McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction

by Andrew Forbes

McCurdle’s front teeth were in the back of his throat. They’d been sent rattling back there by a smoker that’d flown up and in on him. He’d tracked it fine emerging from the pitcher’s hand until sunlight danced off some lustred surface beyond centrefield and the orb went from visible to invisible as though a sash had been pulled down before his eyes. Then the godawful impact, like a kicking horse. He sprawled in the dust, staring up at the tranquil blue sky.

Southern Ontario, 1892. The Ashburnham Pine Groves are a semi-professional baseball club in the South Western Ontario Base-Ball Players’ Association, sponsored by the Grafton Brewery, makers of Ashburnham’s Famous Pine Grove Ale. When sober the Ashburnham players are an impressive group, though coarse and occasionally cretinous, and as with any collection of men, not without their peculiarities. Robert James McCurdle is one of their most formidable pitchers, though he understands that his body won’t let him perform at a high level forever. McCurdle’s Arm is an account of a particular man in his particular time, playing a version of baseball devoid of the comforts of the modern game, rife with violence, his employment always precarious. Against this backdrop McCurdle must choose between his love for the game and his desire to be reunited with the woman who loves him.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

108 pages, Paperback

Published August 6, 2024

About the author

Andrew Forbes is the author of the short story collections Lands and Forests (Invisible Publishing, 2019) and What You Need (2015), the latter of which was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and named a finalist for the Trillium Book Prize. He is also the author of The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays (2016), and The Only Way is the Steady Way: Essays on Baseball, Ichiro, and How We Watch the Game, (2021). Forbes lives in Peterborough, Ontario.

Reviews

[Dave Suiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Ferguson Jenkins and Larry Walker were inducted into the Hall of Fame, and decades before Blue Monday in Montreal and Joe Carter touched ‘em all in Toronto, there was another Canadian hero of the diamond, Robert James McCurdle of the Ashburnham Pine Groves in the South Western Ontario Base-Ball Player’s Association. In 1892 Canada, the game of baseball was quite different. The lingo, the players, the venues were all more rugged. McCurdle’s story is told by author Andrew Forbes in a short book titled “McCurdle’s Arm.”

This fictional account of a baseball legend with dreams of making it to Detroit and stardom captures the drunken violent nature of a game played on machismo and fortitude in the place of today’s launch angles and wins above replacements. McCurdle faces the tragedy of loving something that doesn’t reciprocate those feelings but teases him enough to keep him coming back, but for what and for how long. Forbes writes in a style of old-time base-ball with words and descriptions fitting the time of his story making this a captivating read and another example of why baseball, or base-ball, is the most literary sport there is.

[Michael]

My interview with Forbes discussing the book here:
https://umfm.com/programming/broadcas...

[Jamie Carrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I opened this book, I couldn't put it down until I finished. An amazing tale of historical baseball and the times that brought with it. 5/5. 10/10

[Vinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you stay in for too long, and can't see you could have it good now. It started pretty slow, but I think this short book stuck the landing for sure.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been an admirer of Andrew Forbes' work since his debut collection of short stories, and an avid reader of his essays on baseball, I approached McCurdle's Arm with high expectations. It did not disappoint.

This novel tells the story of a fictional baseball player clinging to the game he loves, even as age and injury begin to overtake him. Forbes writes in the parlance of the era, a choice that immerses the reader in the time of small town, company-sponsored professional teams throughout Ontario.

McCurdle's Arm is a quick and satisfying read that I greatly enjoyed, not only as another example of Forbes' excellent baseball writing, but also for its unique presentation and execution, which makes it stand out in such an accomplished body of work.

[Brodie Barrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admittedly picked up this book in Indigo because of the cover art but I really enjoyed this read. It was cool to put myself in the old time baseball feel and read through this fictional story of the times. I thought the author did an amazing job painting a very in depth picture of the time and the characters in such a short time throughout the book. Tying in old time baseball with small town Ontario was really cool to read and relate to. Definitely would recommend this book and can’t wait to check out the author’s others!

[Jake Cadieux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this. Picked it up at a bookfair in Fredericton from Invisible on a whim (there was a baseball on the cover, let's be real) and ploughed through it in a matter of days. Light read, exquisitely written. Guelph local here and I've spent many many summer afternoons and evenings at the local ballpark, and to see it described here brought on a painful yearning for something pure from a city that is no longer safe for me. Love baseball, loved this book, and I'll be looking forward to the many hands that'll turn the pages of my copy over the years.

[Hillary Copsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent baseball book that captures the history and pathos of the sport.

[Enid Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look back on baseball - and what it meant to be a ‘man’ - back in the day.

Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital copy.

[Keatonship · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really read like a baseball announcer, a series of factual sentences. I liked recognizing all the Ontario locations.

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like baseball -- read this one, it's a 4+

Even if you don't read, at 92 pages -- read this one.

[Colin Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.