The reviews are in on Jane Heller's newest book, "Confessions of a She-Fan", and the reviews are excellent. Fans of the Greatest Team on Earth, as well as fans from teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals are all equally giving it five stars across the boards. Include this blogger in that group as well.
As well as the author of this post.
I for one trekked through a blizzard to buy the damn thing, and let me say that as I sat in my car buried in snow off of Rte.1 in Camden, Maine, the first few chapters grabbed me and engulfed me so quickly that I didn't even notice when the Wrecker had finally arrived to tow my wayward ass out of the ditch. Within ten hours I had finished the book and I am halfway through reading it again.
The story begins with Heller's fandom being put to the test early in the injury-riddled 2007 campaign, as she, fed up like most Yankees fans that year, fires off divorce papers to the Yankees in quite original and most grand fashion: she emails her scathing letter to Harvey Araton of the New York Times, and he forwards it to editor Tom Jolly, who prints it in the following Sunday edition.
The editorial is seen and read by many and talked about and dissected by even more. Some fans, the same no-talent ass-clowns that 'booo' Mariano Rivera for a blown save, turn on Heller and question her commitment and passion for the Bronx Bombers, the same 25 pinstriped-men who Heller professes love for unequivocally.
The She-Fan, a best-selling author of 13 novels, then calls her people and in a genius way, devises a plan to follow the team for the final few months of the season, and she writes about her experiences from coast to coast and internationally (okay, well... Canada). She promises her agent and publisher that she will get inside access to a player from the team, and she interviews many of the Yankees beat writers, such as Pete Abe and Kat O'Brien among others. Her patient, Yankee fan husband accompanies her on the trip as well.
Heller provides the reader a bleacher seat next to her at the many ballparks she attends with her detailed and descriptive writing. Her fear of puddle-jumper propeller planes is cute, and her husband Michael's stadium food anecdotes are hysterical. Her description of a chance encounter with Alex Rodriguez at a Toronto restaurant are genuine and laugh out loud funny.
She weaves the reader inside the world of the New York Yankees, who it appears aren't always the easiest to deal with, from the security guards on up to Media Relations guy, Jason Zillo and other Bronx Bomber Big Wigs. It takes the hand of a top MLB official to get She-Fan a crack at interviewing a Yankee for her book, one she already has shared a 'Magical Miller Lite' with earlier in the season.
David Fisher, the coauthor of the NYT bestseller "It's Only A Game" summed it up best with his review of "Confessions of a She-Fan": "its a love story about baseball and a baseball story about love."
Buy It!
Be careful, Shamus. After having dinner with her last week, Alphonso has been walking the sidewalks of New York, feeding pigeons and aimlessly asking strangers if he would look better with cheese in his beard.
ReplyDeleteI ain't scared of 'Phonso!
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with this home run is that it came in February. Where was she last fall, when we needed it?
ReplyDeleteI hate to have to think of her as the Dave Winfield of Yankee authors.
Shamus, your review was brilliant and I'm very appreciative. Dinner tomorrow night?
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing cute about being afraid of puddle-jumpers. I'm scared shitless by them and I'm not cute at all!
ReplyDeleteI always sing "Free Bird" as I get on board... to relax the crew.
ReplyDeleteThen, an Otis Redding medley.
More importantly, She-Fan figured out how to spell Doug
ReplyDeleteMankevicz's (????) name, which I can't do staring at the printed Yankee roster from 2007.