Flatbellies: It's Not About Golf, It's About Life

Rating:
Summary: Golf IS about life
Review: What a great weekend read! The struggles of golf do recapitulate the struggles of life, so in slight contradistinction to the subtitle, this book is about golf AND it's is about life. Reminiscent of Dan Jenkins' Baja Oklahoma, but somehow with a more poignant side, A. B. Hollingsworth spins a great story about a small town Oklahoma high school golf team set in in the 1960's. For me the book evokes memories of the hormones, the love, cockiness and the fear that surrounded adolescence. Perhaps it is solely because I grew up in small town America during that era; perhaps because I can identify with several of the characters, but its pages held me close. At times it made me laugh, and at times made me stare right into a passing rain storm. Any book that can do that is wonderful. If A. B. Hollingsworth can find more stories to tell, I'll find time to read them.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific book!
Review: What a joy to read! I picked this book up based on a recommendation from a friend who knows I'm both a reader and a golf fan. Boy, this couldn't have been better - a great weekend read. This book grabs you from Page 1 and doesn't let go. Even after completing the book, I found myself curious about what would come next for these boys and their dreams of Sooner Magic, medical school, and the PGA Tour. Chipper, Jay, Peachy, L.K., and Buster comprise an unlikely high school golf team and the book chronicles their adventures on and off the links. Golfer or not, all readers will find something in the book to which they can relate, whether it be the mysterious Gail, the athlete L.K., or the colorful Smokey Ray Divine. I raced through this book and was sad to see it end. Could there be more from Hollingsworth and the El Viento golf team? I sure hope so!

Rating:
Summary: Not about golf at all!!
Review: Yes, these kids play golf, but it has nothing to do with the spiritual side of golf at all. Bagger Vance this ain't. It was an ok read but it was depressing, and the deal with the "mystery" girl had no business in the story.