Tietam Brown

Rating:
Summary: Fast, good read.
Review: I'll admit from the get go that I have a soft spot in my book-readin' heart for Mrs. Foley's little boy. Thats because "Have a Nice Day!" is what got me interested in reading. The autobiography of a one eared wrestler is all it took to foster an interest that has since flourished. Now, I read this book in a day. Just over one sitting. It was very fast. It was also very good. I wish Mick had written this under a psuedonym, because people who want to sound smart will still tear it apart because a wrestler wrote it. And those who know him from wrestling will just like it cause Mick wrote it. I can't say I am no biased - I am. Mick will always be my favorite, even if he wrote absolute garbage. But I can say that I enjoyed the book, which is more than I can say for alot of books. So there, take that booklist.

Rating:
Summary: A decent debut...let's hope next time he has a tough editor.
Review: I'm a huge fan of Mick Foley's work as a wrestler, and have thought for years that he is a natural for crossing over into the mainstream media, with his curious combination of family-man eloquence and psychotic ultra-showmanship. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that he was working on a novel, and really excited to pick it up at a signing the day it came out.

Foley does indeed put together a decent story and a few interesting characters in TIETAM BROWN, but is a bit too dependent on black-or-white characterization -- the women are, by and large, celestial beings full of good intentions, and the men are scumbags who look out for themselves above all else. Even the narrator, who is a character with real promise, ends up seeming less developed than he should be by the end of the book (this is a complaint which can also be levelled against Dickens, of course). There are a few scenes of violence which are genuinely off-putting, and that's a good thing, as it's certainly Foley's intent (no glorification of violence to be found in here, folks).

Part of the problem is that Foley is such a strong and established personality that it is impossible to read this without seeing the similarities in writing style to his previous memoirs; when he describes someone as "wearing a crimson mask" of blood after a fight, it's a direct usage of a pro-wrestling commentary cliche, and for a narrator who has no interest in wrestling to use that term seems a bit farfetched, a bit like Foley is trying to pass it off as poetic description. There are also a few really obvious in-jokes, such as a jab at Foley's friend Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and a section where he places himself (college-aged Foley, right before he became a wrestler) into the background of a scene, then has his main characters talk about him, down to describing his height and weight. *SPOILER* Tietam Brown (the father and, in many ways, the focus of the novel) is an ex-wrestler, but that only shows up in the last quarter of the book, and seems to be mainly an opportunity for Foley to explain the politics of regional pro-wrestling in the days before the WWF's national broadcasting. Learning that he's an ex-fighter doesn't really add anything to the character, or explain why he is how he is, which is strange to me in that I really expected Tietam to be an analysis of the angry-loner persona Foley created with his Cactus Jack character, as whom he wrestled on and off for over a decade. At times, the novel seems 'neither fish nor fowl,' a bit too focused on Foley's history and circle of friends and peers, at times a bit too unwilling to directly relate the characters to Foley's past and present.

That said, it's a good, dark story, and an engaging enough read that I'd recommend it to people who like, say, Chuck Palahniuk's novels. First novels are often pretty clumsy, and some of my favorite authors' first books are nowhere near as good as what came later (Richard Price started out as an author of about the same level as this). My hope is that Foley will work with an editor who is a bit more aggressive about saying "no" at times, and that he himself will be willing to have his next book be "by the author of TIETAM BROWN" rather than "by the WWF champion and author of HAVE A NICE DAY!" I think that that will really help him develop as a writer, and I look forward to seeing that development.

Rating:
Summary: Mick Foley a literary genius
Review: I'm not here to praise Mick Foley for his work because I am a diehard fan of him as a wrestler. I have never seen a match he was in, and am not familiar in the least with him as a wrestler.

I am here to praise his novel, Tietam Brown.

This is a brilliant piece of art. Not from the point of view of a snobby, idiotic literary critic who can't see it's beauty, but from someone, me, who can appreciate true art.

This novel is beautiful like a parking lot is beautiful - not at first glance, but if you look deeper, past it's rough edges, you can see that it is pure brilliance. The dialogue is brilliant, spontaneous, and completely genuine, sometimes even laugh-out-loud funny. The plot is a blur of senseless violence and sexual escapades, but that only adds to the books larger than life charm. And the characters are mysterious and stylized, and wonderfully so.

