Home :: Books :: Literature & Fiction  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction

Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe: A Novel

A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe: A Novel

List Price: $26.00
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You don't need to know golf to love this story...
Review: I hesitated to begin this book, since I know nothing of golf and suspected it would be full of golf jargon I would have a difficult time deciphering. I was right, but the author so splendidly weaves a touching tale around the golf, that I fell in love with the story almost right away. Bobby Jobe is a professional golf player, playing the PGA tournament one day and being a pompous jerk to his caddie as usual, when suddenly a tragedy turns Bobby completely around. It doesn't help his caddie however, whom he calls "Greyhound" and whom he initially blames for the tragedy. "Greyhound" is actually our hero in this book and he is a figure to be reckoned with. He is as real and as life-like as an author can make a character, and he is also lovable and a great golf caddie. His real name is Henry Mote, he initially caddies for the arrogant and abrasive Bobby Jobe, until that one moment in time when a tragedy changes them both forever. The tides get reversed, and Henry finds himself in an awkward situation when he is asked to once again caddie for Bobby Jobe, but in a very different capacity. This book has everything you need for a great escape, buy it today!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Are these reviewers as blind as Bobby Jobe?
Review: I mean, come on. A blind golfer? I thought it was an intruiging premise, too, until I tried to hit balls with my eyes closed. I'm a 2-handicapper, and I was completely hapless. So forgive me if my suspension of disbelief came crashing down.

That said, Cullen writes a pleasant, if completely farfetched tale, with likeable characters. However, I thought the best parts of the book had nothing to do with golf. The subplot involving the mentally ill father was actually more interesting, believable and touching, and the best part of the book was a short bit about Allegheny men and their pickup trucks.



Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very Nice
Review: I picked up this book because I knew that Mr. Cullen had assisted Bob Rotella with writing his golf psychology books and wanted to see if Mr. Cullen's fiction was as clearly written. It was, and I found the writing to be extremely enjoyable. I also liked both the characters and the premise of the book. In watching Bobby Jobe struggle to regain his game after losing his sight and finding that he can succeed only when he allows himself to rely upon others, I was reminded that it is not a sign of weakness to ask others for help, but a sign of strength.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Hole in One for Cullen
Review: I really thought this was a great book. True, as some reviewers have noted, the plot itself is a little predictable, though well constructed. But the value is not in where you go, but in how you get there. This book has so much insight into the game of golf and the world of professional golf that it more than makes up for any picky plot shots. I enjoyed it thoroughly, great character development as well. I put it ahead of the Dan Jenkins book by about 325 yards.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "HOGAN KNOWS" -- THIS BOOK IS A WINNER!!!
Review: I'll be honest, I don't like fiction books. But I've got to tell you, A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe has changed my mind. Mr. Cullen adds so much detail that the reader comes away with a sense of actually being in touch with the cast of limited characters and the events taking place. The twists and unpredictable turns make the book a truly unforgettable experience. You don't need to be a golfer or a fan of golf to enjoy this novel. Can lightning strike twice? Absolutely!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "HOGAN KNOWS" -- THIS BOOK IS A WINNER!!!
Review: I'll be honest, I don't like fiction books. But I've got to tell you, A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe has changed my mind. Mr. Cullen adds so much detail that the reader comes away with a sense of actually being in touch with the cast of limited characters and the events taking place. The twists and unpredictable turns make the book a truly unforgettable experience. You don't need to be a golfer or a fan of golf to enjoy this novel. Can lightning strike twice? Absolutely!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW
Review: If you love golf or even if you don't, this book is for you. It is probably the best book I have read EVER. It is that good. It has every thing. It is funny,touching, and makes any other novel pale in comparision. You know when a book is so good it keeps calling your name? Well, this screams your name until you drop everything and go read it. I have read good books, but nothing ever this good. Go buy this NOW!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Golf story for non-golfers!
Review: If you're like me and don't know a birdie from an eagle, you'll still enjoy this book. The characters are strong and the tale is not so much about golf as it is about losing and finding yourself. You may find yourself skimming through the intense golf-related stuff, but you'll probably be casting it as you read it, as I did!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best!!!!
Review: In the title for this review I indicate this book is one of the best and I don't mean as a book about golf, although it is certainly that. This is about so much more. It's about life, meeting challanges, dealing with adversity, and personal relationships, all wrapped up in a very interesting story about a professional golfer who after being blinded in a freak accident, finds that, with the help of others, especially his long suffering caddie, that he can again play the game and contend on the PGA Tour. How all of that happens is, of course, what the book is all about. It is funny, charming, inspiring and best of all, a wonderful story. Whether you play golf or not, you will find yourself captivated by this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No "Mullicants" needed with this story...
Review: This book has three things going for it: A great cover, the perfect title and GOLF. But that's about all it has going for it.

