Rating: 
Summary: Very Very Good
Review: I give this book alot of credit. Especally when you consider it as Mick Foley's first fictional novel. If you were a fan of the carachters Mick portrayed in the ring (especally the early Mankind and ECW's Cactus Jack), this book will be right up your alley. It's a very dark coming of age in an insane world type of tale, sort of like "Catcher in the Rye", except more graphic, without the happy ending, and the event's of Antietam Brown are alot more interesting than the stuff that occured around Holden Claufield. And while some of the events are a bit of a reach, and there are some plot lines that don't feel totally complete, I still found it to be an enjoyable reading experance all around, and found it hard to put this book down once I became caught up in it. I'm sure alot of people will hear this book was written by a former wrestler, and dismiss it as another wrestling book. This would be a mistake, because while wrestling does play a role in this book, it is by far not the focal point. Take a chance on this book and I'm sure you won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down! Great Read!
Review: I got his book because I enjoyed "Have a Nice Day" and "Foley is Good", and I figured this would be pretty much the same. WRONG! I took it out of the box and decided to read just a couple pages to get the feel of the book, and finished it 4 hrs later. Foley does some great character development, and at some point, he makes you feel sorry for almost everybody in the story. The book manages to be funny, disturbing, sad, and hopeful all at the same time. I just hope other people don't pass on this book, thinking that it's just another "wrasslin'" book, because they will miss out on something wonderful.
THANKS MICK!!
Rating:
Summary: A tale of forgiveness
Review: I have read thousands of books, and I have never read one quite like this one. In fact, "Tietam Brown" is so different I am having a hard time quantifying it for this review. But I do know this: It's good. Very good for a first fictional effort. Part comedy, part tragedy, part horror, part coming of age story, "Tietam" really cannot be summed up with one sentence. Much like real life, the bad blends with the good, "normal" is only a word, no one is totally what they seem, and those whom we love the most can also hurt us the most. If you have read Foley's autobiographical works, "Have a Nice Day" and "Foley Is Good" or even just watched his wrestling career on TV, then you will see flashes of Mick in "Tietam." Bits of Mick's quirks are entwined in both Tietam and Andy, and occasionally a "Mickism" is used. In the beginning, the writing style pretty closely follows "Have a Nice Day," but soon finds its own rhythm and goes down a much darker and more literary path. Mick's perverse humor is also very apparent, much to my delight. :) But don't let the author's name and background fool you: This is not a "wrasslin' book" or "Foley's Life Part 3." Instead, "Tietam" is a wonderful study of forgiveness, of right and wrong, of the limits that people put on their love -- both for themselves and others. Most of all, it's the story of Andy Brown, a high school student who has spent most of his life in foster homes and an orphanage and who survived a terrible car accident at the age of five. His father, an enigmatic, mercurial man, comes into his life after a 17-year absence, and immediately the reader knows Andy will never be the same. However, this reader was shocked to find out just what an emotional, strange journey he will have. Put on your seatbelt and keep it on -- you will need it, because this is one powerful, somewhat surreal story. The character that steals the show is Antietam "Tietam" Brown, Andy's father. He's smart, vulgar and loves deeply. He exercises naked, has purple fuzzy dice hanging on his rearview and sings along with Barry Manilow. And he can go from "normal" to crazy and criminal in the blink of an eye. He's not altogether sane. Antietam also has deeply conflicting views of the world and the people closest to him that he does not see as a problem. And that is what makes him so essentially different from Andy. It can be argued that Andy has had a much harder life than his father did up to that age, and yet, Andy has a better understanding of the world around him. It is ironic that a confused, lonely teen has a much clearer moral vision for himself than his world-weary, road-hardened father does, but it is nonetheless true that Andy has the ability to see the shades of meaning, the layers of complexity in people and events that black-and-white thinker Tietam is incapable of. But most of all, Andy is able to forgive. The further you go into the story, the more you realize how important this is. I won't say anything more about it, because I don't want to give away the story, but the idea of redemption runs very strong in "Tietam." What sort of person would you be if you were incapable of forgiving anyone, most especially yourself? Do you believe that people can truly change for the better? If those questions intrigue you, then you will enjoy "Tietam Brown" as thoroughly as I did.
Rating: 
Summary: What am I missing?
Review: I have to apologize up front & admit that maybe I'm not getting something. The writing in this book is amateurish at best. The character development is dismal. The dialogue is so painfully bad, I'd rather be stuck in the ring with Mick for ten minutes than be subjected to reading another ten minutes of this book. I fought the urge to throw it out on several occasions, but I wanted to give Mick a fair shake. I should have gone with my original instinct.
First of all, none of the characters are even remotely believable. Almost every one is a complete contradiction, rendering the cast of characters to a cast of caricatures. It's difficult to identify with someone when you can't believe for a second that a person like this would ever actually exist.
Hey, you thought character "A" was a complete saint? Wham!, he is really the devil incarnate! You thought character "b" was a virgin? She's really a prostitute! You thought character "c" was a shallow, brainless thug? He's really a visiting professor from Oxford! C'mon!!!! Perhaps one or two revelations of a character's hidden side would add to a book's appeal. When every single character turns out to be the complete opposite of their original appearance, any & all shock value is lost.
