- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: University of Minnesota Press; 1st University of Minnesota Press Ed edition (27 Jan 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0816640858
- ISBN-13: 978-0816640850
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.1 x 1.4 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,317,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
"In this wise, witty story set in West St. Paul in the '60s, a kid named Harlan navigates life by focusing on the Twins baseball team, a comic metaphor for hope. Sport is fat with small pleasures. It is a homer and a gift to all of us grownup knothole-game kids. There's a lot to love in this quiet little book, most of all its subtle wisdom about establishing individuality and finding joy amid chaos-in short, about growing up. " -Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Short and sweet, though not too sweet, and blessedly free of sentimentality. Mick Cochrane's intuitive, easygoing style finds a perfect balance mediating between the child and adult points of view." -Boston Globe
"With beautifully clean prose, Mick Cochrane has given us a novel evocative of everything from Emerson to Kerouac-nothing could be more American." -Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
"Cochrane writes convincingly about troubled families without descending into the catch phrases of pop psychology. An appealing read." -Buffalo News
Mick Cochrane is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota. His first novel, Flesh Wounds, was named a finalist in Barnes and Noble's Discover Great New Writers Competition. He teaches at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.
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Customer Reviews
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4 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Strength from the Heart
21 Mar 2001
Format:Hardcover
In the character Sport, Mick Cochrane gives us a boy who not only endures but learns to celebrate his endurance. While others might fret over misfortune and dysfunction, Harlan Hawkins, Jr., aka Sport, accepts the hand that life has dealt him -- an abusive, obese brother; a tough, bitter but scattershot mother suffering from MS; a brilliant, abusive drunken attorney father; a broken home impoverished by his father's refusal to pay support; and a kind teacher who sees his potential. No matter what befalls him, Sport moves ahead with his life. He is most alive when thinking about baseball or likening events in his life to baseball. In that sense he is like all children, learning to make sense of the world as he grows into it. In this age of the abuse excuse and the twisted psychopathy that passes for characterization, it's nice to encounter a normal character who, like most of us, deals with life as effectively as possible because there is no alternative. By loving his family despite their painfully apparent weaknesses, Sport proves himself the strongest of them all. Quiet strength is the stuff of which true heroes are made. Bravo!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Funny and poignant
13 Jan 2001
Format:Hardcover
As good as Cochrane's first book was, Sport is even better. Like Frank McCourt, he adds a unique blend of humour to a tragic life. You instantly feel for the well-developed characters he creates and want to know more about their lives. It is definately a must read.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
No Joy in Mudville
3 Jan 2002
Format:Hardcover
In the premier story in "Hearts in Atlantis," Stephen King has a wise old character say that some books have a great story and some books have great writing: "read sometimes for the story, Bobby. Don't be like the book-snobs who won't do that. Read sometimes for the words - the language. Don't be like the play-it-safers that won't do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book."
Mick Cochrane's book, Sport, does not knock it out of the park. It has good writing and a story that I wanted to like. The writing was taut and initially moved right along, but ended up "all dressed up with no place to go." This is not really a book about St. Paul - but rather St. Paul is a backdrop for this mostly tragic with only a glimmer of comic story. The older brother reminds me of the older brother on the television series "The Wonder Years." Other than St. Paul street names, the major local tie-in is the Minnesota Twins, which, in a bizarre quirk of fate subsequent to the publication of this bleak novel, are probably doomed as well (if Bud Seilig has his way and his "contraction" is allowed to erase the Twins from existence.)
Mr. Walker, the most "adult" member of this cast, proposes a toast to "Joy in Mudville" with his empty Coke can in hand. That's as good as this book gets. Better bet: "Until They Bring the Streetcars Back" by Stanley Gordon West.
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