FAITHFUL by Stewart O'Nan & Stephen King
11-30-04, 04:28 PM
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FAITHFUL by Stewart O'Nan & Stephen King
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
By Stewart O'Nan & Stephen King
From Publishers Weekly
Of all the books that will examine the Boston Red Sox's stunning come-from-behind 2004 ALCS win over the Yankees and subsequent World Series victory, none will have this book's warmth, personality or depth. Beginning with an e-mail exchange in the summer of 2003, novelists King and O'Nan started keeping diaries chronicling the Red Sox's season, from spring training to the Series' final game. Although they attended some games together, the two did most of their conversing in electronic missives about the team's players, the highs and lows of their performance on the field and the hated Yankees ("limousine longballers"). O'Nan acts as a play-by-play announcer, calling the details of every game (sometimes quite tediously), while King provides colorful commentary, making the games come alive by proffering his intense emotional reactions to them. When the Red Sox find themselves three games down during the ALCS, King reflects on the possibilities of a win in game four: "Yet still we are the faithful... we tell ourselves it's just one game at a time. We tell ourselves the impossible can start tonight." After the Sox win the Series, O'Nan delivers a fan's thanks: "You believed in yourselves even more than we did. That's why you're World Champions, and why we'll never forget you or this season. Wherever you go, any of you, you'll always have a home here, in the heart of the Nation." (At times, the authors' language borders on the maudlin.) But King and O'Nan are, admittedly, more eloquent than average baseball fans (or average sportswriters, for that matter), and their book will provide Red Sox readers an opportunity to relive every nail-biting moment of a memorable season.
Anyone else looking forward to this?
12-01-04, 10:47 AM
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to echo JAA:
As a longtime King fan = no interest whatsoever
As a lifelong baseball fan from Chicago = interest is marginal, at best - considering I was never a Boston diehard. I'm not immersed enough in Red Sox history/lore to want to read what sounds like a very detailed recap of the season.
I really enjoyed this past baseball season, but for me the wild card race, playoffs and world series were plenty. It's done, I'm past it.
I get it - they finally won.
As a longtime King fan = no interest whatsoever
As a lifelong baseball fan from Chicago = interest is marginal, at best - considering I was never a Boston diehard. I'm not immersed enough in Red Sox history/lore to want to read what sounds like a very detailed recap of the season.
I really enjoyed this past baseball season, but for me the wild card race, playoffs and world series were plenty. It's done, I'm past it.
I get it - they finally won.
Last edited by Pointyskull; 12-01-04 at 10:50 AM.
12-01-04, 11:06 AM
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To echo the others, once this book comes out I'll no longer be able to say I've read every single book by Stephen King.
Big Stephen King fan. Not much of a sports/baseball fan at all.
Big Stephen King fan. Not much of a sports/baseball fan at all.
12-02-04, 08:56 PM
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I'm reading it, but only a bit at a time. After a week I'm only 70 pages in(not a good sign). Almost all the diary entries are exactly the same: "in x inning, x person did this". It's like reading the world's longest article about baseball, and it gets pretty boring after only a couple pages. Not sure I'll be able to finish it, to be honest.
