang pemain baharu ('rookie') yang namanya semakin meningkat naik. Warren telah melakukan 'beanball' terhadap Joe yang menyebabkan dirinya mengalami kecederaan parah di kepala dan koma beberapa hari di hospital. Akibatnya,Joe tidak lagi mampu meneruskan kerjaya profesionalnya selaku seorang pemain besbol walaupun telah sembuh dan sedar dari koma. Perjalanan karier Warren juga mengalami nasib yang amat malang. Dirinya dikecam hebat oleh banyak pihak. Dia dilepaskan daripada New York Metz dan tidak boleh meneruskan kerjayanya di dalam sukan besbol kerana tindakannya terhadap Joe. Tambah malang,keluarga Warren berantakan kerana sikapnya sendiri yang tidak bertanggungjawab.
Kini,selepas 30 tahun,anak kepada Warren,Paul Tracy,mahu mendamaikan kedua-dua pemain dengan mempertemukan mereka berdua untuk saling maaf-memaafi antara satu sama lain. Keadaan semakin suntuk dan mendesak kerana ayahnya mungkin akan meninggal dunia tidak lama lagi kerana penyakit barah yang dialaminya. Adakah Paul Tracy berjaya mencapai misinya itu? Dapatkan jawapannya dengan membaca novel yang hebat ini!

Pada pendapat saya,di dalam novel Calico Joe ini,JG melakukan pendekatan yang agak berbeza berbanding dengan novel-novelnya yang lain. Di dalam novel ini,JG menggunakan gaya penceritaan (naratif) gaya orang pertama. Malahan,'flashback' atau imbas semula juga digunakan yang diselang-selikan dengan masa kini,melalui perspektif watak Paul Tracy. Perkara ini unik kerana saya rasa,inilah pertama kali JG menggunakan cara yang sedemikian rupa.
Dari segi bahasa,apa yang mungkin agak sukar difahami (terutamanya pembaca di Malaysia),adalah wujudnya istilah-istilah yang pelik di dalam sukan besbol. Namun,di dalam ruangan pendahuluan novel ini,JG ada menyediakan sebuah pengenalan ringkas mengenai sukan besbol dan beberapa istilah utama yang digunakan sepanjang penceritaan novel Calico Joe ini. Malangnya,tiada sebarang glosari khusus disediakan oleh JG.
Secara keseluruhannya,saya amat menyukai idea dan jalan cerita novel Calico Joe ini. Cuma,saya tidak berpuas hati dengan apa yang berlaku antara Warren Tracy dan bekas keluarganya. Damn you,JG! You spoiled the good ending of the story! Walau bagaimanapun,novel ini amat saya sarankan kepada orang ramai untuk membacanya. Anda mungkin bukan peminat besbol dan JG. Tetapi,tidak mustahil anda akan menyukai novel ini. (less)

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Jan 25, 2013 Eileen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, rolla-readers-book-club

I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what was happening, because I usually like John Grisham's books, but maybe now that I'm older, and I know that there are fathers in the world who actually treat their sons like this man did, it kind of infuriates me, and makes me sick that it happens. Accepting that this is fiction, I still think there is too much reality in it for my taste. I had a hard time seeing past the abuse to the story of the baseball player who got hurt, and had his whole future changed....more

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Jan 06, 2013 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love Grisham, but at first, all the baseball talk, all that listening to the voice of a crazy baseball fan who hasn't gotten over that 10 year old phase seemed like I couldn't make it through. Then I realized, it was about a character who was a Mets fan about the time I was the same age and also a Mets fan. I knew all the REAL characters he talked about, I could make it through, so I slogged on.

It proved to be a good decision, because, let's put it this way (to avoid spoilers), despite the cha...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Mysterious Ed rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sports, fiction

John Grisham departs from his field of legal thrillers to present this baseball tale. Told from the viewpoint of Paul Tracey, the story has two parts separated by 30 years and presented in an interleaved fashion.
When Paul was an 11 year old Little Leaguer in 1973, he idolized Calico Joe Castle, a sensational rookie first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, and feared his father Warren Tracey, a hard drinking, insecure journeyman pitcher for the New York Mets. When the two meet, Warren beans Calico Jo...more John Grisham departs from his field of legal thrillers to present this baseball tale. Told from the viewpoint of Paul Tracey, the story has two parts separated by 30 years and presented in an interleaved fashion.
When Paul was an 11 year old Little Leaguer in 1973, he idolized Calico Joe Castle, a sensational rookie first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, and feared his father Warren Tracey, a hard drinking, insecure journeyman pitcher for the New York Mets. When the two meet, Warren beans Calico Joe, injuring him so bad that he is forced from baseball. Warren's career and marriage end shortly thereafter.
Thirty years later, estranged from baseball and his father for most of that time, Paul is notified that his father is dying of cancer. He determines to attempt to bring Warren and Calico Joe together before the end.
It was fun reading about the non-fictional baseball players that I remember from 1973 but this story did not deserve a novel. When Paul is asked if he will write a book, he answers that maybe he will write a long magazine article. Calico Joe should be a long magazine article (or a novella). The novel is only 200 pages but feels padded.

