Audiobook16 hours
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
Written by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King
Narrated by Ron McLarty and Adam Grupper
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
“Faithful isn't just about the Red Sox. It's also about family, friendship, and what it truly means to be a baseball fan and to be—well, faithful, come hell or high water” (The Boston Globe).
“Of all the books that will examine the Boston Red Sox's stunning come-from-behind 2004 ALCS win over the Yankees and subsequent World Series victory, none will have this book's warmth, personality, or depth” (Publishers Weekly).
Early in 2004, two writers and Red Sox fans, Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King, decided to chronicle the upcoming season, one of the most hotly anticipated in baseball history. They would sit together at Fenway. They would exchange emails. They would write about the games. And, as it happened, they would witness the greatest comeback ever in sports, and the first Red Sox championship in eighty-six years. What began as a Sox-filled summer like any other is now a fan's notes for the ages.
“Of all the books that will examine the Boston Red Sox's stunning come-from-behind 2004 ALCS win over the Yankees and subsequent World Series victory, none will have this book's warmth, personality, or depth” (Publishers Weekly).
Early in 2004, two writers and Red Sox fans, Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King, decided to chronicle the upcoming season, one of the most hotly anticipated in baseball history. They would sit together at Fenway. They would exchange emails. They would write about the games. And, as it happened, they would witness the greatest comeback ever in sports, and the first Red Sox championship in eighty-six years. What began as a Sox-filled summer like any other is now a fan's notes for the ages.
Author
Stewart O'Nan
Stewart O’Nan’s award-winning fiction includes Snow Angels, A Prayer for the Dying, Last Night at the Lobster, and Emily, Alone. His novel The Odds was hailed by The Boston Globe as “a gorgeous fable, a stunning meditation and a hope-filled Valentine.” Granta named him one of America’s Best Young Novelists. He was born and raised and lives in Pittsburgh.
More audiobooks from Stewart O'nan
The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emily, Alone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odds: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Faithful
Rating: 3.6666666666666665 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
12 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I’m not a baseball fan but am very close to reading all of Stephen King’s books and this is one of the last ones on my list. While it can drag a little bit once it found its groove I found it very engaging and found myself staying up to hear how it all came out. Do yourself a favor and don’t look at how the season turned out ahead of time, experience it first hand like they did. The book greatly benefits from having two different narrators. O’Nan is great at providing a more technical recounting of the season and King provides a more emotional viewpoint. I liked this a whole lot more than I expected.
Dreamcatcher here we go! - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Written in diary style, Faithful is Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King's view of the 2004 Boston Red Sox season. O'Nan contributes the most to the book, especially at the beginning of the season, while Stephen King writes more about the middle and second half of the season. Their styles are quite different - O'Nan, who became a Red Sox fan as an adult, is more analytical about the game, yet at time is almost childlike in his attempts to catch balls at batting practice or get players autographs. King, a lifelong Red Sox fan, has experienced all the joy and heartbreak of being a member of Red Sox nation and it comes through in his writing. Some of his writing is memorable, especially the part where he throws out the first pitch, which had me laughing, and when he takes his mother-in-law to a playoff game, which brought tears to my eyes. As both a Red Sox and Stephen King fan, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fun reliving certain games (including a few I'd like to forget about!). O'Nan and King not only talk about the games, but their own lives, in such a way that I felt like I was sitting next to them at Fenway Park, rather than reading a book! Red Sox fans will enjoy this book. After all, it has the perfect ending!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Only read this one if you're a Sox fan. Yankee fans won't find it anywhere near as fun.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Although the subject is one about which I feel passionate, this collection of diary entries an email exchanges through one of the greatest seasons of Boston baseball is too varied in its quality to be as satisfying as I wished.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Did you know that I like the Red Sox? I like the Red Sox. Did you know we won the World Series recently? Twice! But the first time was the best. After that first time, I did the following:
- Wept
- Drank several beers
- Several is an approximation
- Jumped out of my cab in the middle of the street to hug a total stranger
- Like three times, seriously
- Bought the entire postseason on DVD so I could watch The Steal again and again
- Wept while watching The Steal again and again
- Read several books by crazy people who are Red Sox fans.
And here's what sucks about this particular book by crazy people (Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King wrote it together): the 2004 ALCS was one of the most terrifying things that've ever happened. (If you don't know why, you don't need to read this review.) It's a crime against posterity that Stephen King - Stephen King! - wrote about this exact series...and didn't do it justice. I'm mystified and deeply saddened, because there's literally no one better in the history of the world to describe that exact series than Stephen King. And he blew it.
Tempted to click the "this review contains spoilers" box. Spoiler: we totally won the World Series. Spoiler 2: I wept.