Reader Views

The Legend of Mickey Tussler

 

Frank Nappi
St. Martin’s Press (2008)
ISBN 9780312381097
Reviewed by Rachael Stein (age 15) for Reader Views (7/08)

Arthur Murphy is the coach and scout for the minor league Milwaukee Brewers. He used to be a baseball star before a collision with another player injured him and ruined his promising career. But he’s also a good and caring man, which is why, when he meets odd Mickey Tussler, a hulking seventeen-year-old farm boy with an ability to throw very accurately, he is determined to help both of them by recruiting Mickey to pitch for the Brewers. Mickey has an arm like no one has seen, and his early successes on the field help him win over the hearts of his teammates and fans. But jealousy from an opposing team and even a disgruntled teammate stack the odds against Mickey, especially when Murph and Pee Wee, one of Mickey’s closer teammates, aren’t there to protect him. Mickey’s situation is even more difficult because he suffers from autism, although this was before it had a name. The world of minor league baseball is a tough one, and Mickey and his team, the Brewers, are definite underdogs.

There is a colorful cast of characters presented in “The Legend of Mickey Tussler,” which I found overwhelming at times. There were so many players and teams to remember that I often got confused, especially towards the beginning of the novel. However, as the story progressed, I got used to the most important characters. In a strange way, I felt I really got to know these characters even though I felt there wasn’t much characterization. Most of the characters, especially Molly, Murph, and Mickey, were extremely likeable even through their faults, and I found myself sympathizing with them. I really would’ve loved for Mickey’s character to have been more developed, because the story was mainly about him, but I found his characterization disappointingly lacking. Nevertheless, I found Mickey’s character so admirable because he was able to survive and prevail against all the odds. Nappi does a good job of showing each character’s flaws as well as positive attributes; it made the characters seem more human, which made the story all the more realistic.

Plot-wise, I had a few issues. Sometimes, I felt that there was just too much going on at once and so many subplots that they were rather hard to keep track of. And I also found the ending a little disappointing, but only because I would’ve liked the story to continue. And though I was disappointed, I did feel that the story ended with a perfect blend of sadness and hope. It’s through the last few pages of the novel that you can really feel the book yelling to you to not give up.

The plot in “The Legend of Mickey Tussler” was never too action-packed except during the ballgames. I found that even with my limited baseball education, I was able to understand much of the terminology used in this novel. Since “The Legend of Mickey Tussler” focuses so much on baseball though, readers who aren’t interested in this team sport may have a hard time maintaining their interest in the story. Even though I am not a devoted baseball fan, though, I really liked how baseball was so well-incorporated into this story.

It’s kind of hard to explain what exactly in this novel made me like it so much. Despite some of the issues I had with the book, I truly enjoyed reading “The Legend of Mickey Tussler,” by Frank Nappi, and thought it was well-written. I recommend this novel for the male audience or for any baseball fans. Mickey Tussler’s difficult journey is sure to win over the hearts of many readers, as it did mine.

What Everyone Believed: A Memoir of Intuition and Awakening

 

Christine Hoeflich
Between Worlds Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780979658907
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (7/08)

In “What Everyone Believed” the author Christine Hoeflich tells her own personal story of how she learned to trust her intuition and become aware of the gifts that the universe was offering her.  I really appreciated her willingness to share her story so that we can learn from it.  I am sure that this was not easy, especially in the areas regarding relationships. 
       
Ms. Hoeflich’s Ivy League education was in engineering.  It was fascinating to follow her as she found this spiritual path which is very different from her technical background.  Attending Soul Recognition workshops helped to ignite her desire to discover what the universe had in store for her.  She had to make choices based upon her intuition.  Having a husband and two children to think of, made some of these choices very difficult.  It was really interesting to see how the universe opened up for her when she started making choices based on her instincts and stopped listening to the doubts that other people were impressing upon her.  It is a hard book to put down because once Ms. Hoeflich got into the flow, I was curious to find out where she was being led. 
     
In many sections of this book, I found myself wishing that I could have read it earlier in my life.  Three years ago, I spent three months in therapy with a counselor who convinced me that I was catastrophisizing everything in my life.  He was telling me not to trust my intuition because I was making a big deal out of things that seemed to be happening in my relationship at the time.  After I left counseling, I discovered that not only were things as bad as I thought, they were worse.  I could have saved so much money, time and heartache by reading “What Everyone Believed.”  Ms. Hoeflich’s experiences teach you to trust your intuition.  By reading about her life, she shows us how well it can pay off.  It doesn’t always make things easier, but it sure helps you get through the rough patches.
     
