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jaclyncrupi's review against another edition
4.0
I avoided this book for a few reasons namely that the cover looked exactly like The Art of Fielding and I thought it would be a poor imitation of that excellent book and I'm an Australian with zero interest in or knowledge of American football (the exception being Friday Night Lights which, of course, is not about football at all). But when it was longlisted for the National Book Award I thought I'd give it a try. So glad I did or I would have missed out on this tender and joyful delight. This is not a book about football or about reenactment. It's about ritual and tradition. These 22 men meet each year to reenact a NFL play that leaves the quarterback with a badly broken leg. They take this reenactment seriously and Bachelder clearly loves each of these men and so did I. The scene where three of the men meet at the usual spot where they smoke, each too embarrassed to tell the others he's actually quit smoking was tender and perfect. As was the moment after breakfast where they stayed in each other's company oblivious to the fact that they were having the time of their lives. Bachelder is a witty observer and I clearly need to go and read everything he's ever written. Also, the tailback is named Riggins!
'It could be said of Steven, as it could be said of each man, that he was the plant manager of a sophisticated psychological refinery, capable of converting vast quantities of crude ridicule into tiny, glittering nuggets of sentiment. And vice versa, as necessary.'
'It could be said of Steven, as it could be said of each man, that he was the plant manager of a sophisticated psychological refinery, capable of converting vast quantities of crude ridicule into tiny, glittering nuggets of sentiment. And vice versa, as necessary.'
nooneyouknow's review against another edition
4.0
Shy of 4 stars, but rounding up. This one felt pretty meh all the way until the end when I had the opportunity to step back from the barely-there action and the 22 (mostly) white, middle-aged male characters whose names I couldn't even begin to recall and think about what I had just read.
In the end, I thought this was a surprisingly tender book about male friendships, aging, change and renewal. It feels almost like Bachelder has painted a somewhat strange guys' weekend with quick, broad strokes, touching on one character and his thoughts for a paragraph or a few pages before moving on to the next character, forcing you step back to see the whole picture. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Recommended.
In the end, I thought this was a surprisingly tender book about male friendships, aging, change and renewal. It feels almost like Bachelder has painted a somewhat strange guys' weekend with quick, broad strokes, touching on one character and his thoughts for a paragraph or a few pages before moving on to the next character, forcing you step back to see the whole picture. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Recommended.
caillie's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jfaberrit's review against another edition
5.0
This is a really clever book, which is not really at all about football, except as a setting, even though it gets the football details just about exactly right (try The Natural for a sports book that may understand people but utterly fails to understand it's own chosen sport). If this makes sense, Bachelder has written a book about modern masculinity, using the psychological language one would typically think you would find in a novel aimed at women, using this book as a mirror not of "chick lit" or even women writing about women, but rather as a reflection as to how men write about women and, to a lesser degree, how women write about men. We do get long discussions about feelings and motivations, but it is pretty important to remember that the novel is comfortable with these guys having their interior thoughts laid bare -- to an outside observer in their world, these feelings would be hidden. As a set of character studies and vignettes, I think it really rang true in parts, and was stilted where it should be to bring some ideas into higher relief. Time, age, insecurity, ambition: they are all in there, tossed and turned and presented in their multifaceted ways.
My favorite quote is already highlighted in a Goodreads review, but worth mentioning again: "'It could be said of Steven, as it could be said of each man, that he was the plant manager of a sophisticated psychological refinery, capable of converting vast quantities of crude ridicule into tiny, glittering nuggets of sentiment. And vice versa, as necessary."
My favorite quote is already highlighted in a Goodreads review, but worth mentioning again: "'It could be said of Steven, as it could be said of each man, that he was the plant manager of a sophisticated psychological refinery, capable of converting vast quantities of crude ridicule into tiny, glittering nuggets of sentiment. And vice versa, as necessary."
chapita4's review against another edition
2.0
Not a fan of this book...I just kept wondering if men are really as neurotic as this books make them out to be.
ttodd86's review against another edition
4.0
As a man in his 40s -- the age of the characters -- much of this book is spot-on as far as the concerns, fears, observations, quirks and obsessions of men that age. Maybe a bit light on plot for those who are not in that demographic.
fourstringspark's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book reads like a joint effort between Nicholson Baker and Don Delillo. So much detail. So much mundane minutiae. Although I’m weird like that too (and that’s why I like both of those authors), it’s a bit much sometimes in “The Throwback Special.” This book is about guys being guys, reuniting for an odd annual football ritual, but you could write a similar story about an annual girls weekend at Vegas or something like that. It’s about people with their pedestrian peculiarities, their secret insecurities, their personal troubles, and what happens when these friends – who deep down really don’t know each other that well – get together socially. This book occasionally tries too hard, but overall I found it an entertaining and recommended read.
hahildebrand's review
5.0
Men gather to re-enact a famous 5 second NFL play that results in a horrific injury. Sad and funny and real and quite moving. A quiet triumph.