Novel - Joe Castle, from Calico Rock, Arkansas, took the baseball world by storm in 1973. He homered in his first three major league at bats for the Chicago Cubs. Two months later, he was still hitting more than .500. Then, in his next at bat after homering off Warren Tracey, a surly journeyman pitcher, Tracey drilled a fastball at Joe's head. The damage was severe. Joe's right eye socket was destroyed, and he never played again, retreating back to Calico Rock, far from the public eye. Tracey soon retired from the Mets and drifted into booze and a succession of ex-wives. Thirty years later, Tracey's estranged son, Paul, on learning of his father's impending death from cancer, tries to bring Warren Tracey and Joe Castle together. His motive? Closure. But perhaps, more than anything, Paul needs to see his father do one decent thing in a life filled with regrets and bad behavior.(less)

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Dec 12, 2012 Gehrig H. rated it 4 of 5 stars

1. I loved reading the book because I loved the storyline and the statistics involved with baseball and how it related to my life in a couple of ways.

2. I can currently relate the book to my life in that I can relate to him as a kid feeling tremendous pressure when he was playing in front of his father because I also feel the pressure to impress him and meet his approval. I also relate it to my life by seeing how incredibly blessed I am to have a wonderful family and it oped my eyes to see how...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

The reminiscent tone of this novel reminds me a lot of Grisham's Bleachers.

Though I am not a huge baseball fan, I loved this story. Calico Joe was a famous young player with loads of promise until he was hit in the head intentionally by a pitcher. Joe never played baseball again.

Though the title is Calico Joe and the story with about him, it is more a story of father and son relationships. Paul Tracy has lived his life being ashamed of his last name. His father, Warren Tracy, was the pitcher wh...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Peggy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Calico Joe is a pleasant, quick-to-read baseball story. The story is told by Paul Tracey whose father Warren is a pitcher for the Mets. It is the summer of 1973 and a rookie named Joe Castle has been brought up to play for the Cubs, the Mets' archrival. Joe who is nicknamed Calico Joe by the media because he is from Calico Rock, Arkansas is an instant sensation. His batting average in his first 3 games is over .700. Finally, the Mets face the Cubs and Warren Tracey is pitching. Warren is not a...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Doug Clark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another book I recently finished is John Grisham's currently hardcover bestseller, Calico Joe. Grisham made a name and a wonderful industry for himself by writing legal thrillers such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Runaway Jury among numerous others. He decided to branch out into other genres with books such as A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, Bleachers, and his nonfiction book, An Innocent Man. Grisham has now decided to tackle an old, but venerated genre, the baseball novel.

Some o...more Another book I recently finished is John Grisham's currently hardcover bestseller, Calico Joe. Grisham made a name and a wonderful industry for himself by writing legal thrillers such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Runaway Jury among numerous others. He decided to branch out into other genres with books such as A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, Bleachers, and his nonfiction book, An Innocent Man. Grisham has now decided to tackle an old, but venerated genre, the baseball novel.

Some of American literature's classic stories and novels involve the American pastime. I don't know what the first one was, but Ring Lardner's collection of baseball stories/letters, six of which were collected and published as You Know Me Al in 1916, are some of the earliest and remain classics today. Other baseball novels of note are: Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris (1956), Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof (1963), The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. by Raymond Coover (1968), The Great American Novel by Philip Roth (1973), Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (1982) (this was the basis for the film, Field of Dreams), The Natural by Bernard Malamud (1961), and two recent novels, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011) (One of The New York Time's Book Review 10 Best for last year) and The Might Have Been by Joseph M. Schuster (2012).

Calico Joe is the story of one man (Paul Tracey) whose father (Frank Tracey) was a journeyman pitcher for the New York Mets in 1973. The father wasn't much of a father, hardly ever being home, and when he was, causing tension and terror in the house. In 1973, a rookie phenom arrives at the Cubs, Joe Castle, nicknamed Calico Joe for the Arkansas town (Calico Rock) he came from. Calico Joe lit up the league. He gets a a homerun in his first three at-bats, gets a hit in his first 15 at-bats and so on. He is continuing to have a great season when the Cubs finally face the Mets. Frank Tracey, a bitter, nasty man, intentionally hits Joe in the head sending him to the hospital. Calico Joe is no longer able to play. Frank Tracey's career ends shortly thereafter. Paul Tracey also stops playing baseball, watching games or anything else involving baseball due to both his father's actions on the field and at home. The family moves out and everyone goes their separate ways. Paul and his family have very little to do with Frank. Paul only takes them to meet Frank once, and Frank doesn't really care. He goes through a succession of marriages and plays golf in Florida. Finally, thirty years after the beanball, Frank's fifth wife calls Paul to tell him Frank has terminal cancer. Paul decides that his father is going to apologize for destroying Joe Castle career. The events that follow are how Paul gets Frank to agree and about the meeting and what happens afterward.