This is not your grandma's bedtime novel. This is pure exaggerated reality. It succeeds wonderfully at being, witty, charming, heartfelt, gritty, horrifying, sickening, joyful, rousing, funny and addictively entertaining.

No, reviewers won't like it, but if you like books that are actually fun to read, and unique as well, snatch up Mick Foley's brilliant novel, Teitam Brown.

Rating:
Summary: Excellence falls short in description...
Review: I've been a fan of Mick Foley through most of my 16 years here on earth. Not just because he was my favorite pro wrestler, but he is in all honesty my idol as a person. The man is so intelligent, and his sense of humor has made me laugh out loud while reading all three of the books he's published.

The third of these writings is Tietam Brown. It's his first fictional novel, with his other two books being autobiographies. I must say, I was excited when I got this book as a Christmas gift, and my excitement was satisfied beyond 100%. The way he takes you through Tietam's times of feeling his "rage" actually made me become emotional. Then the happy times he had with his father and Terri made me smile to myself. From the most grotesque scenarios to the most heart warming of moments, Mick describes Tietam's experiences so well, you feel as if you've gone through them yourself. Please, read this book. I know I'm only 16, but as of right now, this book is very high on the list of best books I have ever read. If Mick Foley has conquered his illiteracy of computers (hehe) and ever reads this, I'd like you to know that it was the most exciting moment in my life when I saw you face to face, even if it was for only a few seconds inside a Rochester, NY Wal-Mart. :) You are a hero to me, not only for your sacrifices in the world of wrestling, but as a human.

Rating:
Summary: Very, Very Good
Review: I've read Mick's other books and thought that he was excellent, but when I saw a fiction book coming out I thought, "Oh boy, this one might not do very well!" However, my worries were completely unfounded. Mick wrote a very good book.
I'm sure in time he will write better.
The characters he used were well developed, although I would have liked to have seen his love-interest's life explained a little more. Foley did an outstanding job explaining both Andy and his father, while hiding secrets until the end.
He worked the story well with the occasional laugh and twist to keep you reading. That might have been a problem. It kept me reading so much I was finished in four hours. Four hours of laughter, intensity, and in the end redemption. However if there is something wrong with the book is that it got me so attached to the characters that it left me guessing at the end. I don't understand the ending. Those who read it will understand. It felt as if Mick had more to say but was rushed to finish the book. It wasn't a long book so I don't know why he couldn't fill in some of the holes that were left.
Overall, Mick is becoming a masterful storyteller with a knack for making you laugh at his character's experiences that could ring true for anybody. Nevermind the dark feeling of the book, because if you read a little deeper you find something golden. I hope to read more of him soon.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing short of amazing...
Review: Mick Foley has jumped into the arena of great authors with his very first fictional novel attempt, and it truly is nothing short of amazing. Mick truly understands the insecurities, passion, heartbreak and torment of his "hero", Tietam Brown V, as if he lived this teenager's life himself. The mood of the book is fairly light at first, then pulls you into a deeper and darker setting, engrossing you more with each turn of the page. The vulnerability of Tietam, coupled with his honesty and powerful sense of the moment, as well as restrospective diatribes...will keep you rooting for during his highs, and feeling the gut-wrenching deplorability of his emotion when he's scorned.

Buy this book, enjoy it...you won't be needing a bookmark, because I guarantee you'll read through on the first blush.

