Sometime during my blogging break I finished reading “The Legend of Mickey Tussler” by Frank Nappi.
The following is Publishers Weekly’s review of the book. It gave the best overall detail of the inner workings of the plot:
From Publishers Weekly
Nappi has produced a knowledgeable yet unsentimental book starring an autistic teenager with a fearsome fastball. Milwaukee Brewer’s manager Arthur Murphy recruits 17-year-old farm boy Mickey Tussler as a pitcher for his team. And though Mickey’s slowness enrages his impossibly cruel father (who abuses his wife and derides Mickey as a “retard”), the boy’s dad is happy to collect his son’s pro baseball salary. In short order, Mickey achieves local stardom despite his mental disability and his teammates’ clubhouse pranks. Lefty Rogers, the Brewers’ southpaw ace, resents Mickey’s triumphs on the mound and plots to sabotage his rival’s budding career. At the same time, Murphy romances Mickey’s much-abused mother and leads his resurging team in a hot pennant race. The writing is clear and direct, and there’s no confusing who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy. The baseball elements really sing; baseball fans will find much to appreciate, while the sports treatment of triumphing over adversity adds crossover appeal to the YA market.
When I first saw this book at Amazon.Com, it was months ahead of the release. But the description (not the one above, and I can’t find it now) grabbed my interest. To see a new book of baseball fiction come out, based in the late 40’s, really surprised me. And I had a feeling that this one was going to be really good. I wasn’t totally wrong.
Frank Nappi
The review hits it well. The writing is very clear and direct. But Nappi can write poetically, too. It was a very good combination that could appeal to a very large audience. And though the book is based on a person that plays professional baseball, given the nature of it’s main character, it too could open it to many other readers. Again, the review tells it well, the baseball elements are great. Nappi thought it out very well. But the broadness of the story and characters would appeal to those that aren’t looking for or wanting a book of baseball fiction.
One thing that did bother me was the very prominent lines between good and bad. Lefty and the manager of the Brewers’ biggest rival that season, and former teammate of Murph’s, McNally could not be mistaken for the good guys. Lefty was a bit gray, but it was still obvious. Murph seemed to be the only character that had more texture. Murph had his quirks and issues, but also was tender. His was the best developed character in the book. But even with this clear cut division, it still made for an entertaining book.
And though the story ends as some might expect, there are still many things at the ending that weren’t the easy way out or the “Hollywood” type of ending. It’s nice to see realism in a great story of triumphing over tragedy.
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