The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

 Review of a novel by Stephen King

Cast of Characters:

Trisha McFarland. Age nine. Main Character

Tom Gordon.  Closer. Pitcher, number 36, for the Boston Red Sox baseball team. 

Time Sequence: June, 1998

Synopsis of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon : A NovelCheck Price

The story begins at ten o’clock on a June Saturday morning in Maine. Trisha is in the family car on her way, with her divorced mother and older brother, for a short hike along the Maine/New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail. At ten thirty, she was lost in the woods!

Trisha had not meant to get lost. During the hike, she was trailing behind her mother & brother who were arguing again over the brother wanting to go back to Boston and live with his dad. Trisha got tired of listening to them, so when they reached a fork in the trail, she stepped off to the lessor trail to go to the bathroom. When done, she thought she could just cut across through the woods to rejoin the main trail. Instead, she got confused and ended up walking in the wrong direction.

The story occurs over the space of a week, with Trisha’s wanderings and poor choices of direction getting her more & more lost, including way beyond the search areas where search & rescue teams were looking for her. 

To keep from being too frightened, especially the first night alone in the dark, she uses her Walkman to listen to a game on the radio of her favorite baseball team (The Boston Red Sox), with her favorite player, Tom Gordon. 

Trisha also began to conserve her small store of food meant originally for lunch on the day hike. This included one tuna sandwich, some chips, celery sticks and Ding-Dongs, plus water and one other drink! 

As the days go by, Trisha keeps walking, first following a stream because she heard that streams usually end somewhere near civilization. When the first stream peters out, she follows another. She mentally replays conversations with her dad on weekend visits, especially those about the Red Sox and Tom Gordon, also her dad’s favorite team. In one conversation, Trisha remembers dad saying: 

“I believe Tom Gordon can save 40 games this year (1998). I believe right now he’s the best Closer in the major leagues — that if he stays healthy and the Sox hitting holds up, he could be pitching in the World Series come October!”  

Eventually, as days pass, the batteries in the Walkman die. So, Trisha begins to keep her mind occupied with imaginary conversations with her hero, Tom Gordon. 

Summary

The entire story (with a few side lines from minor characters) is narrated by and involves mainly Trisha McFarland (and, of course, her baseball hero, Tom Gordon). How she copes when she runs out of food and water and later becomes ill, is a testimony to the endurance of youth and the belief that things will work out. 

Stephen King does a marvelous job keeping you riveted to each section of Trisha’s journey alone in deep woods. Only, Trisha doesn’t believe she’s alone; she’s convinced Tom Gordon is with her, encouraging her to keep going.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a bit of a departure for Stephen King. Rather than a true horror story, (which is a genre I definitely stay away from; thereby seldom reading books by King), it is more a psychological thriller. And, since it involved baseball, and the fact that it is a fiction story involving a real-life baseball player from the 1990s, (whom I had just recently read about), I found myself drawn to it. I am glad I did, as I really enjoyed it.

Summary

Tom Gordon is best remembered in Boston for his dominant 1998 season out of the bullpen, where he set a then-major league record of 43 consecutive saves and a franchise record of 46 saves. Thereby, bringing Trisha’s dad’s earlier statement of 40+ games into focus.

Tom ‘Flash’ Gordon played for the Red Sox from 1996 through 1999. Find his stats and career information and how he acquired the nickname ‘Flash’ here.  He is currently the radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox.

*Family Note: Former Major League Baseball pitcher Tom "Flash" Gordon has three sons, two of whom followed in his footsteps to play in the major leagues. 

*Book Review of "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" was written by Wednesday Elf

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