105 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some People Just Don't Get It, February 27, 2005
After reading all the reviews of Shoeless Joe, I think the title I chose for this review is perfect.
First, let me state the obvious: most of the people who panned this book outright had to read it for school, and write a report on it. I can honestly say that, in my opinion, this book is not for your average high school student. The ideas and themes in this novel, not to mention the ideals and dreams, are very difficult to comprehend if you're still in high school. Some of the life experiences, that are are required to understand what Mr. Kinsella is saying, are still years away. It's a shame that these students are forced to read something that, in my opinion, they are not yet ready for. If they waited until they were older, they would understand. And they would love the book.
This is not Field of Dreams. That movie is the result of Hollywood taking this story, clipping here and editing there, and coming up with a screenplay that, while outstanding in its own way, is severely lacking in the substance of what this book is about.
It's about life. It's about dreams and realities. It's about injustice and redemption. But most of all, it's about love and family.
Ray Kinsella is an anomaly in today's society. He is a 1960s dreamer in a world full of pragmatic realists. He sees things that most people overlook. He remembers things that most people consider insignificant. But, most of all, he hears things that others cannot hear.
"If you build it, he will come." A raspy, baseball announcer's voice in the middle of an Iowa cornfield says those seven words, and Ray Kinsella knows exactly what they mean. Build a baseball stadium, and Shoeless Joe Jackson, the falsely accused and disgraced 1919 Chicago White Sox star, will return to play again. If that sounds hokey, or corny, it's because, to most people, it is. But not to Ray. Shoeless Joe Jackson was the favorite player of his father, John Kinsella. Ray grew up hearing stories of the 1919 White Sox, and Shoeless Joe. As the story progresses, the pure love Ray feels for his father becomes more and more evident. While the movie makes it something different, in the book it is all about love and memory.
The love between Ray and Annie is as close to a perfect love as humanity can get. And if some find that unreal, it's because it is so rare that it seems unreal. This is the love we all dream about. This is the love we feel we all have. But in reality, this love is the ideal love. And though in many ways it is hard to believe such a love could ever exist, in some very rare and special circumstances, it can, and it does.
Why does Ray follow the voice he hears? Why does he plow under his cornfield, risking his farm, his home, and possibly even his family? Because Ray knows that sometimes you have to follow the voices you hear. He knows Annie will understand. Or if not understand, realize that he has to do what he has to do. From the first time Shoeless Joe appears in his field, Ray starts to dream. He dreams of seeing his father again. Seeing him in a way he never knew him: young and playing baseball, the game he loved. Shoeless Joe tells him to finish the field, to make it possible for all of the disgraced White Sox to come and play again. Then, and only then, he promises, will they consider having his father on the team.
So Ray begins his long, slow journey, finishing the field, learning the tricks of the trade from the experts, creating a perfect ball park. And still he waits.
And then the voice comes back. And Ray is off on a journey to take one of the most famous reclusive authors of our time to a baseball game. He plans his trip carefully, preparing himself so he will be ready to share his dreams, to open his heart and soul to a man who he is convinced needs him to come take him to a baseball game.
Along the way, we also meet Eddie "Kid" Scissons, the oldest living Chicago Cub (or is he), and learn the short, but poignant tale of Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. The playing out of these stories, and the love of baseball, and all things pure and simple, tug at our hearts, and make us want to believe in the dreams.
And we do. And when Ray finally comes back to the farm, accompanied by a ghost from the past, and a mystery from the present, he discovers his long-lost twin brother has shown up, confusing Annie and their daughter. The differences between the identical twin brothers are enormous, but slowly, they begin to disappear as the dream, Ray's catcher, his father, finally makes his appearance.
The threats of losing everything to Annie's scheming brother, and his business partner, the reality of "Kid" Scissons, and the tragic heroics of Moonlight Graham bring the book ever closer to its climax, as we realize that some dreams, no matter how precious, are sometimes less important when the glare of reality blinds us, forcing us to make choices we thought we would never have to make.
This is a story of love, dreams and life that is worthy of any book collection. Read it. You will come away better for having done so.
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glove oil and leather, and Freshly cut grass, August 13, 2000
W.P Kinsella. Shoeless Joe. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1982. 265 pp. $22.95.
