Calico Joe: A Novel

The story was different than I thought it would be. It's very sad but Griham is such a great writer, it took me in and I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it.

I am a baseball fan, but I'm an even bigger fan of well told stories. This was a story well told. The baseball, for me, was an added bonus. It's a fast read. It is a short book, and I see a lot of reviewers writing that as if it's a check mark in the con list -- but in my opinion, a writer doesn't get bonus points for prolonging a story that doesn't need expanded. When I say this was a fast read, I mean it as a compliment in every sense. I felt the characters were flushed out, and I found none nor noticed no holes in the story lines. There's a lot of heart in this book. I found themes of integrity, pride, and forgiveness jump out at me. I felt a lot through this read and am very thankful to the author for telling this story. My only reason for not giving it five stars is, actually, the author's notes. I was confused by them. I couldn't tell how much of the book was made up, how much or what was fiction, and what was fact. The notes from the author sort of confused me beyond that. You'll have to read the notes to know what I'm referring to -- but I'm still confused to this moment about how much of the book was aimed to be accurate, and how much is not. STILL, very worthy of a read. And, like I said, it's quick. Enjoy.

Calico Joe, by John Grisham, is a novel about two major league baseball players, their families, and their fans. Most of it is narrated by Paul Tracy, who is the son of Warren Tracey, a journeyman pitcher who finishes his career with the New York Mets in 1973, when Paul was eleven years old. The book jumps back and forth between 1973 and thirty years in the future. It is a wonderful story that immerses the reader in the professional baseball environment. Paul, like so many boys, loved baseball, pitched in little league; and followed his favorite major league players and teams closely, including creating scrapbooks about them and collecting baseball cards. In 1973, Joe Castle, from Calico Arkansas, was brought up from the minor leagues to play first base for the Chicago Cubs after two of their infielders were injured. Unlike most rookies, Joe Castle captured the hearts of all the Cubs’ fans, and most other baseball fans, with a fantastic beginning to his major league career. He broke many previous rookie records, including consecutive home runs, overall home runs, hits, batting average, and stolen bases. He became Paul Tracey’s hero in his first game when he hit three home runs. The story eventually brings the journeyman Mets’ pitcher (Warren Tracey) with his rigid belief in long-standing confrontational baseball traditions, into battle with the rookie savior of the Cubs (Calico Joe) on the field in New York, with Paul and his mother in the stands. The book reveals the continuing consequences of that 1973 battle on Warren Tracey and Joe Castle and both of their families. I really liked this book and found it hard to put down. As you would expect, Grisham crafted it in a compelling way with a great ending for the reader to enjoy. I also liked it because it reminded me of how much I loved baseball and how much I admired certain baseball players with I was a boy. If you like baseball read this book! However, you should also read it just because it is an excellent story about interesting human beings successfully struggling through the challenges that life presents for them.

I loved this novel, just as I've loved all of John Grisham's stories because his characters have such heart. I feel as though I know Paul Tracey now, I know what it's like to love baseball and to want a parent to be your hero, and have your admiration always shut down. I feel like I can watch baseball now and know enough to enjoy it because of Grisham's story, and that is exactly why I read. To be immersed in another world to the point where I feel as if I've actually visited that world. Calico Joe is a story about a young boy, Paul and his love for both this father, and for baseball. Unfortunately for Paul, his father, who's a pitcher the New York Mets, is not worthy of his son's admiration. A narcissist bordering on sociopath, Warren Tracey is the kind of guy who shifts his responsibilities onto everyone else so his ego can stay falsely inflated. The story takes us from 1973 to 2003 in flashbacks centering on a moment in baseball history that changed Paul's life, his father's, and a promising rookie named Joe Castle. John Grisham entertains us with an important life lesson, wrapping it in his love for baseball that gives the story its extra-special dimension. The lesson is about how we have to claim responsibility for what we do in order to be a good person, and while forgiveness is possible, it can't change the messes we make in our lives. Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting, it means moving forward and getting on with life the best we can under new circumstances. Joe displays grace in the face of horrific circumstances that could have been avoided, while Warren shows how blaming others can leave a trail of regrets. This is a story that will stick with me for a long time. Sure the good guys and the bad guys were very black and white, but that's not to say that there aren't people out there that display such a contrast of light and dark. Grisham is a writer at the top of his game, and always a pleasure to read. He's one of my favorite writers of all time, and I hope he doesn't stop writing in my lifetime.

