Three Strikes

Wrigley Field
 where some of the action in
Calico Joe takes place

Maybe I am spoiled by reading Beverley Nichols, but really, there isn't an interesting sentence to be found in John Grisham's Calico Joe. It's just a story and one that we have heard before. There are four characters: Warren Tracey, pitcher for the New York Mets; his 11-year-old son Paul; Joe Castle, rookie for the Chicago Cubs; and, baseball.

Paul, as an adult, narrates the story which switches back and forth between the summer of 1973 and the present day. Warren is a bully and not all that great a father or a pitcher.  Paul loves baseball; hates his father. Joe loves baseball and is quite a sensation but has to deal with the resentment and jealousy of his opponents. Baseball is baseball. 

All these characters meet on the diamond of life (ouch) in these 200 pages. No surprises.