Robert Coover, who wrote one of the most famous pieces of baseball fiction, passed away October 5 at the age of 92. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times.
Of course, Coover many well-received novels over his lengthy career but the one that resonates most for readers of this blog would have to be The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. For decades, it has been at the tops of the baseball fiction list, along with The Natural and The Celebrant.
Although TUBAI was originally published in 1968, you can find some surprisingly recent coverage, such as this from a 2017 edition of The Paris Review and even this from a Times Book Review supplement from 2011. Here’s the Times‘ original review by Wilfred Sheed in July of that year. This one is from Kirkus, a publishing industry magazine.
It’s basically the story of a lonely “loser” who becomes obsessed with a fantasy league he’s “created,” to such a degree that it becomes an overwhelming obsession that completely takes over his life. Maybe it was because of when the book came out, but I didn’t find it a great big deal. I compare it to old movies vs. current films. “Back in the day,” there was little actual blood shown. Nowadays, it’s a gore-fest with lots of explosions and other forms of violence. And don’t get me started on the vast difference in how sex is depicted in the cinema. What one generation found amazing and exciting is eye-rolled by another.
is available on Amazon.com,
Comments on this entry are closed.