Tietam Brown

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I bought this book because I am a big fan of Mick Foley as a wrestler, entertainer and writer. I read his first two books and thought they were good. This book is GREAT!! A little twisted and disturbing but truly great. I hope Mick is working on another book. I read alot of books and was truly entertained by this one. I couldn't put it down and once I was done I went back and re-read alot of it.

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: 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: Foley is...an Author!
Review: Read and finished in a day. I knew the book was going to be good. Throughout the novel's beginning I thought this was going to be the same kind of fare found in his Have a Nice Day. It was pretty funny and self-deprecating (to the main character that is). But as I delved further and further into the story of Tietam Brown I found something far more interesting. The critics have been surprised at the violence found in this novel...but it's really no different than any other young adult novel that I've read (and I've read many as a high school teacher). And as all the events and different character lines meet in a crescendo the reader finds a troubled man on the verge of something greater. I was drawn to Andy's honesty (something that's hard to find in this world) and rooted for him whenever he stood up for himself, something that doesn't happen enough in fiction. The only drawback that I found in the writing was that it seemed everything needed more than one adjective. But Foley has an outstanding knack for pegging what people would really be thinking and how they would speak. I really hope that Foley sees past any poor reviews (probably from fans who only want wrestling) and gives writing another go. This wrestling fan really thinks he'll only get better with each manuscript.

Rating:
Summary: Mick Foley is the most extraordinary writer ever!
Review: Tietam Brown is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of Mick Foley's previous work or is just looking for a good novel to read.

Tietam Brown is a book about a boy named Antietam 'Andy' Brown, named after his grandfather that died fighting in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, who after some unfortunate incidents, has lost an ear and the use of his right hand. We see this story flash between his past where his deadbeat father had left him when he was young and soon after, his mother eventually died. As he goes from foster family to foster family, he has had to put up with a child molester and an abusive drunk.

In the present time, Andy was nearly raped by a couple of bullies at school and had the ... beat out of him by a teacher/coach pumped up on steroids. His father has come back after eight years and now has custody of Andy, and he ends up going through some changes. He goes from being a drunk guy who sleeps with practically every woman he meets to someone who looks to protect and teach his son about the different ways of life.

As I read this story, I found myself relating to Andy more and more because while I have the use of both hands, I was born with a left ear smaller than my right, and I am unable to hear out of it, so that would be the equivalent of missing a whole ear. I knew what it was like to be ridiculed and pushed around by other people, but I eventually toughened up and learned to put up with it, much like what Andy has done.

I can say that Tietam Brown is an excellent debut novel from Mick Foley and I'm looking forward to any future works that he might put out. With all that being said, I rate this book 5 out of 5.