The Mighty Roman

by Jon Sindell

The Mighty Roman is a funny, fast-paced, thought-provoking novel about baseball and the modern American man. A contemporary Mutiny On The Bounty – with baseball bats and
pranks -- the story centers on the relationship between old-school minor-league manager Roman Meister, a macho behemoth appalled by the changes in “his country,” and the team captain, an elfin free spirit who flows easily among his multicultural teammates – and takes on Roman when push comes to shove. Is Roman mighty? Was Gatsby great?

Genres: Baseball, Vegan

232 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2012

About the author

Jon Sindell's new novel, The Pugilist Poets of Venice, launched in October of 2019. This musical vid gives you a feel for the tone and content of the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNsCr...

Paperback, ebook, and audiobook editions are available on Amazon.

Jon's long-story collection, Family Happiness—so elusive, so ideal—was published by Big Table in 2016. His flash fiction collection, The Roadkill Collection, was published by the same house in 2014. A specially abridged audio edition of The Roadkill Collection is now available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.

Jon writes fiction (quite truthful), humor (intentionally, often), and essays (not graded, thankfully). Many of Jon's shorter works may be seen at jonsindell.com.

Jon curates the Rolling Writers reading series in San Francisco. A former lawyer, Jon is now a full-time personal humanities tutor of students from middle school through college. Great fun.

Jon loves talking with readers and encourages readers to connect with him on Facebook, on Twitter @JonSindell, and on Instagram at jonsnndellwrites.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Trott · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Jon Sindell’s novel “The Mighty Roman”, baseball is much more than just a sport. It’s a stage that spotlights the challenges between one generation and the next. It exposes who we are as individuals as well as who we are as a society. Through baseball, we can see the reflection of human behavior, good and bad.
Sindell writes a compelling and humorous story about a young minor league baseball player trying to turn his boyhood dream of making it to the major leagues into a reality. He constantly challenges his cranky “old school” coach who he has dubbed “The Mighty Roman”. It’s a classic tale with modern themes dealing with cross cultural communication, generational differences and personal identity. Many of the characters in book seem oddly familiar to my own experience of playing Little League, Babe Ruth and High School baseball.
What I loved about this book was the quick pace and colorful usage of humor. As a songwriter, I am always looking for authors that inspire me with their creative usage of words. Sindell’s writing reminds me a little bit of Thomas Pinchon, who is one of my favorite writers.
I highly recommend this read whether you are a fan of baseball or not. In my case, it bridged the gap between the off -season and spring training!

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This is a fun, fast, funny read with some great laugh out loud sections. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I really enjoyed the baseball action. I enjoyed this book so much more than "The Art of Fielding" and on par with "Calico Joe". Anyway if you like baseball stories, you're gonna love this one.

[Jon Sindell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won't review my own book, but I will say that if you're looking for a fast, funny, thought-provoking novel about baseball and the modern American man (and who isn't?), you've come to the right place!

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon Sindell's "The Mighty Roman" is a great baseball yarn. It tells the story of a young man's pursuit of the all-American dream of putting your foot on the lowest rung of the professional baseball ladder and trying to find a way to ascend that magical stairway to The Show. And it lovingly tells the bitter-sweet story of what it feels like to slowly wake up from that dream as the reality of the odds stacked against you becomes clear. There is plenty of baseball action packed into this lyrical ode to our national pastime, and any lover of the game will be enthralled with the insider's view of both the individual competition and the intricate machinations of minor league baseball.

But like many great works of fiction, this tale works on more than one level. It also illustrates the cultural divide that has polarized our country as our hero takes us on a humorous and personal journey of discovery. What our hero discovers is his relationship to his coach, The Mighty Roman, who is an intriguing mixture of Captain Ahab and Archie Bunker, who is not so much a villain as he is a metaphor. The conflict between this hard-nosed manager and his multi-cultural ball club personalizes the story of the ethnic and generational conflicts going on beneath the surface of our every day lives as 21st-century Americans. It's a really enjoyable read, whichever level you care to focus on.