I also feel that “What Everyone Believed,” by Christine Hoeflich, is the type of book to hang on to, and read at different points in your life.  As we pass through different phases of our lives, we will be able to relate to some sections more than others.  Journaling will really make this apparent.  This is the perfect book to give as a gift to someone very special.

Lighting the Dark Side: Six Modern Tales

 

William R. Potter
Xlibris (2008)
ISBN 9781436312530
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (7/08)

“Lighting the Dark Side” contains a collection of six refreshingly different short stories.  Each one is very unique and cannot be compared to the others.  I really enjoyed reading the stories.  They are about human nature and how we deal with hardships.  Sometimes we overcome them, sometimes we obliterate them and sometimes we just make adjustments in ourselves to live with them.

What I discovered really interesting is that in almost every story, I found aspects of myself in the characters.  This allowed me to feel like I could relate to what they had going on inside themselves.  Some of these aspects ranged from a desire for vigilantism in situations with no other way out; a desire to help others by going way beyond what is expected; and that need to ask myself why I allow things to happen when I know the outcome ahead of time.  Kind of like, why did I do that again?  The examples in the stories are so much more interesting than any story that I have possibly lived.

Each short story or novella is very complete within itself, however, I found myself wishing that the stories would go on longer.  I wasn’t ready to leave the lives of these interesting characters.  This is what made the book even more fun because I found myself thinking about the stories later on, wondering what happened to people that never even existed. The characters are very well developed and intricately woven into their plots that they seem very real.  Their humanity is expressed through their shortcomings, and their need to change their situations.   

This book, “Lighting the Dark Side,” by William R. Potter, will definitely be enjoyed by all fans of fiction.  I think that it would make an excellent selection for a reader’s group or for a college course.  I would love to hear the interesting discussions that will be held about these stories.

Rue de la Pompe: A Satiric Urban Fantasy

 

James Earle McCracken
iUniverse (2008)
ISBN 9780595485055
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (7/08) 

Let me start this review by saying that I certainly read a lot. Between my reading for work and reading for pleasure, I probably average at least 150 books a year. And since I’ve been doing this for a while, I’ve read a good few books by now. I do not find it surprising that nowadays I often feel I’ve read a variation of what I am currently reading before. Granted, all authors are at least somewhat influenced by the work of others, but all too often the similarities are too great to overlook. So it has been quite a while since I’ve read a book and thought, “Wow, this was truly different and truly refreshing…”

Well, this past weekend has been one of those “wow” moments. After having read the first couple of chapters of James Earle McCracken’s “Rue de la Pompe,” I had to put it down and ask myself where the author was going with his story. After a few more, I was no closer to being able to categorize the book, but I was sure having a good time. Having finished it, I still would be extremely hard pressed to describe it with any accuracy, but I feel just like after an exhilarating day at an outstanding amusement park. It was wild, it was unpredictable, it was mad-cap and scary at times; but always witty, picturesque and never boring.

The story is deceptively simple. A thirty-year-old American living in Paris, Michael Whyte, receives a mysterious gift of formal wear and an invitation to a party on his birthday. This sets him on an epic quest for the very first French franc coin. It is the author’s truly unique approach to telling the story – through the inner voices of Michael’s different personalities (Mr. Whyte, Mikey, Smart Ass, Dumb Ass and Jackass) – and the fantastic use of the locale, Paris, which set this story apart in the best possible way. I do not know of another author who would dare to describe Paris as “On the good days, the city struck Michael as a beautiful woman who wasn’t his type; the rest of the time, Paris was a bad summer camp with weird counselors and lousy toilets.” When you add to this a cast of extremely quirky characters (a Zen-master quote-spouting jeweler, a Castilian “compact assassin,” a helpful deaf-mute, a farting statue of Benjamin Franklin, a joke-telling rhinoceros, a Doberman-like concierge, an epistemologist, an enigmatic beauty who speaks all of the languages, a couple of villains, as well as a few other more or less lunatic characters), you should not be surprised when the book turns out to be a cross between a roller-coaster, an abduction by a flying saucer, a carousel, the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House located in the Hall of Mirrors and completed with a few side shows.

The author manages to poke fun at pretty much everything and everybody, but he does so in a highly entertaining and intelligent way. Nobody and nothing get spared, be it the pacifistic Dutch, the Japanese tour groups, over-the-top menus filled with pretentious ingredients and complicated dishes, cheese-discussing French alligators or the sex life of elephants… I’ve enjoyed his highly individual writing style, the unorthodox story and the unbelievably peculiar set of characters immensely. A great book to brighten an otherwise uninspiring weekend, a tedious trip or a wait in a doctor’s office somewhere, “Rue de la Pompe,” by James Earle McCracken, is certainly by far the most original work I’ve read lately and I do hope the author will keep his promise about the upcoming Book Two.