Another Player on the DL: Book Review of Blockade Billy

 

Blockade Billy by Stephen King

Gratitude

Thank you to Bucks County Free Public Library, where I checked out Blockade Billy by Stephen King.

Description

In Blockade Billy, the novella is framed as Stephen King going to visit a retired baseball manager, who tells him the incredible story of Blockade Billy, a player who had a brief yet impressive career, but has been forgotten by the history books.

In general, I find books and stories that need the frame of one character conversing with another or writing in a letter or journal in order to explain the impetus for telling them to be a bit irritating. As with any rule, there are always exceptions. Blockade Billy uses the format of a retired baseball manager, now elderly, telling Stephen King the story of the mysterious baseball player, Blockade Billy, who has since been stricken from the records.

In the story, the retired manager describes how Blockade Billy came to play with the team as a result of several players being injured and leaving them without a catcher. They called up Billy from a farm league and it turned out that he played much better than expected—but he also seemed to bring bad luck, too.

 Commentary

Blockade Billy is a thin little novella that relies a good deal on the voice of the character telling the story. In that way, it is akin to The Colorado Kid, in which two hard boiled newspaper journalists tell a young journalist about a story that happened in their town many years prior. Without the characters telling the story, there wouldn’t be much of a story.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Blockade Billy? Likely not. It’s a bit too precious. Stephen King has some great short works—like the novella If It Bleeds—which are much, much better. Who knew I would become such a connoisseur of King books? I am not sure my sixth grade self would approve.

View all my reviews

Designing Women, 1800s Style: Book Review of What Happens in the Ballroon

 

What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Kensington Books for the review copy of What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries.

Description

What Happens in the Ballroom is a period romance set in England in the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The premise of the book is that, with her sisters Diana and Verity, Eliza runs an event planning business, and one thing they do is arrange debuts for young women. It is for this reason that Nathaniel Stanton, Earl of Foxstead, approaches them to plan a debut for Jocelyn, a young war widow with a young son. But as Nathaniel and Eliza (a war widow herself) become closer, their attraction to each other and, much riskier, their feelings for each other, transcend a passing flirtation.

To complicate matters, Eliza’s late husband ruined her for marriage—between his drinking, gambling, and making all of his shenanigans into her fault, she lost her sense of self. It is only through her business that she has begun to gain it back, and she’s not ready to give it up to another playboy—like Nathaniel.

Nathaniel, also Eliza’s late husband’s good friend, spent his youth partying and has enjoyed the company of many women. Fighting in the war shook him to the core and burned away the need to spend his life seeking only amusement. He knows that he’s a different man now, but that doesn’t mean anyone else knows it yet.

Nathaniel also holds secrets that if they got out Eliza may never trust him again. And Jocelyn and her son’s lives could be damaged, too.

 

Low Misogyny, Some Spice

What Happens in the Ballroom includes characters with enlightened views, including the beliefs that women can have sexual desires and should have a say in things. Also, as the business shared by the sisters, Elegant Occasions, plays a major role in the plot, the book implies that women can and should earn money for themselves, including owning businesses—which would have been unusual for the time.

The book has some spicy scenes, but is not overly graphic—a little graphic, but not as graphic as many other romance novels. The dress and manners play a part in the plot but are more light decoration.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? I would probably not teach What Happens in the Ballroom, as I prefer a bit more surprise to the plot. That does not mean that a romance reader would not enjoy it, as most of the characters are reasonably likable, and it does include some romance. However, in my mythical romance literature or creative writing course, there would be better candidates.

View all my reviews

A Murderous Car? Unbelievable! Book Review of Christine

 

Christine by Stephen King

Shout-Out

Thank you to the Bucks County Free Library for making Christine by Stephen King available at no cost. Yay, libraries!

Description

Arnie is the guy who seems to have a kick me sign on his back. His face is covered in acne, a case so bad that he seems prevented from ever dating in high school--at least according to the narrator, his best friend, Dennis. Then comes Christine, a custom, vintage 1958 Plymouth Fury. When Arnie sees the barely drivable car in the yard of a cantankerous ex-military man, he has to have it. And when he does get Christine, his world and the car magically begin to change. But, Dennis wonders, are these changes for the better?

Dennis feels dread and fear around the car, for which everyone uses the pronoun “she” and adopts the name Christine, as it was called by its original owner. Dennis is not the only one uncomfortable around the car--virtually everyone except Arnie gets bad vibes. Suddenly, though, Arnie’s skin clears up and he’s able to stand up to his tormentors. He even gets a girlfriend. But, as much as Arnie deserves more than his lot, Dennis worries about Christine's influence on his best friend.

The book is split into three sections, the first and third of which are written as the first person point of view of Dennis. The middle section is in third person and follows Arnie closely and seems to be chosen as a device for Dennis to try to imagine what Arnie was going through. The point of telling is close to the events, as Dennis is fresh out of college. Christine is one of King’s earlier books, first published in 1983. It has a youthful and less polished feel than books like Billy Summers and Holly.

Of all the King books I’ve read and accepted the premises, I had a difficult time jumping into this one, as I did not buy into the evil behind Christine, which is not set up in a clear or logical way. Usually King has clear book-logic to his supernatural elements, but this evil car is just not believable.

Digression

As I was reading this book, my father asked me why I liked Stephen King’s books so much. It is difficult to answer this question, as sometimes the writing in his books is quite good and sometimes it is meh. The plots are often predictable and the characters tend to be a type. The older books reflect some of the negative attitudes of the times in which they were written--there is some pretty blatant misogyny in Christine.

So, why then do I read so many of his books? There is some comfort in knowing that there will be a good side, the good side will win, that there will probably be some supernatural elements, and that the story will have some predictable moments--as well as some surprises. There is enough creativity and variation in the plot that it does not matter so much that many of King’s main characters could be layered on top of each other and basically be the same guy (there are rarely female main characters, yet when he does write a female main character, they are typically better written--such as Lisey Landon and Holly Gibney). Some plots are more surprising and satisfying than others. His books are always creative, even those which fall solidly within a genre or follow a predictable path. Read Stephen King and you know you are going to get a story.

The un-overthought answer is: I read Stephen King books because they are fun.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Christine does not illustrate the author’s genius. The idea of an evil car, at least in the way Christine is written, is silly. In a creative writing class, I would not hold it up as a model. In a literature class, such as my dream Stephen King reader class that I am often building in my head, I would pass on it, as Christine is not among my top ten (or maybe even top twenty) King reads.

View all my reviews