Customer Reviews

Changing Pitches (New Ed)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Plain and simple. Laugh out loud funny. I finsihed this book so quickly, i went back and literally read it again. Steve Kluger is one of the funniest writers out there. I can't wait to read Last Days of Summer.

Having been a Steve Kluger fan ever since I read "Last Days of Summer" and "Almost Like Being in Love," I was a little nervous about picking up a copy of his first novel, since it originally came out in 1984 and authors' early works rarely reach the level that their later ones do. True, "Changing Pitches" only hints at the unique narrative style that Kluger would develop more fully in his future novels--but in some ways, the actual writing is tighter, crisper, and more to the point than it is in his more popular books. This may be because he hadn't yet stumbled upon the device of telling his story through the points of view of a variety of different people and their respective speech patterns, but is able to concentrate almost entirely on the wry and acerbic left-handed fastballer Scotty MacKay--sort of a Henry Wiggen with a college degree.

I first discovered "Changing Pitches" while I was browsing Kluger on the web and stumbled across a terrific New York Times review that, for whatever reason, doesn't appear on Amazon or B&N. Thematically, it sounded as though the novel might seem dated today--but don't let that mislead you. "Changing Pitches" is just as relevant now as it was 23 years ago--possibly because baseball hasn't grown up as much as it thinks it has.

DEFINITELY worth the time and the read. But not on a red-eye. You'll wake up the entire coach cabin with periodic bursts of laughter.

I didn't think I would enjoy reading around baseball, but I loved every moment I spent with this book & I didn't want to say goodbye to any of these characters.

Further, I lost count of how many times I scared the cat because I was laughing out loud. Thank you, Mr. Kluger.

Having read "Last Days of Summer" and having loved it so much that I bought three copies to share with friends and family, I was disappointed in "Changing Pitches", the only other book of Steve Kluger's that I could find. Particularly so because the reviews were all five star. "Changing Pitches" is a "nice" book but it isn't special enough to merit a recommendation. The author starts developing a style that comes to fruition in "Last Days..." but "Last Days..." has a more universal theme and is much funnier, I only chuckled once or twice reading "Changing..." where as "Last Days..." had me, literally, laughing out loud. I had tried to purchase "Changing..." from Amazon but it was out of print so I special ordered it through my library from another library and I was glad I did because it isn't worth purchasing.

This is a great summer beach book. It is fairly well written and very funny. Even if you do not like baseball, you will find this book to be entertaining and fun. It has sharp dialog and some of the humor had me laughing out loud. I was reading it on a plane and I am sure I annoyed my fellow travelers with my loud laughter. On a serious note, I was impressed with how the author made me feel for and understand a wide variety of characters - an aging ballplayer, a young hotshot, etc. The ending was a bit predictable, but overall, a fun fast read with some great humor.

I've read Mr. Kluger's Last Days of Summer and Almost Like Being in Love: A Novel, and I have to say I love those two books to death. They are ridiculously (but in a good way) funny, heart-melting, and, in a way, heart-breaking. They rule my life (sort of).

After reading those two great novels, I bought this one, expecting it to be just as great. I know, I know; it was only his first novel, and I was clearly expecting too much. But one can hope... Overall, I did enjoy the book, but it isn't as up to par as his later ones (clearly because it is his first). The humor isn't as well developed, but you can definitely see the starting of his distinct style. One thing about his novels is that you end up loving every single character (except for the really despicable ones, but they, too, are funny in their own way, and, really, they don't matter compared to the other characters). It's the same in this one; I really love all of his characters.

The one thing that really gets me is the typos. Missing quotations marks and such... That really irked me considering this version is actually a reprint. I really wished they had taken the time to proofread it... Anyway, it doesn't happen too much, but it happens enough for you to notice on several occasions.

In the end, I can only say this is a good starting novel for Mr. Kluger. Even if I didn't enjoy this book as much as the other ones, it was nice to see how he started out (sans the typos). I will definitely be pre-ordering his newest novel: My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park :)

This was the only novel of Steve Kluger's that I hadn't read and I wasn't disappointed. On one hand, it's a little strange to read about a game that's changed so much since the book was written it's practically unrecognizable now. On the other hand, what a delight to read about baseball players you can care about and root for. Big difference from what's in the headlines these days.

The romance was so sweet I wish there'd been more of it, but I suppose that given the constraints of 1984, Kluger got away with as much as he could for the times. But the humor hasn't tarnished over 24 years. Sometimes I found myself laughing so hard I had to put the book down just to recharge.

After spending almost 300 pages with a fictional team I wound up falling in love with, it will be interesting to see how I feel about today's baseball once spring training starts.

This is one of the funniest books I ever read. Even funnier than the Red Sox dropping a 13 game lead.

This is an older gay-themed romance novel, before the onslaught of the explicit "erotic" novels that pass for gay literature today. I enjoyed this book for three reasons: 1) it's very authentic in representation of sports world; 2) characters r no stereotypical gays; 3) there is not a lot of graphic sex. The main hero is realistic jock type who keeps to himself. Internal dialog shows his emotions and his reservations about his feelings. There is a lot of sports talk in this novel, and much focus is put on the team's progress. I loved the tension buildup, both romance and sports. Most gay novels today have no plot or tension because everything relies solely on sex scene on top of sex scene, and not too good of ones. I would highly recommend this novel to fans of baseball and for good gay literature the way it use to be.

I'm not sure I can express just how much this book disappointed and enraged me, but I'll do my best to put my hostility and resentment into words. First of all, this book was marketed as a comic gay romance between two professional baseball players--and it's published by Alyson, a reputable publisher of gay-themed fiction (shame on you, Alyson). The protagonist, Scotty Mackay, is a 36 year-old past-his-prime pitcher with the Washington Senators (a team that did not exist in 1981, when the novel is set, but I'm quibbling). Through an unimportant series of events, Scotty believes that he's falling in love with his hotshot rookie catcher, Jason Cornell (thankfully, Kluger didn't exploit the whole pitcher-catcher metaphor). Scotty becomes quite distraught when he becomes convinced that he's fallen in love with Jason--he can't concentrate on his game, he's worried about what will become of his relationship with his girlfriend, and he even goes to see a therapist. But here's the thing--not once does Scotty describe his feelings for Jason in loving or romantic terms. He doesn't long to be intimate with Jason or even kiss him. In fact, he describes his attraction to Jason in terms of adolescent hero-worship--he wants to BE Jason. So, what I thought would turn into "Brokeback Dugout" becomes instead "My Big League Bromance." But the most offensive part of this lame novel comes at the end, when (SPOILER ALERT) Scotty realizes that he's "fallen in love" with Jason in order to avoid committing himself to his girlfriend. So he proposes to his girlfriend (who tearfully accepts), confesses his "love" to Jason (who, it turns out, is in a relationship with the quarterback for the NY Giants--how ironic!), and the two of them laugh it all off as if it were some silly prank. This is a heteronormative "stealth narrative" masquerading as a gay love story--this novel is disappointing and potentially damaging. I can only hope that no questioning young adult picks up this novel and accepts its unhealthy messages.