W. P. Kinsella (1935–2016)

Most of the reviews of this book compare it to the movie (Field of Dreams), which is not quite fair. The film has a different theme than the book, stressing much more the relationship of Ray and his father, a minor part of the book (and the main story-line in the film), though the basic plot is the same. The film is meant to tear at your heartstrings. There are more characters in the book. I will try and avoid comparisons, and talk about the book itself. I originally read the book when it was first published and decided to re-read it again. So, what is the theme of the book? It is a fantasy, of course. But what kind? Most of the characters are long dead (all the so-called "Black Sox", Moonlight Graham, Ray's father), yet Ray, his family, and some others see and talk to them. "Shoeless" Joe even swings Ray's young daughter in his hands. Are they there? You only seem to see if you believe. Some characters only see an empty, small baseball field. Ray hears the voice, as does JD Salinger (Terence Mann in the film), and they see the message on the scoreboard. Or do they? Ray sometimes is suddenly in the past, then back to the present. Why is he directed to get Salinger, then find the dead Moonlight Graham (whom he never heard of previously)? Ray's twin brother is himself directed to re-connect with Ray. Is the book is about believing and following your dreams, even though it may seem crazy to others? Is it the love Ray has for "Shoeless" Joe that brings him back to life? Ray fulfills his dream, as does Moonlight Graham, Eddie Scissons (the "oldest Cub"). and Ray's father, even JD Salinger seems to. And what does the public see when they arrive at the field? Many questions that you must answer yourself after you read "Shoeless Joe". But, maybe that is the essence of a good book, it makes you think more. Kinsella creates great characters (I fell in love with Annie) and makes the historical characters seem realistic. It makes you love baseball (well, OK, I already did). By all means read this book, then try some of Kinsella's other books. Then read some JD Salinger, too...and flip through the Baseball Encyclopedia if you get a chance....… (more)

Let's get something straight: Field of Dreams is one of my favourite movies. Maybe... my very favourite movie. I've always known it was based on this book, but for whatever reason it has taken me over 20 years to actually read this book. It is weird, reading a book that you've already seen a movie adaptation of. I usually do it the other way around. So, not much of this story was a surprise to me. However, there is a LOT in this book that never made it to the movie. The thing about movies based on books is that movies get cluttered much faster than books do, so they need to be distilled, to get the essence of the narrative and apply cinematic principles to it. So, some of the key characters in the book (Ray Kinsella's twin brother, and Ray's buddy, "the oldest living Cub" for example) never made it to the movie, though they are constants throughout the novel. There is a scene in the movie where Ray's wife, Annie, stands up to a conservative crowd in a town hall meeting, defending a controversial book by Terence Mann, the fictional author who stands in for J. D. Salinger. Never happened in the book (and Salinger appears as himself there also). So, my point is that at times I was tempted to jump ahead or skip things as I was reading this book, because I knew how it was going to go. But, enough was different from the movie version that I actually couldn't be confident it WOULD go how it did in the movie. There is no reason the story should turn out the same in the movie as it does in the book. I won't tell you, dear reader, whether I was right or not -- you'll have to find out for yourself. Kinsella wrote a lot about baseball, and a lot about the Indigenous peoples of Canada (which maybe would be considered a big appropriation no-no nowadays, since he was a white guy). He mostly wrote short stories, which is not my genre of choice, so I doubt I'll dip much further into his bibliography, but I may pick up another of his baseball novels someday. He was a good writer, and I'm sure Field of Dreams is a great film because it had great source material.… (more)