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Average Customer Rating:

Baseball Heaven

Customer Rating:

Written by fans, written for fans. That is FAITHFUL in its very essence. And you don't even need to be a Sox fan. What you do need, though, is a rabid love for the game of Baseball. On paper, this book looks to impress. You got two wonderful writers, Stewart O' Nan and Stephen King, both with impressive resumes (O' Nan's not as popular as King, obviously, but he wasn't voted one of the top 20 among young writers in the States for nothing) and a substantial amount of published works between the two of them, they could almost sell this book on pure reputation. But this book is much more than that. It has tons of character, emotion and honesty, which is exactly what a baseball book, any baseball book, should have. Baseball is a passionate game and this book does a good job of that, not because of the duo's skill, mind you, but because of their passion and their brutally honest love for the game of Baseball and, of course, the Red Sox. That's not to say the writing's bad by any means. The writing is what you would expect from the duo. And they have kept the writing fresh and interesting throughout which I find impressive; not often do you see the game of Baseball being portrayed in such vibrancy over so long an account. And not often do you get a full recap of a FULL baseball season done so well, and you're getting all 400+ pages of it. But I believe it's more because of the passion in their veins and not technical skill. So, you're asking, why should I bother? I'm not a Red Sox fan! Well, I dare say this book transcends even that, I dare say that no matter what fan base you belong to, you will come away from the book with a smile on your face, because, although this book is biased towards the Sox, any fan can appreciate the level of content this account of Baseball has. It was a histrorical win after all and the Sox winning the World Series after 80 plus years has got to appeal to us baseball fans because baseball is a historical sport by nature. So I believe, to baseball fans, this book will be an addiction, a celebration of the game of Baseball. It will touch the universal heart of the Baseball fan. So, Baseball fans, get this book will you? I guarantee you will soon be in Baseball heaven.

A Fan's Chronicle

Customer Rating:

We already know the ending, so the fun in reading "Faithful" is all about squirming along with the authors as they bare their frustrations and insecurities about the BoSox in a series of diary entries and e-mail exchanges. It's a fun read, although O'Nan quite often gets bogged down in the play-by-play details of games instead of the stories surrounding the games. And, after he snagged his 20th baseball of the season, I stopped counting and started wondering where O'Nan has room for the dozens of outfield flies and foul balls that he catches during the course of the season? Although O'Nan and King aren't reporters, I can't stop thinking about why their publisher didn't hook them up with player interviews or behind-the-scenes access. As it is, the book is more about the art of being a fan rather than about the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

The title says it all: take it for what it is

Customer Rating:

Anyone who thinks that this book should be entertaining to anyone but a Red Sox fan needs to re-read the title. This book was never advertised as anything more than two fanatics game by game reactions to and experiences with each Red Sox game of the 2004 season. For a Red Sox fan, it was a great read, especially knowing how the whole thing ends. For anyone else other than those who are just true sports fans, I can clearly see how it would be a huge bore just as a book entitled "Astrophysics: Two Diehard Scientists Chronicle the History of the Science" would bore the hell out of me. Frankly, I enjoyed the season itself and then enjoyed reliving it through the eyes of O'Nan and Uncle Stephie. It's a shame that more authors haven't picked up on this notion for other sports teams looking at promising seasons.

Look elsewhere

Customer Rating:

I just finished reading this book. My brother wanted to read it afterwards, but I told him not to waste his time. We are both huge Red Sox fans and even as such, I could barely stand the book. From the get-go it is obvious this book is O'Nan's baby and King is just adding his thoughts from time to time (about 30%) so that his name will be on the cover and they will sell more copies. Neither of the fans are "diehard" as they claim to be, missing many games and rehashing what was said on Sportscenter. O'Nan acts like a child and is hard to read - not to mention his other "favorite" team is the Pirates. We don't care. The emails sent between one-another did not sound anything like emails real people would send - they were quite clearly written just for the sake of writing something to take up space. In addition, the authors alleged inability to sleep after a meaningless Red Sox loss or nightmares about the team seemed a bit fake. I only finished it because I had started it but I picked it up each day with a bit of dread. I will never read anything with O'Nan's name on it, and I'm glad I didn't pay a cent for this book.

Great Timing but Not Great Writing

Customer Rating:

"Faithful" is a season-long diary by noted author Steven King and less well-known novelist Stewart O'Nan, both lifelong Boston Red Sox fans. Their editor's choice of season is fortunate--2004, when the Sox won their first World Series championship in 86 years. Both authors include diary entries, which are passioniate and generally entertaining. As a baseball fan, I also appreciated the stories (particularly O'Nan's) about getting to the ballpark and watching the games in person. The book also features some e-mail or instant message traffic between the two--though this is both less revealing and entertaining--mostly dumb. There's no drama as to how the "story" will come out, but there is some uncertainty as to how the authors' mental health will be both when the Yankees take a 3-games-to-none lead in the American League Championship Series and when the Red Sox complete an unprecedented four game comeback to reach the World Series. I'm sure Red Sox "faithful" will love this book; baseball fans like myself will like it; and non-baseball fans will and should read something else.