Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing, 2014
428 pages, paperback
428 pages, paperback
Source: Netgalley
Release Date: March 18th 2014
Genre: Adult, Friendship
Green follows its African American hero, Wish Fitzgerald, through parts of five decades as he struggles against bigotry, tragedy and more to achieve his improbable dream of playing in the storied Masters golf tournament. Woven into Wish's journey is his on-again, off-again friendship with wealthy white county club scion Jackson Spears. The unusual friendship that begins as teenagers ultimately changes both boys forever. This is a story about how racism begets racism, about a hero who is hard to love but easy to root for, about the often immense challenges and great rewards of friendship across racial and socio-economic lines and especially about not giving up on your dreams.
My Review:
When Aloysius Wish Fitzgerald and Jackson Spears meet in 1969 they form an unlikely friendship. Wish is poor and black and Jackson is wealthy and white, they being to bond over golf, Wish is obsessed with sports and Jackson’s overbearing father hopes his son will able to master it. Wish words a caddy to stay close to the game at one time or another when most golf courses wouldn’t allow black players due to the racism of most people like Jackson’s father. Wish helps Jackson not only with his game but also with his confidence. It is a favor that Jackson repays later in life as the narrative moves through roughly four decades of family, business and sports struggles and triumphs.
Race and racism is a recurring thing, but it is never an issue between any of the books primary characters, Jackson’s father is a bit of cartoonish dick head (sorry for the language). They are on the fringe as Wish pursues his dream of becoming a professional golfer, as the narrative tension refreshingly comes from the character chasing their own dreams or from their refusal to let go of their own stubborn and stupid notions. But on one hand the stories moral lesson is at times as character relinquish those same stubborn notions after some quick dialogue and reflection, race is a difficult and self-reliant and even though each decade presents them with their own challenges their lives just never seem in danger of going off course and getting out of control.
But even so it is easy to root for wish and this fact keeps the story from moving along. The golf jargon may get a bit thick for most non-golfers at one time or another it is necessary to the action and detailed enough to please most golfing fans.
My Rating:
My Review:
When Aloysius Wish Fitzgerald and Jackson Spears meet in 1969 they form an unlikely friendship. Wish is poor and black and Jackson is wealthy and white, they being to bond over golf, Wish is obsessed with sports and Jackson’s overbearing father hopes his son will able to master it. Wish words a caddy to stay close to the game at one time or another when most golf courses wouldn’t allow black players due to the racism of most people like Jackson’s father. Wish helps Jackson not only with his game but also with his confidence. It is a favor that Jackson repays later in life as the narrative moves through roughly four decades of family, business and sports struggles and triumphs.
Race and racism is a recurring thing, but it is never an issue between any of the books primary characters, Jackson’s father is a bit of cartoonish dick head (sorry for the language). They are on the fringe as Wish pursues his dream of becoming a professional golfer, as the narrative tension refreshingly comes from the character chasing their own dreams or from their refusal to let go of their own stubborn and stupid notions. But on one hand the stories moral lesson is at times as character relinquish those same stubborn notions after some quick dialogue and reflection, race is a difficult and self-reliant and even though each decade presents them with their own challenges their lives just never seem in danger of going off course and getting out of control.
But even so it is easy to root for wish and this fact keeps the story from moving along. The golf jargon may get a bit thick for most non-golfers at one time or another it is necessary to the action and detailed enough to please most golfing fans.
My Rating:
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