Kinsella even if he never publishes another word because he is responsible for one of my favorite books of all time, Shoeless Joe. “Anyone who has read Kinsella (has) been touched on the shoulder by his quirky sense of reality.” “We are reading a writer here, a real writer, muses be praised. “A retrospective collection of 31 short stories that Kinsella remains one of the game’s best storytellers.”

“He creates a world of rural dusty streets, diners withĬoffee so strong the pages smell of it and vivid characters who haunt your mindīetween stories. Lansdale, author of Mucho Mojo and Cold in July Kinsella is a storyteller of the first order.” “Mystery and homegrown magic realism at its best and most satisfying. Those who know Kinsella's work only from his baseball stories are going to get There are likely to be surprises for everyone in The Essential W.P. 'sometimes you have to laugh so you don't cry' variety, than Unexpected humor of life on the reservation - humor that is often more of the Time in the low minors with players who are unlikely ever even to sniff life in Such as Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson, but the tales spend just as much

“The baseball stories may magically touch on tragic figures Once very popular Kinsella, now 79, and one hopes it attracts new readers as “This book’s publication should bring readers back to the Kirkus Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Read for March Himself, can become a bit repetitive when the collection is read straight through,Įach of these works, whether fantastic or realistic, is individually a small Though his first-person narrators, mostly men much like Use baseball to escape from their unhappy lives. “K Mart” is the touching tale of three boys who

“The Grecian Urn” concerns a couple who can inhabit the interior Stories are several more realistic and mostly gentle satires, such as “Theįog,” that present the escapades of several indefatigable members of Canada’s First Recently dead Yankees star Thurman Munson, and “Searching for January,” whichĬoncerns an encounter with the deceased Roberto Clemente. Tied the Record,” in which a fan agrees to sacrifice himself to bring back the Other charming baseball fantasies include “The Night Manny Mota Joe) is beautifully represented by these 31 short stories, including, ofĬourse, “Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa,” the haunting tale of a baseballįan’s obsession with a long-dead star that was developed into a bestsellingĭreams. The career of the incomparable Kinsella ( Shoeless

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