Resurrected Reviews No. 2

Ya Gotta Believe, by Tug McGraw and Don Yaeger

This is the second installment of Resurrected Reviews, where I dig up and revive a pre-TBR book review. This is a memoir of one of my favorite ballplayers while growing up. I  finished the book on Feb. 1, 2017.

One of the bad things about reading a memoir by one of your childhood heroes is finding out what an asshole he was. 

McGraw rushing off the
field after winning the
1973 National League
championship.

McGraw was the guy I copied when I pitched during softball games. He slapped his glove on his thigh, a move the 16-year-old me thought was so cool, so I did it as well.

He lead the New York Mets to the 1973 World Series with his extraordinarily great play, optimism, and exuberance.  He coined the phrase, "Ya Gotta Believe," which he had the whole city screaming out, and which has lived on.

But in this book, he describes how he used women, rejected one of his sons, and basically did as he pleased throughout life, regardless of the consequences to others. 

His only redeeming personal quality was that he told it all in this book, written as he was dying of brain cancer. 

It's a decent, if sad and disheartening, read.

Resurrected reviews

Spill Simmer Falter Wither, by Sara Baume

The TBR Stack is premiering a new feature, where I dig up and revive a pre-TBR book review. For the opening post, I selected my review of one of the best-written books I have read, which I  finished on April 9, 2016.

I read this short book slowly. I wanted to savor its every word. It is beautifully written, with splendid  rhythms and word selection. It enhances the story like a blue-ink fountain pen complements cream-colored note paper.

But the plot itself? Meh.

It's a tales about a man and his dog, neither of whom is very likable. The man, unloved or scorned in his small Irish town because he's a fearful hermit, adopts a dog to keep him company after his father dies.

The dog can be vicious -- attacking smaller dogs and snapping at children -- so the pair take off and travel around Ireland to avoid the consequences. The story tells of their life on the road, struggling to survive and living out of his car for weeks on end.

Its title is a hint to the structure of the story, which revolves around the seasons of the year. It starts in the spring, a time of regrowth, and ends in the winter, when life tends to shut down.

The ending here, though, adds much to the story, and puts the human character in perspective.

The dog, not so much.