4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do yourself a favour and find this treasure!, July 29, 2000
This review is from: Home Game (Hardcover)
I am shocked that this, my favourite book from my teenage years, is consistently out-of-stock! Quarrington being a Canadian author, I sometimes find the book hidden in the stacks at various Toronto stores. But that does nothing for the vast American audience who would do well to read a fictional chronicle of their national pastime. See this review as the first step on my personal crusade to revive the life of this great book.
Early in my teens, baseball was my religion. I memorized statistics, and read up feverishly on the history of the game. When given to me as a gift before the summer of my thirteenth year, I was excited about beginning Home Game. It exceeded all of my expectations! The baseball scenes were magnificent, but the characters and the story still managed to overshadow even that.
Nathanael "Crybaby" Isbister is a good focal point. He was a great baseballer, whose major league career was curiously brief. His mysterious past is slowly revealed, and always provides wonderful revelation about his character. He is found wandering in the Michigan countryside, when he happens upon a troupe of carnival freaks. They are under constant scrutiny from a religious sect called the House of Jonah, whose baseball playing is legendary, and whose leader, Tekel Ambrose, is neck and neck with Isbister for the title of the greatest ballplayer ever to lace up spikes. Through a serious of wonderfully convoluted circumstances, The House of Jonah challenges the freaks to a baseball game, with the loser to leave town.
The carnival freaks are a beautifully eclectic and wonderfully drawn cast of outcasts. Dr. Sinister, their leader, speaks in an English so byzantine that no one can understand him. Major Mite is the shortest man in the world, and also the most belligerent. Angus MacCallister is the strongest man in the world, with passions run deeper than the Grand Canyon. There's the Hisslop sisters, Siamese twins and second basewomen. Davey Goliath, the tallest man in the world, but so full of paranoia that his every move is haunted. Stella, the fattest woman in the world, and surprise love interest. And Zap (a.k.a. the Wild Man From Borneo), who is the focal point of one of the greatest plot twists I've ever come across. Each character is given a detailed personal history so carefully constructed that you really feel like these people are alive and walking around.
The story moves along with great momentum, constantly being pushed forward by a plot that is logically structured toward one defining moment. I especially liked the framing device he uses (the author's grandfather has returned from exile, to bully him into writing the story of The Game). Nothing like a hearty dose of meta-fiction to brighten your day.
The game itself is achieved with a perfect balance of comedy and drama, suspense and light-heartedness. After coming to its conclusion, I went back to read it again. It was only then that I realized that every at bat is presented... in detail! This is an amazing achievement when you realize that Quarrington never repeats himself. Each at bat is interesting in itself.
I've re-read this book several times over the years. It is still a comic tour de force, and emotional treasure. And even though it can never recapture the excitement of that very first read, I still marvel at this wonderful, little story.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A decent book, January 6, 2005
This review is from: Home Game (Hardcover)
Paul is a funny guy. I was surprised by how funny the novel was. I'd recommend it to any baseball fan. As for content, Home Game is filled with humour and subtle freak humour. Nathaniel Isbister eventually transforms into a freak himself and lives with other freaks. In the event that Nate had felt accepted in his previous normal life, the freaks would have no place at all in Home Game. I don't know what to make of the crazy freak related events of Home Game. Paul didn't seem to present any reasons as to the freaks. Nate could have easily just wandered upon some sort of jugglers or something. Good book, though. You probably won't think much of it if you don't like baseball.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clever and compassionate., July 8, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Home Game (Hardcover)
If readers will allow an author of Quarrington's calibre some lattitude, they'll be in for a great time. This is a wonderful book that moulds freakish absurdity into humanity, an approach that reverses the course of today's trendy writers. Along the way, Quarrington teaches us something about people and the poetry of baseball. Quarrington is refreshing. I wish he'd write more. I lost my only copy of this book and have been looking to replace it since.
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