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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