The lightening bolt hitting a GOLFER'S upturned club on the cover is the worst nightmare in GOLF. Next, the very clever title sums up the book's premise perfectly by giving a mulligan, GOLF'S version of a second chance, in real life to GOLFER Bobby Jobe after he's blinded. And, as I appear to be the first to report, Bobby's last name obviously refers to Job, who was tested by God in the Bible. Both Jobe and Job passed their respective tests after leading hedonistic and selfish lives, although I think it must be harder to play GOLF blind than it is to endure all those biblical horrors.

And finally, the book is about GOLF. Bill Clinton could write a book on GOLF etiquette and ethics, and I'd read the...thing. I wasted a beautiful Sunday afternoon watching those no-name GOLFERS fumble their way through the last round of the U.S. Open long after Tiger had fallen from contention. Tiger was on his way back to Orlando in his private jet after he finished his fourth round early. He was probably playing Nintendo, but I was still watching GOLF.

This is all to say that Bob Cullen starts off with three stars in this review because of the GOLF aspect of his book. And I'm giving him one more star for keeping GOLF at the center of his stupid little story.

But Bob, listen to me. You've tarnished the sacred game of GOLF with [garbage] situations, an unbelievable premise, a dumb romance and ridiculous subplots. You start with a mystical bolt of lightening and end with an earthquake. Aren't you a little heavy on the symbolism? I know, I know, I know. You got this lightening bolt thing from "The Natural," right? Did you know that this great book by Bernard Malamud had dark undertones, with the hero actually throwing the big game in the end? Anyway, I'm talking here about the movie, which took the high road that you missed. You start and end "A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe" with beautiful symbolic and mystical acts of nature. But in between there's lots of good, old-fashioned garbage.

Bob, you mix the mystical with the banal in your book. How about a little consistency? You know and describe GOLF as well as anyone, but you're not good at writing Harlequin novels. Go high or go low. Your game is all over the place. Stick to your knitting.

You abruptly change gears from your mystical start into 300 pages of hillbilly shenanigans, [garbage] situations and municipal GOLF course nonsense. Then, you weave a love story into your plot with Greyhound, that dolt who caddies for Jobe. Let's face it, Bob, Greyhound missed the bus. You write nearly 400 pages and Greyhound scores a few kisses from Angela, the angel who's babysitting Jobe? A few kisses?!? This is 2001, Bob. Someone should score in this book, and I'm not talking about a great round on the GOLF course. What, you're trying to write a fairy tale? Don't tell me you're taking the high road here, Bob, since you sure throw around the profanities and try to expose the underbelly of the PGA Tour.

All your little subplots detract from the main premise of the book, which is redemption. But you sure tie up all those distracting tangents. Does the blind Jobe return to the PGA Tournament, how does the odious Little Dickie do in the big event, does Greyhound get the girl, what happens to that ridiculous municipal course back home, how is the long-departed and insane father dealt with (his constant muttering about Ben Hogan gets old real fast, by the way), does the mother avoid the creepy car dealer, etc. I've never seen so many loose ends tied up so efficiently. If only real life was that tidy.

Hey, Bob, you're a GOLF expert. Stick to what you know and avoid what you don't. Leave the cheap romance novels to authors who don't understand GOLF. Go high or go low.


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates