Pafko at the Wall: A Novella

Rating:
Summary: Third time's the charm?
Review: No, not really. Since this novella first appeared in Harper's some years back and then was the prologue in Underworld, this makes the third time it's appeared in print. And while it is brilliant, why buy this when you can buy Underworld for about the same price?

Rating:
Summary: As some of you below stated...
Review: One can't help but wonder why so obviously skimpy a "book" should warrant release, especially considering that this only a slightly altered piece that appears in a longer work--and this after last year's short and disappointing "Body Artist". Pafko calls itself a novella, but it isn't really; if one takes into consideration the font, margins and amount of pages, what the reader receives isactually a long short story, costing sixteen dollars. Why weren't both "novellas" released together, along with the several other uncollected short works written by Delillo over the past decade? Contractual obligation, perhaps, or possibly worse: simple greed. Although an impressive piece,it needs to be pointed out that Pafko is emblematic of a disturbing trend in the publishing business: the release of lilliputian books with gargantuan price tags. And please, let's not get into a quality and quantity debate; however you view it, this is just WRONG. Check this out of the library, unless you simply enjoy wasting money.

Rating:
Summary: Pennant Fever!
Review: Pafko at the Wall, a story that would evolve into Delillo's Underworld, is a must for any baseball fan. It describes in Delillo's beautiful writing the "shot heard round the world", Thompson's famous home run. This novella easily holds up apart from Underworld and is a wonderful one sitting read.

Rating:
Summary: Third time's the charm?
Review: Well this has to be a classic, but describing it as a new 2001 novella by Delillo is a sure way to rile Delillo fans like me, who almost ordered it on reflex. It turns out to be the first part of Underworld. While Underworld is, in my view, one of the great books of this decade, the publisher should at least warn potential buyers that they may already own this book. On the other hand for those who find it hard to stick through an 800 page book, this sample delicacy might be a good introduction to the art of Delillo. As for me I prefer the original Underworld, or Body Artist, a completely mesmerizing novella about the same size as Pafko.

Rating:
Summary: A publishing scam from an American genius?
Review: Well this has to be a classic, but describing it as a new 2001 novella by Delillo is a sure way to rile Delillo fans like me, who almost ordered it on reflex. It turns out to be the first part of Underworld. While Underworld is, in my view, one of the great books of this decade, the publisher should at least warn potential buyers that they may already own this book. On the other hand for those who find it hard to stick through an 800 page book, this sample delicacy might be a good introduction to the art of Delillo. As for me I prefer the original Underworld, or Body Artist, a completely mesmerizing novella about the same size as Pafko.

Rating:
Summary: This is how to write a book
Review: Who cares about Underworld? I didn't go near it. Separating this classic from that tome was the best marketing move anyone's ever done. This book should be in the public domain anyway. Imagine taking a baseball game, exploding it into one of the world's greatest historical events as seen from various characters' points of view, and at the same time encapsulating the dawning of a new moment in world history. Every sentence is sharp and detailed, anticipating the next. And then when Thomson hits the home run, Delillo freeze frames each second like you're in a car crash, making sure you're aware of everything that's going on. It's one of the best books ever written.

Rating:
Summary: This is how to write a book
Review: Who cares about Underworld? I didn't go near it. Separating this classic from that tome was the best marketing move anyone's ever done. This book should be in the public domain anyway. Imagine taking a baseball game, exploding it into one of the world's greatest historical events as seen from various characters' points of view, and at the same time encapsulating the dawning of a new moment in world history. Every sentence is sharp and detailed, anticipating the next. And then when Thomson hits the home run, Delillo freeze frames each second like you're in a car crash, making sure you're aware of everything that's going on. It's one of the best books ever written.

Rating:
Summary: Longing on a large scale.
Review: Yes, if you've read Underworld then there's no need to buy this book, and yes, it's a cynical ploy to release this already published and republished story as a new hardcover. I'd be irritated with Delillo if this weren't one of the most magnificent things I've ever read. I also enjoy the cover. I'd never seen that photograph before and hence never understood the story's odd original title. Why Pafko, mentioned in the text only once or twice? But there he is, forever, watching the ball sail over his head and into Cotter Martin's hand. Like Nick Shay said, the ball is about losing, not winning. Buy this book and give it to someone who'd never pick up an 800 page book. Give it to a baseball fan.

Rating:
Summary: Longing on a large scale.
Review: Yes, if you've read Underworld then there's no need to buy this book, and yes, it's a cynical ploy to release this already published and republished story as a new hardcover. I'd be irritated with Delillo if this weren't one of the most magnificent things I've ever read. I also enjoy the cover. I'd never seen that photograph before and hence never understood the story's odd original title. Why Pafko, mentioned in the text only once or twice? But there he is, forever, watching the ball sail over his head and into Cotter Martin's hand. Like Nick Shay said, the ball is about losing, not winning. Buy this book and give it to someone who'd never pick up an 800 page book. Give it to a baseball fan.