Tartabull's Throw

Though this story is magical (as any story about a left-handed second baseman must be), it's also realist in ways that baseball novels rarely achieve without getting bogged down in historical minutiae. Garfield's 1967 is 1967, and at the same time it subtly isn't; his fine manipulations of chronology and causality keep the reader off-balance in consistently fascinating ways. Tartabull's Throw is the best recent baseball novel I've read, for any age group. High-schoolers will love it; but junior-high and younger should stick with Bruce Brooks or John H. Ritter for a while longer. Adult readers will really appreciate this novel; it may get them howling for more.

KUDOS! I'm a fan! That is to say, a fan of the Red Sox for many years, and now, a fan of author, Henry Garfield. My own dreams with alternatives to my reality have sometimes haunted me beyond sleep. They are my "should have..., would have..., could have..." dreams. Henry Garfield has put that type of dream into the very words of his novel. Fact and fiction are awesomely merged by this author to create a page-turner of good entertainment. By the way, I'm a "teenager" with 40+ years of experience!

Can the outcome of a throw to home plate on a hot August day in 1967, by a Boston Red Sox outfielder of minimal talents, affect so many lives?in different ways? That is the premise of a remarkable novel, TARTABULL?S THROW, by Henry Garfield. This ?prequel? to Garfield?s earlier novels, MOONDOG and ROOM 13, skillfully melds the crack of a bat on a baseball, the howl of a werewolf to the full Moon, and the stunning silence of time/dimensional travel into a unique coming-of-age story. Cyrus ?Moondog? Nygerski?s love for the enigmatic Cassandra, for baseball in general, and for the Boston Red Sox in particular make for an unforgettable read.Is the runner safe at home plate? Yes. Is he out? Yes. Is Cyrus, as Garfield says, ?The best left-handed second baseman in Wisconsin,? called up to The Show by the Chicago White Sox? Yes. Is he an error-prone player who can barely hit his weight and is released by the low minor league Beloit Turtles? Yes. But how can all of this be?Believe me, Garfield pulls it off. If you like baseball, suspense, science fiction?or merely just want a rollicking tale?you can't miss TARTABULL?S THROW.

Can the outcome of a throw to home plate on a hot August day in 1967, by a Boston Red Sox outfielder of minimal talents, affect so many lives—in different ways? That is the premise of a remarkable novel, TARTABULL’S THROW, by Henry Garfield. This "prequel" to Garfield’s earlier novels, MOONDOG and ROOM 13, skillfully melds the crack of a bat on a baseball, the howl of a werewolf to the full Moon, and the stunning silence of time/dimensional travel into a unique coming-of-age story. Cyrus "Moondog" Nygerski’s love for the enigmatic Cassandra, for baseball in general, and for the Boston Red Sox in particular make for an unforgettable read.Is the runner safe at home plate? Yes. Is he out? Yes. Is Cyrus, as Garfield says, "The best left-handed second baseman in Wisconsin," called up to The Show by the Chicago White Sox? Yes. Is he an error-prone player who can barely hit his weight and is released by the low minor league Beloit Turtles? Yes. But how can all of this be?Believe me, Garfield pulls it off. If you like baseball, suspense, science fiction—or merely just want a rollicking tale—you cant’ miss TARTABULL’S THROW.