Double Play

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly suprised
Review: I'm one hard core Spenser junkie. I've read all of Mr. Parkers books, including the Sunny Randall and Chief Stone novels. I wasnt happy to read them all, but I did it anyway. So when another book without Spenser was comming out, I waited until I could find it used.
I've read all of the Spenser novels multiable times, but my patience is wearing thin for the non-spenser novels. The Jessie Stone novels are O.K., but the Randall novels I've read before in earlier Spenser books, and I'm not exaxtly a western fan. So here comes another one, this about baseball. Oh boy...
How wrong I was. The book was Mr. Parkers normal sparce writing style, lots of action, and I even liked the autobiographal BOBBY sections. If you want a recap of the story, read one of the other reviews, but I can say this. This multi-layerd, thin, quick action novel with a big heart was... well, a pleasant suprise. This book reminds me of how excieted I was about ALL OUR YESTERDAYS when I first read it. Well done Mr. Parker, you hit another one out of the park.

Rating:
Summary: Fictional, but with a lot of factual justification
Review: We celebrate the holiday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day for his work in advancing the cause of civil rights. However, I will always be of the opinion that the man who did the most to advance the cause of black people was Jackie Robinson rather than Dr. King. While blacks had been successful in other sports such as boxing, that is a sport where brute force is required, which was consistent with the perception whites had of blacks. Baseball was different, it was truly the national pastime and is a finesse game. Baseball is one of the few sports where you can be successful without being a superb athlete. When Jackie successfully broke the color barrier in baseball and proved that blacks could play with whites, all other aspects of segregation would eventually fall.
While this is a work of fiction, it is based on the facts of Jackie Robinson and the tremendous pressure that he faced the first few years that he played in the major leagues. Joseph Burke was a marine in World War II and like so many others, he was hastily married right before shipping out. He was severely wounded while fighting on Guadalcanal, and spent months in rehab. When he finally is healthy enough to leave the hospital, he comes home to an empty place and a note from his now ex-wife. This sends him into an unfeeling funk and he eventually applies his soldierly skills by becoming a professional thug.
After a few jobs well done, he is hired by Branch Rickey to be the bodyguard of Jackie Robinson. Since he is a very good soldier, he takes the job and his responsibilities seriously. It doesn't take long for Burke and Robinson to become close friends and Burke begins to see the world from the black perspective. Since he must accompany Jackie everywhere and society is very segregated, he is often the only white face in a black sea.
There are some attempts on Jackie's life and Burke manages to thwart them. While he is doing so, he makes contact with several criminal groups and reaches an understanding with some of them. Finally, he joins forces with a contract killer, who ironically has been hired to shoot Burke. Together, they thwart an attempt to kill Robinson during a ball game. They also rescue a disturbed woman who Burke has fallen in love with. She is "married" to a gangster who is trying very hard to have Burke killed. Years after he has lost all emotional feeling, Burke has found himself loving again and he has no choice but to get the woman that he wants.
Parker excels at writing about the professional thug with a code of ethics. Part of what transforms Burke into a feeling human again is when one of the criminal gangs breaks the "rules" by putting Jackie's wife and children in harm's way when they try to kill Jackie. That is also the lever he uses to recruit the contract killer to his cause. This is one of Parker's best novels, it helps if you understand something about Jackie Robinson, but you will still enjoy it if you don't.


Rating:
Summary: A Home Run!
Review: "Double Play" by Robert Parker defies classification.

It centers on the 1947 baseball season when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier...so there is baseball.

The Dodgers feel Robinson requires a bodyguard and pick Joseph Burke. Burke is a physically and emotionally wounded Guadalcanal Marine sharp shooter. He has no feelings and nothing to lose, follows orders and shoots straight...in other words, the perfect choice to protect Robinson.

The plot to kill Robinson originates with a New York mob boss. Burke's astute manipulations of the mob and the Harlem gangsters combine to save the day. So there is mystery and gunplay.

Mr. Parker alternates the death threat story with recollections of his own childhood as a fan of the Dodgers.

Nostalgic period detail paints the scene with atmospheric touches like vintage songs, network radio shows, Red Barber calling the games and 1947 box scores.

But it is the relationship between Robinson and Burke that carries the story in this lean, taut, intricate, poignant novel.

While it is Burke who thwarts the assassination of Jackie Robinson, it is Robinson who truly saves Burke.

In the Parker tradition, Burke is "someone who plays the game, protecting those who follow the rules and punishing those who don't. We call him a hero."



Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Reading!
Review: Double Play is a mixture of historical "faction", baseball and, of course, thriller. It takes place in 1947 when Jackie Robinson is breaking into baseball and Parker's new hero, Burke, is hired by the Dodgers to be his bodyguard. I have not been a huge fan of Robert Parker over the years, but the basic plot of Double Play captured my interest. Having just finished it, I found it to be extremely fast reading, "right on" in capturing the mood of the period in time in which the story takes place, and exciting. While Parker's prose are sparse, his dialogue is very effective and his characters, while not developed quite enough for my taste, are very interesting. Overall, Double Play is well worth reading and can be read in one sitting if you have a few hours to devote to it. I'm looking forward to Parker's next book featuring Burke, and Double Play has made me enough of a Parker fan to now go back and read more of his books.

Rating:
Summary: Parker Scores!
Review: Double Play reminds me why I have liked Robert B. Parker so much over the years - despite that I feel his last several Spenser novels are cookie cutter and he is on auto pilot a lot of the times. Parker has created a unique and interesting character type - the self-autonomous individual who lives by a code of honor unique to a few and that most would never understand. He has built this character type his entire career.

Double Play is excellent! It fits into the larger oeuvre of Parker's work as he introduces us to a new character in Joseph Burke. Burke has a relatively poor childhood, or at least one that doesn't appear to have much affection. He goes into military right out of high school and gets shot up in World War II. Estranged from his mother and alone he takes a long time to recover from grievous wounds and digs deep within himself to find his way back to semblance of a life. Big, strong, and a natural street fighter, he tries his hand at boxing but fails. He finds himself working as bodyguard and lands a gig protecting a mobster's daughter from her abusive ex-boyfriend. This becomes integral to the story as he moves on to become the bodyguard for the infamous Jackie Robinson. Burke must foil plots against Robinson's well-being and unfortunately his previous connections endanger them both.

The interplay between Burke and Robinson is extremely well done. Parker did an excellent job here in characterization. We don't end up with caricatures but believable and empathetic characters - or villains who deserve no empathy. Burke is a fascinating character as are the rest of the players we meet in this drama.

I highly recommend this novel.


Rating:
Summary: Crude, Shallow, Neolithic
Review: For those who find fifth-grade reading material a little challenging, this story might be fine. The plot is wrapped up just fine, but the banter is devoid of depth. If you like shallow figures and crude language, combined with dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics, read this. If you are more drawn to quality, leave this book alone.


Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised!
Review: I didn't realize this was not the typical Spenser P.I. fare and was initially disappointed. My first thought was to pitch the book and count my losses, however, I had nothing new to read. The mingling of fiction and truth of this tale of Jackie Robinson's foray into the white world of baseball and the ground breaking necessary for others to enter this field proved both enlightening and thought provoking. Parker's wonderful characterization of both Robinson and his bodyguard, Burke, as well as the witty dialog, at which Parker excels, are well worth the price of admission. Kudos to you Mr. Parker for not resting on your laurels as so many other authors have done and continuing to provide your readers with the very best offerings.

Rating:
Summary: Unexpected pleasure.
Review: I have absolutely no interest in baseball. The only reason I picked up this book is that I know that Robert B. Parker is not capable of telling a bad story. The first third of the novel - which gives bodyguard Joseph Burke's background - was interesting, but the story really did not really begin to come alive until Burke started to interact with Robinson. (And, yes, it does echo the Spencer/Hawk dynamics.) While I might have prefered another Spencer, this was a quite enjoyable story very much worth the telling.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected, It was better.
Review: I have enjoyed Robert Parker's books over the years, especially the the Spencer series, and when I bought this book I was expecting more of the same. The book is actually a wonderful story that weaves fact and fiction in a fabulouse way. The basic plot surrounds Jackie Robinson breaking the baseball color barrier in 1947 (fact), and the man who is hired to be his body gaurd (fiction), a WWII surivor carrying some heavy baggage. Paker develops great characters along with his typical witty dialog, and does a great job of taking you back to that time period when the races were stricly divided.

Rating:
Summary: Double Play's a Hit!
Review: I love Robert Parker's writing. Spenser almost feels like a character I grew up with. Like many others however, I don't think Parker's writing has been as crisp in recent Spense novels as in the early ones. Almost as if he's grown too comfortable with the characters.

All that changes in Double Play. Spenser leaves the comfortable surroundings of Spenser's life and visit's Jackie Robinson and the world of baseball when the first black's were entering the game. Through a fictional character named Burke, Mr. Parker intruduces us to life as he was growing up; the strife in the world, the recovery fromt he war, the tension between races, and the hope that it would all work out. For anyone why likes Parker, baseball, or just a damn good read, this book is a must.