Jess Singer, pitching prodigy and son of the infamous Jewish Joe Singer—who starred on the mound for the same MLB team twenty-five years earlier—is blessed with a plus-plus curveball, possesses immense athletic abilities, and is on the fast-track to stardom. But he’s harboring perhaps the most potent secret a professional athlete can possess: his sexual preference.
In this briskly paced, highly entertaining novel following three generations of Singers during Jess’s first year in The Show, Eric Goodman imagines what life might be like for a gay baseball player. Will Jess live in a confined closet or do what no baseball player has done yet? Goodman charts Jess’s path with tremendous sensitivity and grace, while detailing a season as riveting as watching your favorite underdog take their shot at the golden ring.
Written with Goodman’s usual flair, humor, and zing—not to mention his deep knowledge and love of baseball—Curveball is a feel-good love story in which virtue and a wicked curve triumph over considerable adversity.
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I love baseball. And you pretty much HAVE to love baseball to enjoy this book. A rookie pitcher making it to the show with the support of his grandfather and parents. Oh, and his dad was also a famous MLB pitcher in his day. Something happened to get him suspended and although the suspension was lifted, we never really got the full story.
And therein lies my biggest issue with this book. It was packed full of different stories. First wives who were sent to a psych facility and never came out. Some big baseball scandal 25 years ago. Cancer. An octogenarian love story. A wife with a secret that the husband doesn’t want to know. A rival middle reliever. Being Jewish. And in the center is Jess. Rookie pitcher with a wicked curve ball, a legacy to continue and a closet to hide in. But almost none of them were resolved! Including death threats!
The relationships between grandfather, father and son were interesting. A lot isn’t said about Joe (Jess’ father) and how he was raised by Jack (Jess’ grandfather), just the lingering animosity of The Scandal. Without Jess, I don’t know that Joe and Jack would still have a relationship. The intergenerational play was pretty fascinating to see.
I wanted more of Jess coming to terms with his sexuality. Because he told NO ONE. And then with no warning- BAM!- he’s in bed with a man floating in the afterglow. No warning, no lead up, no hints, nothing. This happened more than a few times where there was just no transition at all. Warm us up a little please.
And as I said, baseball. There is A LOT of baseball. So if you don’t enjoy it- especially the math in figuring out the post season- your eyes will glaze over. I don’t know how the author got permission to use real teams and real players, but I did enjoy that. But I love baseball.
So much was left undone. So much. We didn’t even get an epilogue. I feel a little cheated.
3 pieces of eye candy