I found the book a very fast read, as all of Grisham's novels are. I also found it very enjoyable with mentions of actual baseball players from that time. The story is an interesting one involving the effect one beanball had on two men and their careers, how it affected one man's family, and a resolution thirty years later as one of the two players is dying.
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Oct 15, 2012 Linda Munro rated it 4 of 5 stars

While trying to assure that our rural library does not loose any additional funding, in July I began ordering twenty-five books from the county library system, and keeping twenty-five request on that list. This helps place our specific library on the busiest library list, while providing essential funds which stay at the local library. (We pay twenty-five cents for each adult book and one dollar for each DVD or bluray that we order from the system rather than waiting for the item to become avai...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Bernie Weisz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review Written by Bernie Weisz, Historian Pembroke Pines, Florida, U.S.A. September 30, 2012 Contact: BernWei1@aol.com Title of Review: The Code of Baseball, A Ruined Childhood & A Trip Down Memory Lane!
Anyone that became a teenager in the early 1970's will immediately take to John Grisham's "Calico Joe." Especially one that grew up in New York and liked baseball. I know, I was one of them. Grisham's book revolves around a washed up, aging picture for the New York Mets named Paul Tracy and h...more Review Written by Bernie Weisz, Historian Pembroke Pines, Florida, U.S.A. September 30, 2012 Contact: BernWei1@aol.com Title of Review: The Code of Baseball, A Ruined Childhood & A Trip Down Memory Lane!
Anyone that became a teenager in the early 1970's will immediately take to John Grisham's "Calico Joe." Especially one that grew up in New York and liked baseball. I know, I was one of them. Grisham's book revolves around a washed up, aging picture for the New York Mets named Paul Tracy and his mercurial, volatile relationship with his son Paul. Added in is a rookie phenom for the Cubs named Joe Castle. Castle, dubbed "Calico Joe," sets major league records in his 1973 rookie debut for consecutive games safely hit. Paul Castle fell in love with Calico Joe, even keeping a scrapbook of his accolades unbeknownst to his father. Grisham portrays Warren as a philanderer, a beanball artist, a drunkard and an abusive husband and father. Shades of the Tony Conigliaro incident are introduced when the Cubs come into town to play the Mets with the National League East pennant on the line. With Paul and his disgruntled mother in the stands at Shea Stadium, the two watch as Castle goes up against his father after successfully pounding Warren for a hit his first time up.

The "code of baseball" is introduced, at least Warren's conception of it. If a batsman shows up the pitcher in any way the previous at bat, or is a cocky rookie, the next at bat will surely be a beanball. However, Warren was a cruel, mean "headhunter," and demanded Paul be like him in playing Little League. Without any remorse, the senior Tracy will throw at anyone's head as revenge, rarely missing. In Castle's second at bat, the lives of both the Castle and Tracy are forever changed. The ironies involved and the unpredictable twists of fate make this novel truly amazing. The names thrown out, e.g. Tom Seaver, Bobby Murcer, Ron Santo, Ferguson Jenkins, etc., bring back such vivid memories of a reader's lost youthhood that it is impossible to not love and embrace this fantastically written novel. Even more realistic are the memories Grisham introduces, such as his descriptions of the Long Island Railroad being ridden, Willets Point in Flushing and both old Shea and Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, etc., with fitting descriptions of the temperaments of the fans of each. Grisham fast forwards forty years later and cleverly plays out a scenario involving Warren, dying of cancer, a caustic Paul and a forever enfeebled Joe Castle.

The realism is strikingly apparent, regardless of Grisham's introduction of a fictional protagonist. In fact, the author cleverly let former Cub infielder Don Kessinger proof read and correct "Calico Joe" for realism. Kessinger's interjections make this story so absorbing, captivating and realistic that anyone reading this cannot but be spellbound by "Calico Joe." Memories flash of Carl Mays, Ray Chapman and Tony C. Mays was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. Despite impressive career statistics, he is primarily remembered for throwing a beanball on August 16, 1920, that struck and killed Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians, making Chapman the only Major League player to die as a direct result of an injury sustained on the field. Similarly, Tony Conigliaro nicknamed "Tony C" played for the Boston Red Sox during their "Impossible Dream" season of 1967. He was hit in the face by a pitch from Jack Fisher, causing a severe eye injury and derailing his career. Though he would make a dramatic comeback from the injury, his career was not the same afterwards. Whether you like baseball or not, "Calico Joe" has something for any reader, guaranteeing a satisfying read!(less)

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Sep 20, 2012 Charles rated it 3 of 5 stars

This short book is scarcely more than a slightly lengthened short story.

It is well written, with clear characterizations. The story is really quite simple, involving baseball, beaning, guilt, and redemption. There are few surprises, and the ending is telegraphed half way through the book. I have no complaints, but there are so many better and more interesting stories that it seems hardly recommendable.

But... there is a target audience for whom I would recommend this book: 11 year old boys. That...more

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About John Grisham

"Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of...more "Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.

That might have put an end to Grisham's hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing's greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.

The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, and The Broker) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marks his first foray into non-fiction.

Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.

Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books' protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jur(less)

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“After a leisurely slide into second, Joe bounced to his feet, looked at Marichal, shrugged, smiled, and spread his arms as if to say, "You throw at me, I'll make you pay.” — 1 person liked it

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