Sorry Mick. Just be glad there are plenty of wrestling fans who will buy your stuff no matter what.
Rating:
Summary: Should Be in Amazon.com's Top 10
Review: I just finished this book yesterday. This is not one of your typical cookie cutter summer reads. It's also not for the weak of heart as it deals with some very dark issues such as rape, sodomy, and violence. It is however a very moving story that tells of a father and son who reunite after 17 years with some very hilarious situations that are both awkward and funny. As someone who has read and enjoyed Foley's first non fiction books I would also add Tietam Brown into that must read category a well. Please just buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Mick Foley- hardcore legend and novelist
Review: I just finished Tietam Brown this evening, and it is the most compelling novel I have read in some time. While it can often be deeply disturbing, I found that I just couldn't stop reading until I found out how things would turn out for Andy. The narration is skewed enough to be very interesting, and the cultural references are fun to read. The characters really come to life, though some (ok, most) are twisted as heck. I recommend this book to Foley fans, as well as those not easily shocked. This ain't a book for your Grandma, but those who enter Tietam's world will not be disapointed.
Also recommended: Foley is Good and Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsock are also by Foley and are highly recommeded. Those who like this book may also like John Irving titles such as A Widow for One Year and The World According to Garp.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the Critics - Foley is God
Review: I purchased Tietam Brown at 4:00 PM in the afternoon, and, despite a 6:00 AM morning the next day, stayed up and finished it at 1:30 in the morning. Foley crafts an intricate tale with twists and turns that, at its conclusion, will leave you questioning and realizing things that you've always "sort of" known, but never really realized. The novel deals with themes of forgivness and finding the rare state of "normal" when nothing close to normal has ever existed. It is a lively, exciting, and amazingly realistic book. I look forward to more from this excellent author.
Rating: 
Summary: Abysmal, but contains promise.
Review: I seriously wonder if most of the reviewers shown have read much else in the past several years. This book is bad, plain and simple.
The character development is awful. The dialogue is painful. We don't need to know every single emotion that Andy feels, yet we are subjected to these over-descriptions. The characters simply aren't believable. I apologize if I'm alone in this, but if I can't think of the character as a real person, any sense of suspense, drama, comedy, etc. is lost. I didn't care about these characters, because they didn't seem real for even a second.
I realize that Mick's fans were salivating for the opportunity to display their hero as an intellectual, but c'mon folks. Mick is a smart guy. I know this, and anyone else who follows wrestling knows this too. He's just not a good writer...yet.
I say "yet" because he seemed to hit a promising stride toward the end of the book. It just flowed better, and seemed to bring the story together well. I'm glad to say I stuck through it to see the end, because now I'll be willing to try Mick's next fiction, which will inevitably come. It's just unfortunate that the first half of this book seemed to be a writing lesson, whereby he got all his mistakes out of the way.
Good luck next time Mick. I'll be willing to try again if you will.
Rating:
Summary: This book, I hope, is a precursor to many more
Review: I started reading this late Wednesday nght, and had to practically pry myself away from it just to go to bed. I was instantly taken in by the vivid story and colorful characters held within these pages. From loner-turned-Mr. Popularity Antietam "Andy" Brown V; Terri Johnson, his girlfriend, who went from slutty to virtuous and back on repeat; Antietam Brown IV, his womanizing drunk of a father with a mysterious past; Coach Hanrahan, the bullying coach of the steroid-pumped sectional champion Conestoga Togas football team; to many other people that pop up and linger around Andy Brown's troubled life. Another thing that had me from the get-go was how Andy delved into his past to explain his nuances and why he was such a screwed up kid, while only 17. That, and the end totally got me. How a majority of things were explained and wrapped up in the epilogue. This was a tremendous surprise coming from Foley, by far one of my favorite "hardcore legends" of the squared circle. I never would've expected such an excellent read coming from the wrestler-turned-author. All in all, I hope that two things could come from this book. The first being a sequel, possibly telling the story of Andy Brown getting his life back together. Honestly, the last paragraph left things open for a return to the life of Brown. Secondly, I would love to see this book adapted to the silver screen. I would be at the premiere, first in line.
Rating:
Summary: Whatever happened to Terri and dear old dad?
Review: I will preface by comments by admitting upfront that I was (and still am but to a much lesser degree) a wrestling fan. More specifically, I am a Foley fan. I read "Have a Nice Day" but not "Foley is Good." I have all my teeth. I am a middle-aged attorney. Not that those things are truly meaningful to anybody but my mother. I loved "Tietam Brown." I want more. I want to know what happens to the main characters in this book, and I hope Foley will write another. If he does not, however, I am likely to read whatever he writes. I enjoy the Everyman perspective, and the pop culture references. Some reviewers have been critical of the violence depicted in this book. However, I am not persuaded that this violence is gratuitous. If this story was ever made into a movie, I can see a director exploiting those aspects for the viewer for shock value. Within the context of this story, however, the violent acts are not drawnout but rather interspersed to help us understand the characters' psyche. Bang Bang. Ray Asher
Chicago
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