⋙ Read You Know Me Al Ring Lardner 9780020223429 Books

You Know Me Al Ring Lardner 9780020223429 Books

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You Know Me Al Ring Lardner 9780020223429 Books

This review refers to the 99¢ Kindle edition. The entire text appears to be there, but there are what seem to have been titles for illustrations sitting around loose, with the illustrations themselves missing. Never mind that, however, what about the book?

There is some clever observation here about human nature that transcends the baseball framework. Jack Keefe, who tells us his story through letters to his friend Al, is an aspiring pitcher starting out in the majors. He would probably be much the same person in any line of work, though, vain about his abilities, blaming his failures on other people or on pure chance, but never on himself, taking full credit for his successes without realizing how others have helped him. He is undisciplined, irresponsible, easily manipulated, and generally clueless. After a couple of near misses with female sports fans, he marries a young woman as irresponsible and unready for married life as himself. Their relationship is rocky, and her demands coupled with his foolishness nearly wreck his career. No doubt they will both mature and work things out, but Lardner never gives in to sentimentality in describing their marriage.

On the positive side, Jack is genuinely talented as a pitcher, and will probably be okay in the long run. He means well, and it's obvious that Al, who never gets to speak for himself, sees something in him worthy of friendship. Jack's devotion to his infant son is touching, although as with everything else in his life, tinged with cluelessness.

Still, apart from the human interest, there is that baseball framework. Well, of course there is. Lardner was a sports writer, writing fiction aimed at baseball fans. He knew the world of professional baseball, at least as it was in his time, and put that knowledge into this book. Unfortunately, at least for a non-fan such as myself, that makes long stretches of this rather short book very tedious. The baseball is inseparable from the story, but for me it was the least interesting part of it. There were lots of smiles here, but also plenty of yawns.


Tags : You Know Me Al [Ring Lardner] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. You Know me Al is a classic of baseball--the game and the community. Jack Keefe, one of literature's greatest characters,Ring Lardner,You Know Me Al,Touchstone,0020223420,Humorous,Sports,Baseball players,Baseball players;Fiction.,Baseball stories,Epistolary fiction,Epistolary fiction.,Humorous stories,Humorous stories.,20th Century American Novel And Short Story,Classics,FICTION General,Fiction,Fiction Classics,Fiction Humorous General,Fiction Sports,Literature - Classics Criticism,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction

You Know Me Al Ring Lardner 9780020223429 Books Reviews

This is a classic. Ring Lardner, in case you don't know, is one of the greats from the Robert Benchley/Dorothy Parker/Alexander Woollcott period. He is worthy of your attention. You should read this one.
This is a must read for baseball fans and especially anyone who is a Chicago White Sox fan. Al is a friend of a pitcher on the team and the book consists of letters written to Al. Written in the early part of the 20th century, the language is not offensive. Many of the situations will make you smile.
Hilarious epistolary novel about a rookie pitcher in the early days of major league baseball. Lardner was a famous baseball reporter until the Black Sox scandal soured him on the game.
Athletes are much more educated & sophisticated today. But especially in baseball there are are still the fun-loving, ignorant, quick to anger, characters. Like Jack, for example. He is just dumb, lacking self awareness but kind of loveable & fun to party with. You'd root for him. What could be better. Talking baseball, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, that cheap owner, Charles Comiskey etc. Listening to the audio version as I drove along, I was smiling. It jogged my own memories of baseball seasons past, even though it is almost 90 years old. This was all before World War I, the Black Sox Scandal & even Babe Ruth.
Light reading of letters written by a baseball player to his buddy. Folksy language makes it an easy read. If you are a fan of old school baseball, you will enjoy the book.
"You Know Me Al" is a glimpse of baseball's distant past, like taking a rattling train back to the days of the pre-WWI game. It is studded with references to actual ballplayers - - Mathewson, Cobb, Crawford, Johnson, Jennings, et al. - - and the storytelling protagonist's arrogant, egotistical reflections on life in the big leagues form a classic of sarcastic wit. Be forewarned, though pitcher Jack Keefe can become pretty frustrating, inasmuch as he always seems to misinterpret the intentions of those around him, lady friends in particular. How good was he on the mound? Well, to hear him tell it . . .
Ring Lardner tells of the humorous trials and tribulations of Jack, a ChiSox pitcher circa 1915 through letters written to his pal Al back home in Bedford, Indiana. Jack has a rather inflated view of himself and his abilities. Today he would be a bonus baby but back then not so much as owners had much greater control. Jack is constantly both outwitted and out maneuvered by Comiskey, his coaches, fellow players and later his wife. Always intending to come home during the off season to spend time with Al & Bertha he never quite makes it. But you know me Al...

Lardner's journalistic style shines as he's able to write short, concise notes by Jack back to Al in an vernacular & idiom suited for ill-educated but well meaning athlete of the day. I've heard claim that Lardner had an ear for speech patterns and it certainly shows with Jack.
This review refers to the 99¢ edition. The entire text appears to be there, but there are what seem to have been titles for illustrations sitting around loose, with the illustrations themselves missing. Never mind that, however, what about the book?

There is some clever observation here about human nature that transcends the baseball framework. Jack Keefe, who tells us his story through letters to his friend Al, is an aspiring pitcher starting out in the majors. He would probably be much the same person in any line of work, though, vain about his abilities, blaming his failures on other people or on pure chance, but never on himself, taking full credit for his successes without realizing how others have helped him. He is undisciplined, irresponsible, easily manipulated, and generally clueless. After a couple of near misses with female sports fans, he marries a young woman as irresponsible and unready for married life as himself. Their relationship is rocky, and her demands coupled with his foolishness nearly wreck his career. No doubt they will both mature and work things out, but Lardner never gives in to sentimentality in describing their marriage.

On the positive side, Jack is genuinely talented as a pitcher, and will probably be okay in the long run. He means well, and it's obvious that Al, who never gets to speak for himself, sees something in him worthy of friendship. Jack's devotion to his infant son is touching, although as with everything else in his life, tinged with cluelessness.

Still, apart from the human interest, there is that baseball framework. Well, of course there is. Lardner was a sports writer, writing fiction aimed at baseball fans. He knew the world of professional baseball, at least as it was in his time, and put that knowledge into this book. Unfortunately, at least for a non-fan such as myself, that makes long stretches of this rather short book very tedious. The baseball is inseparable from the story, but for me it was the least interesting part of it. There were lots of smiles here, but also plenty of yawns.