Screwball

by David Ferrell

Book Overview

Could the curse of the Bambino be over? For too many miserable seasons, the Boston Red Sox have endured nothing but defeatand heartbreak.Finally, there is hope in the sensational Ron Kane, a strapping... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060087412
• ISBN13: 9780060087418
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The writing shines!

A solid debut for former reporter David Ferrell, who recently left the L.A. Times to pursue a career as a novelist full-time. When his next novel comes out it'll definitely be on my "must read" list. In Screwbell, Mr. Ferrell uses a flowing writing style and a formidable knowledge of baseball to take a dark, humorous, insightful look at what the sport has become. The zany baseball world brought to life by Ferrell's prose begins with rookie phenon Ron Kane, whose blazing fastball has given the sad sack Boston Red Sox a chance to win a World Series. "Kane emerged from the showers, his red hair hanging in wet arcs on his forehead. His freckled torso rose up from gray boxer shorts like a genie from a lamp, a V-shaped fuselage of sinew and steel, lean but hard." Ferrell uses Kane's twisted off-field activities to construct a world where every ball player has a laughable quirk and the Red Sox management will go to any lengths to achieve a World Series championship. The writing shines. David Witty Taiwan

Kane Rose Up!

In attempting to write the Great American baseball novel, David Ferrell starts out with two strikes against him.For one thing, he's a journalist - worse yet, a sports journalist. That means that he talks more and knows less about the world - especially the world of sports - than anyone else.As if that weren't bad enough, he writes for the Los Angeles Times, the worst newspaper in the country. Actually, it's tied with about 1500 other newspapers for that honor.And there are holes in this story. Some of them are fairly minor. I've only been a baseball fan for about 35 years or so, but I was under the impression that if first base is empty and a batter is hit by a pitch, the ball is dead and the runner on second base doesn't go to third. David Ferrell sees other things that I haven't seen in my 35 years of following the game. He sees a professional sport dominated by career criminals and anti-social elements. He might be confusing baseball with boxing. Baseball does have its share of ne'er-do-wells, and if self-centeredness was a capital crime, the feds would have used the Organized Crime and Racketeering Act to shut down the game long ago. But it's hardly populated by prison inmates.To be honest, his book is at least partially meant as a satire, and it may be that Ferrell meant to satirize the occasional baseball felon by creating a world filled with them. Ferrell himself may not be sure whether he meant to write a serious work or a dark comedy. The team in this novel, the Boston Red Sox, of course, is genuine baseball team, and the Sox's opponents are genuine baseball teams. The names of players on the Sox and their opponents are a mixture of fact and fiction.But I doubt that we're supposed to take seriously a parent corporation known as "Amalgamated Ball Cocks, the world's largest producer of toilet valves, floats and rubberized accessories". The premise in this book is simple: Despite several very close calls, the Boston Red Sox have not won a World Series in the memory of any living person and are widely regarded as a team cursed by destiny with the inability to ever win one. Giants fans can relate to this frustration very well, but then again so can Cubs fans, White Sox fans, Indians fans, etc.In the book, the Red Sox have put together a team that, in spite of a complete absence of chemistry (the 1919 White Sox were a fraternal brotherhood, by comparison), has the chance to win the gold ring and end that curse - but a rash of serial murders connected with the team threatens to blow away their championship dreams.This story is largely about a corrupt front office that seeks to obstruct and even mislead justice in order to win a baseball championship, but I found the notion interesting as a personal challenge, rather than as an attack on corporate malfeasance. The book made me look into my soul to find out how far I would go to bring the Giants a world championship if such a thing were possible on planet Earth and if I had such power. I was star

All Star New Author

David Ferrell hits a home run with Screwball. It is a fast paced 'tour de farce' in the Carl Hiassen genre. We follow the Boston Red Sox through an improbable season and watch as their management struggle to balance winning with murder and deception. Screwball also provides insight into the insanity of the demands of today's players and their agents. It is a laugh-out-loud gem, and perfect summer read. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to future efforts from this author.

Wow

Wow. I'm not even a baseball fan, but I was glued to this book. Very entertaining and unpredictable. The book came recommended to me and I thought "how can a book about baseball and murder be funny?" Well, Ferrell pulls it off. You'll laugh, be shocked, and feel like you're right there with the team. Ferrell raises moral questions such as how far we'll go when we want something bad enough. I found myself sympathizing with the team managers who have a very bad situation on their hands, but maybe not the best judgment. Good entertainment.

Feeding Frenzy

The novel "Screwball" scores big points with me. The bases are loaded with coddled spoiled-sports whose sense of right and wrong is fuzzy as a Little Leaguer's shaved head. The writer's premise sets new standards for superhero badness: the Red Sox are winning...and just might keep winning, lifting the curse of the Bambino...if they can just downplay the fact that their phenom rookie pitcher Ron Kane also happens to be a serial killer. Think of the misbehaving high-profile athletes these days, and you'll find "Screwball" right on the mark. The characters are memorable, the dialogue zippy, and descriptions out of this world original and funny!!!! It's theater of the absurd in the tradition of Moliere. This book will warm-up family chats at the dinner table--the ethical & moral questions the writer raises make for excellent gnawing. Leave a copy around for your teenage kids?the book cover will lure them in for a closer look. I absolutely loved it?-a home run!