When was the last time you tumbled onto cool, moist grass, looked up at the robin's-egg blue sky, and imagined that the clouds were forming shapes of various animals? Or the last time you felt total freedom while lifting yourself skyward on an old tree swing, back when summer never seemed to end?
These and many more childhood memories will come alive while reading Shoeless Joe. W.P. Kinsella's fictional accounting centers on baseball legend Joe Jackson, one of the Chicago "Black" Sox 8, who was permanently banned from baseball. Joe's magical appearance in an Iowa cornfield initiates a journey for main character Ray Kinsella, to not only fulfill his dreams, but those of many extraordinary characters, too.
At first glance, the book is about baseball and Ray's journey to fulfill the request of the voice, "If you build it, he will come." But as Ray ventures across the country the reader begins to sense that, as in The Wizard of Oz, anything is possible, simply by believing. As the plot develops, Ray's acceptance of the mystical, almost religious aspects of baseball, allows the reader to revisit dreams from his own past, too. Ray says, "Your secret dreams grow over the years like apple seeds sown in your belly...sprout through your skin, gentle and soft and wondrous, and they breathe and have a life on their own...."
Though most of the characters are as refreshing as a Popsicle or as rich as a Fudgsicle on a summer's day, Ray's wife, Annie is far too loving and weak. Female readers, in particular, may have difficulty connecting to Annie's life, with her lack of protest when her husband plans to plow under their crops to construct a ball-field. But, many readers can relate to Ray's efforts directed toward repairing his relationship with his dad, and may realize how profoundly this book mirrors their own relationships, too.
Upon deeper reflection, a reader realizes the importance of Moonlight Graham's statement that "hardly anybody recognizes the most significant moments of their life at the time they happen." While reading this book, a reader may experience a deep desire to turn back the hands of time for a chance to relive his childhood, or to take back words spoken in anger, or to reawaken in the arms of a love from long ago.
The story rides on dialogue, rhythmically slow like baseball, as Ray tiptoes beyond the realm of this world. Threading the timelessness of baseball throughout the book suggests immortality to the reader, as Ray tries to answer the question "Is this Heaven." The reader is drawn in and realizes that looking at this world is not the same as seeing it. Miracles happen everyday and can be taken for granted when viewed only with the eyes, and not appreciated with the heart, as well. Sacred events of planting and harvesting fertile farmland, the changing seasons, and the glorious birth of children are connected to the repeating cycle of baseball.
Author W.P. Kinsella's strength is mastery of the metaphor, with similes stunning our senses with vivid descriptions, conjuring up precise, almost tangible images. He writes, " Moonlight butters the whole Iowa night. Clover and corn smells are thick as syrup." A reader can almost taste a big stack of pancakes. W.P. Kinsella draws in the reader with the familiarity of baseball, while challenging him to rekindle his dream. Each time a batter is up in Shoeless Joe, the renewal of hope hangs as crisp and fresh as sheets on the line to dry. When Ray's twin brother, Richard, returns to the family, and J.D Salinger is reunited with his first love, the reader comes away believing that it is truly possible to start over again.
Like meeting an old friend at a favorite ballpark, the reader can escape the routine of schedules and deadlines, while enjoying this book based on a summer ritual. W.P. Kinsella satisfies the reader with a significant amount of baseball facts, sifted through the Chicago scandal. He successfully concludes when the reader's nostrils are filled with nostalgia of glove oil and leather, freshly cut grass, and home-baked apple pie. Kathie Mueller
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful poetic fable. Ten stars if you love baseball., April 23, 2004
For those of us who love baseball, who love the history of baseball, this book explains ourselves to ourselves. You will have complete and total empathy with the majority of the characters populating this tale.
If you don't "get" baseball, this book may provide some insight.
Mr. Kinsella has written a highly original story, written so well some passages seem to sing, that addresses such human conditions as parental loss, unreserved trust, unquestioning love.
And baseball.
The line between reality and fiction is playfully drawn. The author and the protagonist have the same last name. J.D. Salinger and Shoeless Joe are real people.
The action such that it is centers around a magical ballfield created in the midst of a small Iowa farm.
The book is filled with so many wonderful moments that listing them would be insulting to the book.
If you're familiar with the film, "Field of Dreams", then you know the story...but the book is so much fuller. Richer. They actually complement each other well.
This is a perfect book to read during this time of year...
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