I'll begin by saying I am, at best, a lukewarm John Grisham fan. I devoured his first three novels and then began to yawn, ever so slightly. But i do love a baseball story and the thought of Grisham tackling that subject was irresistible. Well. Calico Joe is not a bad book. It's premise is sound and its layout logical. And some of the baseball insights are interesting (He claims, at the end, to have conducted considerable research). But . . . The author's effort suggests he might have entered one of those weekend write-a-novel contests. In the days of pen and ink, Grisham would not have used an entire bottle of Quink. Definitely has the aroma of a work that was rushing to meet a deadline. Too bad, because the characters were interesting and could have used a little more time on the page. I want to say, 'go back, John, and do it right'. Baseball needs another good story.

Book Review – Calico Joe – John Grisham In preparation for John Grisham’s first ever basketball story coming out in late April entitled “Sooley” - about an African born (Sudan) basketball player – I decided to re-read his first baseball novel, “Calico Joe.” Grisham's story telling in this sports fiction novel is impeccable. Naturally he is good at crime and courtroom drama in his legal thrillers, but in this fictional sports story, he also ‘knocks it out of the park’! The character development is just where it needs to be, realistic and compelling. The story pacing is like a baseball game itself, no time clock forcing an end. Instead, the story of Calico Joe unfolds like life itself, full of cause and effect, decisions and consequences, uncertainties of outcomes. Grisham’s brilliance and versatility of using factual names and places in a fictional story are on display in this wonderful sports fiction written primarily for the nostalgic baseball fan. Although Calico Joe is a baseball story, it is mainly a ‘people’ story. It brings together very different individuals and tells a surprising and moving tale of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, all set in the world of Major League Baseball. The baseball part of the story is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes Calico Joe a must read. I highly recommend it…

Interesting another great book by JohnGrisham

Two of my favorite subjects are addressed in this book: Baseball and Redemption. Two definitions for redemption are as follows: (1) the action of being saved from sin, error, or evil; and (2) the action of regaining possession of something in exchange for a payment, or clearing a debt. In this well-written short story by Grisham (I read it from cover to cover in one sitting), tells a gut wrenching story of an abusive alcoholic father (who happens to be a professional pitcher for the New York Mets); the story of his eleven year old son; and a rookie phenom nicknamed Calico Joe who is setting records left and right coming up to the majors with the Chicago Cubs. From the three perspectives: alcoholic abusive father; young impressionable son; and talented young phenom Graham develops the story over what happens to each of these key "players" over the next thirty years. Without giving away the plot - the story keeps you gripped as you hope for a great ending. Grisham delivers (as usual) on developing a great plot that does not disappoint. The reader is drawn in to the story from the get go, and Grisham continues to draw the reader into the story. It's as if you are involved emotionally, spiritually, and at times, even physically with the characters of the story. The story is one of great lessons: the wasted or unexamined life isn't worth living; death is approaching fast - so make your life and relationships count; second chances are available; redemption and forgiveness are possible for everyone. I highly recommend this book as a terrific read that with an ending that is insightful, wise, and full of hope.

This is very good Grisham.-restrained and sympathetic to the individuals. Baseball is not my thing and Grisham took care of that kin the first couple of chapters for which I was grateful.

John Grisham it’s what he does .

A good read

In my opinion, John Grisham's best book on sports. Bleachers and Playing for Pizza are not bad, but Calico Joe is much better by far. Being interested in baseball helps to understand the story. If not, it does not matter that much as a troubled father-sun relationship is in the focus of this book. Some unfinished business between two aging baseball pros lets the story move along very smoothly. I have enjoyed every page. A must have for every Grisham fan.

It was not a typical John Grisham story but I enjoyed it thoroughly. The story feels real and athentic and the characters are very believable