[Agnes Gawne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The language of the book was the best part for me, it was often like poetry. I have to admit that I did not like the main character, Roman, he is evil and at times made me want to throw the book at something. However, the other characters are so likable and the prose was so good to read that I kept going past the evil deeds of this character.
I am a lover of baseball so that part of the book was great for me. The depictions of how the lowest rung of pro baseball works reminded me of my childhood going to Tucson Toros games in the 1970s when they were a farm team for the Cleveland Indians. There was an innocence about baseball at that level that is gone by the time they get to the majors. This faith that one day each player will get to the "big show" is clearly demonstrated in the book, along with the reality that most of these players will not ever get to the major league team.
As I usually read historical romance and classic English literature this was a stretch outside of my comfort zone, but I really liked it and am glad I read it. I hope to read more from this author as I really liked the way he used the language.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through the first-reads giveaways. This book was more like 3.5 stars for me. It's a great baseball yarn that includes a little love, father/son relationships and hot button political issues (including gay rights and illegal immigration). I really liked all the stuff that wasn't really about baseball. I loved the narrator Matt Marola and his roommate, Rex Hirsch. I liked the relationships among the players. I thought Sindell did a good job of dealing with political issues. But, I have to admit, I don't know a lot about baseball and I got a little glassy-eyed when it got heavy on the baseball talk. That was the only thing that kept it from being a 4 star rating.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun read! Great character development and really just an enjoyable page turner. Very engaging and believable characters and a glimpse into the best and the worst that make up sports. It was as if Holden Caulfield was speaking through the narrarator and he himself played minor league baseball. I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys sports, even if baseball isn't your favorite sport it makes you want to go to the ballpark and watch the guys who are there for the love of the game.

[Brigette Streeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so much more than baseball. It is the collection of people dealing with cultural issues of sexual preference and illegal immigration. It definitely appeals to those "coming of age". At times the book is poetic and beautiful, and frustrating all at the same time (in a good way ;) ). I hope this book gets the coverage it deserves. I am thankful I won the goodreads giveaway and got to read and review this book.

[Tracy Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read, and you don't need to be a baseball expert to enjoy the interplay between characters. It has the added attraction of presenting the good vibes, in a realistic, non saccharine form, that are created from being on a team--the bonds that are created. Jon also has a great sense of humor, adding to the enjoyment: highly recommended.

[Danielle Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as a first reads and I absolutely loved it. It's a must read.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's call it 3 1/2, but I can't round it to 4. The ending didn't really work for me, and much of the book is so overladen with similes that it distracted me from the actual story, which was otherwise pretty solid. There are paragraphs where literally every other sentence ends in a simile, and not all of them are so good as to justify that.

Roman Meister, the manager, is established through word and deed as a completely overbearing a-hole, and just about everyone on the team grows to at least dislike him, if not out and out hate him. I actually think Matt, the team's ace pitcher and story's protagonist, should have hated him by the end. I could see him wanting to win his favor for a while, as many kids try to do with a teacher or coach, but eventually that moves on to a stage of loathing, which Matt never really arrived at, though he got close at times.

In the Cal-Heri League, Sindell has created a fairly believable structure for independent minor league baseball (though the international flavor of the team is probably a stretch and Roman Meister must be the most deluded person on the planet to think he could garner attention from a major league organization by winning the Cal-Heri League). The baseball details are generally well done, with realistic accounts of the games and the rivalries, both within the team and against other teams. He also did a nice job of creating a cast of different characters, each unique and with their own motivations. Rex, the second baseman, was the most interesting one and he seemed to be the only one who didn't crave Roman's admiration, which allowed him to remain true to himself.

If you're looking for an unheralded baseball story, this one is worth checking out. With a strong edit it could even move up to 4-star territory.

[Phil Dahlquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading "The Mighty Roman"..... Loved this book, as it put me in the story to hang out with so many different personalities.. All the characters represent bits and pieces of people I know, and you will too, in everyday life, and the bonds and the clashes we all experience with these people... The fact that these moments take place during a season of baseball is a bonus, but if you are a baseball fan (which I am), this story will put you right in the dugout.... So much more to the game, than "see the ball/ hit the ball"........

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a baseball book, not a gay coming out book, where Amazon seems to have catagorized it. I am guessing because Amazon catagorizes by a machine, not a human, and the word "gay" appears enough times to tip the computer catagorization switch. It is a coming of age book, and the author knows his baseball and his 19 year olds. He also gets the variety of father/son relationships that exist, and how they shape a son's life. And, best recommedation of all, it is hard to put down.

[Salem · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mighty Roman epitomizes the best and worst of self-publishing. Great concept, with flashes of exceptional storytelling craft. But over-written, and more "telling" than "showing." An aggressive editor could have helped the author tighten up the writing and eliminate a few of (minor) plot inconsistencies.

Two stars for unrealized potential.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as part of the goodreads firstreads giveaway. While not usually something I would read, I found this book to be pretty good. The characters were memorable, and the imagery used to describe the action of the games was great.