Rating:
Summary: Foley is a Genius...
Review: Mick Foley is pure genius. Many people will overlook this book simply for the fact that a Pro-Wrestler wrote it, but for that reason I chose to read it.
He mixes in all aspects of teenage life, and relates it to real life experiences. A mix of the teenage pressures, (drinking, drugs, sex, and fighting) is all thrown in and in an amazing harmony.
I am not an avid reader and I honestly could not set this book down. I got in trouble at home and even in school for reading too much. I have never got in trouble for reading before.
I also read one of Mick Foleys other books entitled 'Foley is Good: And the Real World is Faker Than Wrestling'. In that book he tells more of his experiences in his life, in this book he creates a character and puts him through experiences we may all go through in our lifetime.
The story follows Tietam Brown, a scrawny, one eared, one working handed kid through his not so easy life. After a childhood full of hardships, deaths, and moving from foster home away and back again, he finally has found his father and is ready to start a new life. Somehow Tietam manages to attract the best looking girl at his high school and automatically he becomes the target for most other male students who are jealous. At this point in the novel it seemed that it would be a fluffy love/sex story about a teenage relationship. I was way off. This story actually is about the battle between Tietam and his father, also named Tietam. It goes through the sexual escapades, the fights, the ups and downs of this relationship.
A likeable character gets put into bad situations and you honestly feel bad for him. He gets put into some ugly positions. Some say this book is too immature, or childish to be seriously considered as a good piece of writing. I disagree; I think that this piece of writing is amazing. A good mixture of sex, teenage life, and the triumphs we all go through. I recommend this for the avid wrestling fan, the avid reader, or someone who just wants a book that you won't be able to set down.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting and Sometimes Riveting Coming-Of-Age Novel
Review: Mick Foley's greatest strength and weakness as a novelist is that people know who he is. Foley used to make his living as a professional wrestler, in multiple personas such as "Cactus Jack Manson," "Mankind," and "Foley", which were alternately malevolent and (from a fan standpoint) benevolent but always slightly wacky. Foley retired a few years ago but is apparently mulling a return to the ring; in the interim, he has made the transition to author. Foley has written two nonfiction bestsellers, HAVE A NICE DAY and FOLEY IS GOOD, and has written a couple of children's books, but TIETAM BROWN is his first foray into the world of written fiction.

TIETAM BROWN is a surprisingly confident work for a first novel. It is primarily the story of a couple of months in the life of Antietam (Andy) Brown, a high school senior who is largely unpopular but for the winsome and improbable attentions of Terri Lynn Johnson --- cheerleader, minister's daughter, and most popular girl in town. Brown is slightly off-kilter, deserted by his father at birth (an event that also resulted in the death of his mother).

Brown has been in and out of foster homes and detention centers when his long-lost father finally makes contact and bring him home. Antietam Brown IV is hardly a role model, parading a series of bed partners in front of his son and adhering to the "three strikes" rule. Johnson would appear to be Andy's salvation and, indeed, in many ways she is. She also, alas, has the power to destroy him, a process that Andy seems to almost haplessly encourage. There additionally are surprises in store for both father and son, few of which are pleasant. It is as if their lives are salted.

TIETAM BROWN is hardly an uplifting story; the violence is graphic, brutal and at times gratuitous, and a majority of the sexual couplings have an air of oneupsmanship and forced activity as opposed to true sharing of passion. This is a world however that definitely exists, though relatively few of us know of it. Foley also does a first-rate job --- does he ever --- of capturing the angst of the teenage high school male. Although TIETAM BROWN is, at least as I understand it, non-autobiographical, some of the passages certainly have the ring of truth about them.

While TIETAM BROWN is not CATCHER IN THE RYE, it is an interesting, and at times riveting, coming-of-age novel from a writer who may have a depth of talent that has yet to be plumbed.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Rating:
Summary: FOLEY IS GOOD
Review: Mick Foley, 3 time wwe champion, debut novel is a truly outstanding read sure to delight.
Teenage angst dominates the novel and Foley's brand of sophmoric humour is kept up throughout.
Do not dismiss this book as a dumb wrestler's attempt at credibility. This is possibly the best book I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Hardcore Legend turns into 21st century Shakespeare
Review: Now he's done it. Mick Foley, a man who made his legacy by getting himself torn apart, set on fire, and falling through tables, has written a story mainly about father and son. I'm having trouble completely understanding most of this but it is really touching me in my heart. You can tell that Mick used one of the most basic rules of writing; Write what you know. Right now, he knows what it's like to watch his children grow up and to spend 24 hours a day with them. You can just as easily tell that he used his 15 years of wrestling, apart from his family, to make this book another future best seller.

By all means, go for it.