Double Play

While fighting at Guadalcanal, Joseph Burke is hit by five 25 caliber bullets from a Japanese light machine gun on the first page of Robert B. Parker’s Double Play. Though obviously badly wounded, he survives. His recuperation is harrowing (among other things, his cherished wife leaves him for another man), but Burke is tough—really, really tough, both physically and mentally.

Burke gradually regains his strength and tries professional boxing. Although he punches like a sledge hammer, he is not much of a boxer, and decides there are better ways of earning a living. He is very successful as a debt collector—his menacing appearance usually obviates resorting to violence. He gets a job as a sort of body guard for the daughter of a show more well connected but shady politician. His position becomes untenable when he becomes sexually, if not romantically, involved with his ostensible ward. Nevertheless, he has established his chops as a fearless, though not always wise, tough guy.

Burke’s reputation enables him to land a job in 1947 working for Branch Rickey as a body guard for the Brooklyn Dodgers’ rookie first baseman and first black major league baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Burke and Robinson are wary of each other at first, but they draw close as Burke shields the rookie from some of the worst behavior of white America.

The book is pure fiction, but plausible fiction. Parker writes movingly and realistically about Robinson’s ability and dignity in the face of racial insults. Both the real Robinson and fictional Burke achieve genuine heroism in Parker’s skillful hands.

One aspect of the book is a bit implausible. No real person, not even Jack Reacher (oh wait, he isn’t real either), is as tough as Burke. But that’s OK with me because Parker writes about macho confrontations about as well as anyone.

The book contains several chapters, all labeled “Bobby,” that are narrated by a young boy born in 1932. Bobby tells us what it was like for a pre-teen during the war growing up in all white Massachusetts. He also tells us what it was like for a young Dodger fan to follow the exploits of their talented, brave, and dignified rookie first baseman during the watershed 1947 season. Those chapters are undoubtedly autobiographical, and they add an extra dimension to a finely crafted novel.

(JAB) show less

Joseph Burke is a broken man - the war spat him out with a lot of damage, his wife found someone else while he was in the hospital. So he just stopped feeling and closed up.

It is 1947 and USA is recovering from the war. Burke finds random jobs in New York and by being tough and impossible to scare makes him the perfect bodyguard for a wild girl with a connected father and even more connected boyfriend. Until he kills someone protecting her and gets himself fired and hired by the dodgers to guard their newest player - Jackie Robinson.

If you are expecting a baseball book, look elsewhere. If you are expecting a Jackie Robinson book, look elsewhere - even if Jackie is part of the book, he is the secondary character and the introduction show more makes clear that the whole story is fictional.

Instead Parker uses the setup to tell a story about racism and acceptance. There are gangsters and dames, there are crowds and women who want to sleep with anyone famous. And someone under all that Burke slowly finds a way to feel and even love again.

While the baseball parts of the novel did nothing for me (including score cards and so on), they did not really bother me. They mostly fit into the story and it did not really distract from the story. What really boggled down were the "Bobby" chapters - a (semi-?)autobiographical stories of Parker himself - growing up loving baseball, becoming a teenager and being very proud of not being racist. They served no purpose except to pad the pages and they tasted like over-sugared drink - a grown up vision of what his past had been and using his grown up understanding to highlight things. Don't get me wrong, all of that may even have been true but... it neither belonged in this novel, nor sounded sincere.

This is one of the standalone novels by Parker. He used them to try new genres and styles. Burke's story actually works - it may be over-exaggerated in some places but it works in the same way the radio drama of the period works. And a lot of what it has to say and show is relevant. But it gets boggled into the rest, making the whole a lot weaker novel than it could have been. show less

Read during: Summer 2007

I just loved this, I read it in about two days. Instead of Spenser, this is the story of the (fictional) man hired to be Jackie Robinson's bodyguard in his first year in the majors. He is a WWII vet, wounded at Guadacanal, and caring for almost nothing. His story is interspersed with memories of growing up a Dodgers fan in Boston. It only took me about 4 of those chapters to realize it was Parker's own memories. Although the love story with the spoiled daughter of a New York gangster was a bit of a stretch, the story of Robinson was great. Very well done and hard to put down.

Unusual Robert Parker novel that mixes baseball history and a new character, Joseph Burke. Burke, after first having Parker define his credentials as a tough guy coming out of the Korean War who really doesn't care if he lives or dies, is hired to protect Jackie Robinson from the cretins of the world who are dismayed that a black man has been allowed into the major leagues. Obviously, there is little suspense, and the appeal of the book lies in its portrayal of a time and place. It's also a book about loyalty and friendship. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Still, it's a good read and might hold a few surprises for those born after 1970. I think it might be one of Parker's better novels.

I don't mind when authors experiment with show more different techniques, but in this book the "Bobby" interludes don't work at all. I do wish Parker had given him a name other than Burke since Vachss seems to have a lock on that moniker. show less

A nice suspence fiction that will also be fun for baseball fans as well! those that like suspence novels.
The story of Jackie Robinson's bodyguard hired by the Dodger's to protect Robinson his first year playing for The Dodger's. A very good story along with the box scores and breakdown of the games played by Robinson. Reads like a suspense novel set in the 40's but plausible because of the difficulty and tensions of the first Black baseball player to play in Major League Baseball

It is 1947 and Jackie Robinson has broken baseball's color barrier, but it has not been easy. The Dodgers decide he needs a bodyguard and they hire World War II Vet Joseph burke to protect him. Burke's wife left him while he was in the hospital recovering from war wounds and since then he hasn't cared much about anything or anyone except his job. Lauren Roach comes closes to stealing his heart, but she's trouble. Burke knows guarding Robinson may be dangerous but he doesn't realize that working with Robinson will change Burke's life in ways he never imagined.

"Double Play" is an enjoyable change from Robert Parker's Spenser series. There are some similarities - the relationship between Burke and Robinson will remind readers of Spenser show more and Hawk - but the fact that the novel is based on real life events adds a lot to the novel. The book starts off slowly, Robinson isn't introduced until almost halfway through and I didn't find Burke all that interesting a character, but once Robinson is introduced the book picks up. For the most part, Parker does a good job with the historical parts of the novel and the prejudice on both sides is eye opening. However, Parker isn't into deep writing and the book is mostly dialogue driven. Since the book is from Burke's viewpoint, readers do get a sense of what makes him as a character, but he's not a deeply layered character and his relationship with Lauren didn't move me in any particular way. Robinson is not as deep a character, which is a shame because I would have liked to know more about what he was thinking and feeling during that tumultuous first year. Outside of reminiscences by "Bobby" (no doubt Parker himself, and which I could have done without since they don't add to the plot) and some box scores, the baseball aspects of the book are surprisingly thin and I wish they had been better developed.

"Double Play" is a good, if somewhat light read about baseball and Jackie Robinson. show less

Storywise, I didn't find it that interesting - there are some great scenes, but that's all. However, in terms of character development (Burke particularly), the author did an amazing job.