Columbus Slaughters Braves
From SoSH
Author: Mark Friedman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Date: 2001
Summary: This novel's narrator, Joe Columbus, tells the story of his brother C.J.'s meteoric rise as a baseball superstar. While C.J.'s career takes off for the Chicago Cubs, Joe is unhappy, dissatisfied with the way his own life has turned out. He resents C.J.'s success and struggles to relate to his family. When C.J. is injured, Joe struggles with feelings of guilt as well as relief, and the story involves him struggling to accept who he is.
Joe presents a rather unlikeable character, with his failed marriage, boredom with his job, and envy of his brother. Because of that, I had a hard time accepting good things about him, even as he came to terms with himself. The plot was slow-moving and the themes of the book (longing and regret) were a little dark for me. If you liked The Natural (novel), maybe you'd like this one too, but it's not as well-written or as good a baseball story.
