BobQuasit reviewed Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
Review of 'Shoeless Joe' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I picked this up used at the library's permanent book sale for a buck.
Add it to the very short list of books which aren't as good as their movie adaptations. A lot of the speeches were improved by much pruning for the movie, and the plot was cleaned up a good bit, too.
The book is okay, and I can see that for some it might really "click". But to me it just doesn't quite work. The whole thing felt forced to me, a too-deliberate attempt to create a classic (not unlike [b:The Polar Express|420282|The Polar Express|Chris VanAllsburg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327961191s/420282.jpg|1045364], which was annoying as a book and loathsome as a movie). [a:Peter S. Beagle|1067608|Peter S. Beagle|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198544926p2/1067608.jpg] is able to create a far more authentic magical feeling in his books; fans of [b:Shoeless Joe|57736|Shoeless Joe|W.P. Kinsella|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170476259s/57736.jpg|977324] might appreciate Beagle. They might like [a:Jack Finney|6944|Jack Finney|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243650090p2/6944.jpg], too. Both are considerably more deft …
I picked this up used at the library's permanent book sale for a buck.
Add it to the very short list of books which aren't as good as their movie adaptations. A lot of the speeches were improved by much pruning for the movie, and the plot was cleaned up a good bit, too.
The book is okay, and I can see that for some it might really "click". But to me it just doesn't quite work. The whole thing felt forced to me, a too-deliberate attempt to create a classic (not unlike [b:The Polar Express|420282|The Polar Express|Chris VanAllsburg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327961191s/420282.jpg|1045364], which was annoying as a book and loathsome as a movie). [a:Peter S. Beagle|1067608|Peter S. Beagle|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198544926p2/1067608.jpg] is able to create a far more authentic magical feeling in his books; fans of [b:Shoeless Joe|57736|Shoeless Joe|W.P. Kinsella|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170476259s/57736.jpg|977324] might appreciate Beagle. They might like [a:Jack Finney|6944|Jack Finney|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243650090p2/6944.jpg], too. Both are considerably more deft stylists than Kinsella.
And frankly, if I were [a:J.D. Salinger|819789|J.D. Salinger|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1288777679p2/819789.jpg] I'd have sued the crap out of the author.