Tim Wendel

This is a book about a tumultuous year in US history as seen through the lens of baseball. 1968 is considered “The Year of the Pitcher” and this book recounts the many pitching accomplishments. The next year, the height of the mound was changed – a decision the author questions. It includes historical events such as war protests, civil unrest, and the assassination of two prominent leaders.

I enjoyed reading anecdotes about skilled baseball players of the era, such as Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, Willie Horton, Mickey Lolich, and Denny McLain. The World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals is described in just the right amount of detail. The baseball-focused segments are nicely done.

The rest is, however, a bit of a hodgepodge. Many of the events described in the book take place in seasons other than summer. The football stories, and a few about other sports, seemed “thrown in” and are not integrated into the narrative. I remain unconvinced that football supplanted baseball as the “national sport.” In my opinion, it is a regional preference. Football has been king for a long time in the south, but in the west, baseball remains extremely popular.

There is not much depth. It is more a chronicle than an analysis. As a fan of both baseball and history, I found it interesting but the theme could have been better developed.
… (mer)

"When it comes to Cuba, there are always surprises. Nothing goes as planned."

It's 2016, and Billy Bryan has returned to Cuba. Billy's playing days are far in the past, but his role in a movie has brought him back to the baseball diamonds of the country that is what a friend calls on of Billy's angels--a place where "you've learned something important, met someone special ... the places you can always picture when you close your eyes."

While in Cuba, a talented young shortstop named Gabriel Santos catches Billy's eye with his play on the diamond. When Billy's daughter, Eván, tracks Santos down and learns of his dream to play baseball in the United States, she convinces Billy that helping Santos will be the revenge they'd both like to get against the Cuban powers-that-be they believe are responsible for the death of the woman Billy loved (and Eván's mother) Malena Fonseca.

First, if you haven't read Castro's Curveball, the book for which Escape from Castro's Cuba is the sequel, here's the review of it that I wrote: https://thesisterhoodofbooks.com/2020/04/06/castros-curveball-by-tim-wendel/. If you don't want to click that link, just know that I thought it was a great book, and it was with some trepidation that I started the sequel. I always worry that the second book in any series won't live up to the first.

Thank goodness my fears were unfounded.

Escape from Castro's Cuba is completely engrossing with the great character development and well-done action scenes that I've come to expect from Tim Wendel. As was the case in Castro's Curveball, Cuba and its past are painted with as much depth as any of the people in the book, and Billy Bryan's love for the island is as evident as his sadness over what it has become.

And let's talk about those people in the book. My love for Billy Bryan is documented in my review of Castro's Curveball, and nothing in this new novel changes my feelings for him. I also adore Eván and Cassy, Billy's daughters. Their relationships with Billy--their bossiness and occasional exasperation mixed with obvious love and respect--made me miss my own dad.

Although more baseball scenes would have been nice because Tim Wendel writes baseball action so darn well (and because more baseball is always a good thing), I do appreciate how tight this story is. Wendel doesn't waste words, but he still manages to incorporate all the extra little things I appreciate in a book--things that will take a book from good to great for me: pretty turns of phrase where appropriate, thought-provoking insights, and clear settings that allow me to be stay centered and immersed in a story.

Finally, I don't know how a book becomes a movie, but I think this story would make a terrific one. Lots of action and atmosphere, wonderful characters, and beautiful settings ... I'd definitely go see this one on the big screen. Could someone make that happen, please?

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me a copy of the e-book in exchange for my honest review.… (mer)

"It's not the people who've never fallen or lost that are worthy of our admiration. It's what you do after you fall that's the surest test of a hero."

Playing winter baseball in Cuba is the only path left to the major leagues for Billy Bryan in 1947, and the deep-thinking catcher knows that he doesn't have many chances left to stand out to the people who decide who makes it and who doesn't. Cuba is at a similar crossroads as young revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro are working to usurp the country's government and instill a new way of life for its people.

Billy and Fidel's lives intersect on the baseball diamond one night as Castro leads a group of radicals onto the playing field during a game, and Billy offers young Fidel a chance to throw a few pitches. That interaction sets Billy off in an unexpected direction, and he finds himself in the middle of a revolution and falling in love with Malena Fonseca, the photographer tasked with documenting it.

Malena's photographs are why, more than 40 years after leaving Cuba, Billy finds himself on a plane headed back there with his adult daughter and a host of memories of baseball, Castro, Cuba, and the woman Billy left behind.

CASTRO'S CURVEBALL by Tim Wendel combines sports, history, and personal relationships in a wonderful amalgam with a terrific plot and characters that make you care deeply about them. The story alternates between modern day(ish) and Billy's final days in Cuba in the 40s.

Just to be clear--I love Billy Bryan, and not just because "aging catcher" is my favorite baseball character in both literature and film. Billy has more depth than the typical sports protagonist, and his story is set in a fascinating time. I haven't studied nor read much about Cuba in the late 40s, but after reading CASTRO'S CURVEBALL, I'm going to have to remedy that.

But since I do love baseball so much (baseball was the first game I learned to play in depth), let's talk about the baseball scenes for a minute. Those sections are incredibly well written, and I could almost feel the grit from the infield and hear the crack of a bat every time the book's action took me to the ballpark. But, when reading a book that revolves around a sport, I'm often sad when the plot takes me anywhere other than the field, but that wasn't the case with CASTRO'S CURVEBALL. I was thrilled to find that the action outside of the diamond was just as engrossing as the games in which Billy played.

CASTRO'S CURVEBALL is a great book of historical fiction, it's a fantastic sports book, and the relationships between the covers are just as intriguing as the play between the foul lines. I regret that my dad isn't alive so that I can share the book with him and get his take on it--I'd love to talk about this novel with someone else who is a fan of baseball, history, and politics. Also, I hear that there's a sequel of the book coming out soon, and I'm excited to read that one, too. Kudos to Tim Wendel to characters and a story that will stay with me for a while.

https://thesisterhoodofbooks.com/… (mer)