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Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
Ebook561 pages11 hours

Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this ebook

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.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherScribner
Release dateDec 2, 2004
ISBN9780743272445
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. 

Read more from Stewart O'nan

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Reviews for Faithful

Rating: 3.4285714285714284 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

7 ratings7 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ah, 2004, a time when the Devil Rays were the Devil Rays, and when the current generation, my generation had just had one of it's most crushing blows ever (Sure, I was alive in '86 when that happened, but also, I was not really watching TV at that point, or, ya know, putting together terribly complicated sentences yet).At the beginning of the season two writers, Stewart O'Nan, and Stephen King, started diaries, planning to make them into a book. They didn't know that '04 would be the year the Red Sox finally won their first World Series since 1918 (Spoiler Alert....) And so the book is the same ride that most of us Red Sox fans rode that seasons. The ups, the downs, the really downs, and then the emotion when Foulke underhanded the ball to first Baseman Doug M. (the authors may have been able to spell First Baseman Doug M's last name, but I still can't).Within the book O'Nan is more the play by play guy, while King is the color commentator. Still, I went through the emotions myself that year, so I didn't really need King's interpretation, but, O'Nan had some interesting insights. (Plus, O'Nan totally referenced Star Trek, kudos).Unfortunately a lot of the book is a bit dry, so, if you didn't live through the '04 Red Sox season, or are a die hard (really really die hard) baseball fan, it may seem stilted. I think the reason why the book worked for me and so many Red Sox fans was because, as I've said up above, we lived through it too. The book was just confirmation and a reassurance that we're not the only crazies who still get emotional when we see or hear the final out of the '04 ALCS and '04 World Series.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Although 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: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Flashbacks aplenty. Not surprising, it read faster during winning streaks & the playoffs. An entertaining trip down memory lane.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    First off, awesome cover!!! F U A-Rod! Secondly, this is really a book for Red Sox fans, which I am not. I am a major Stephen King fan, but that didn't matter for this, except we get to see the early germination of the idea for "A Face In The Crowd". The first 320+ pages are tedious, and could only appeal to a Sox fanatic. It's almost a game by game break down of the friggin season! When it finally gets to the playoffs, I felt like it picked up. Both authors trash manager Terry Francona throughout, which is funny, considering the outcome. My favorite part is O'Nan's last entry. His team has won the whole thing, and like a true fan, his eye turns to next year. I can totally relate! As Ole Case used to say,"You could look it up."
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Did 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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Only read this one if you're a Sox fan. Yankee fans won't find it anywhere near as fun.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Written 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!

Book preview

Faithful - Stewart O'Nan

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