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The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
From international bestseller Stephen King, a classic story that engages our emotions on the most primal level, a fairy tale grimmer than Grimm but aglow with a girl’s indomitable spirit.What if the woods were full of them? And of course they were, the woods were full of everything you didn’t like, everything you were afraid of and instinctively loathed, everything that tried to overwhelm you with nasty, no-brain panic. The brochure promised a “moderate-to-difficult” six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, where nine-year-old Trisha McFarland was to spend Saturday with her older brother Pete and her recently divorced mother. When she wanders off to escape their constant bickering, then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut through the woods, Trisha strays deeper into a wilderness full of peril and terror. Especially when night falls. Trisha has only her wits for navigation, only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fear. For solace she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox games and the gritty performances of her hero, number thirty-six, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio’s reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—her key to surviving an enemy known only by the slaughtered animals and mangled trees in its wake.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 1999
2625 people are currently reading
80666 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,497 books886k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,782 reviews
January 3, 2020
I could say that Stephen King “hits a home run” with The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon but that would sound trite and campy.
But what the hell.
King hits a home run, this is a great book.
It’s about a nine year old girl (but big for her age) who gets lost in the woods – and a lot more. This is about fear, deep primal fear that is at the roots of our childhood and never really goes away, just retreats back into a far, dark corner to wait. Most everyone has a memory from childhood when a hand held was suddenly - not held; when a parent was there – and then not there.
When a path in the woods was suddenly lost.
Everyone has a memory from when they were suddenly alone.
King knows better than most any writer today about fear, and here he demonstrates his incredible ability to awake in the reader a deep primal fear that we all can recognize, and what better illustration of that recognition than a little girl lost in the woods?
Trisha realizes when she “felt the first winnow flutter of disquiet” that she was lost in the woods, and from there King leads us in an uncomfortable, suspenseful long walk in the woods with a very likable protagonist.
Reminiscent of Algernon Blackwood in his brilliant The Willows and especially in The Wendigo, King creates an antagonist in an almost personified menace of “the woods” or “the wild” and finally in a mystic representation of a wild god.
And of course – baseball. BRILLIANT! As a baseball fan himself, King plays on the spiritual quality of the game while adopting baseball’s natural rhythm in the novel’s structure. *Tom Gordon really did have a phenomenal season in 1998, an all-star election and 46 saves, finishing 69 games.
But what the hell.
King hits a home run, this is a great book.
It’s about a nine year old girl (but big for her age) who gets lost in the woods – and a lot more. This is about fear, deep primal fear that is at the roots of our childhood and never really goes away, just retreats back into a far, dark corner to wait. Most everyone has a memory from childhood when a hand held was suddenly - not held; when a parent was there – and then not there.
When a path in the woods was suddenly lost.
Everyone has a memory from when they were suddenly alone.
King knows better than most any writer today about fear, and here he demonstrates his incredible ability to awake in the reader a deep primal fear that we all can recognize, and what better illustration of that recognition than a little girl lost in the woods?
Trisha realizes when she “felt the first winnow flutter of disquiet” that she was lost in the woods, and from there King leads us in an uncomfortable, suspenseful long walk in the woods with a very likable protagonist.
Reminiscent of Algernon Blackwood in his brilliant The Willows and especially in The Wendigo, King creates an antagonist in an almost personified menace of “the woods” or “the wild” and finally in a mystic representation of a wild god.
And of course – baseball. BRILLIANT! As a baseball fan himself, King plays on the spiritual quality of the game while adopting baseball’s natural rhythm in the novel’s structure. *Tom Gordon really did have a phenomenal season in 1998, an all-star election and 46 saves, finishing 69 games.
June 12, 2022
The ability to enjoy a camping trip strongly depends on how good ones´ survival skills and equipment are. Some baseballs and demons are optional.
Much fun with just one character
The more minimalistic the setting, the more ingenious a writer has to be to make it suspenseful and King does this by describing a scared, small girl in the wilderness, fighting to survive with cleverness and perseverance. How the marvelous description of the relentless but wonderful nature, one seems to be inside while reading, switches with the thoughts of the girl and how she motivates herself to stay optimistic and move on, is exciting at any moment.
Finding hope in the small things
I am a European who knows absolutely nothing about baseball, or sports in general, and even those passages are interesting, because they are directly linked to her emotions and symbolize the importance of optimism and that hope can be awakened by the seemingly most trivial and mundane things one doesn´t find worthy noticing anymore until an extremely exceptional situation occurs. Near-death experiences, surviving a potential terminal illness, overcoming a trauma… it all opens the consciousness for the worth of the moment and mindfulness. So the girl is pretty Buddha too.
No conventional work and thereby not for everybody
Readers who aren´t so interested in literary experiments and just one character based narratives might find no pleasure with this one, but everybody who is open to a new, rather short read, should try it.
I may not be objective
I have to say, I am biased, praising the King is one of my favorite hobbies, people tend to run fast and as far as possible as soon as I mention his name, but I am pretty fit, so the poor fellows have no chance, although it´s difficult talking too much and quickly during exhausting pursuits and sometimes they intentionally run against obstacles or buildings and that´s great because it´s much easier to blather sitting in an ambulance, despite the annoying sirens. But I still haven´t found someone just close to his uniqueness and one of the largest fanbases in the history of literature may agree with me. Praise him, hail him, worship the King!
The most amazing fact is that King is no plotter, but lets the characters take control and gets lost in the creative flow while listening to music. One day in his shoes, man, how must it feel to be in such a creative process…
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
Much fun with just one character
The more minimalistic the setting, the more ingenious a writer has to be to make it suspenseful and King does this by describing a scared, small girl in the wilderness, fighting to survive with cleverness and perseverance. How the marvelous description of the relentless but wonderful nature, one seems to be inside while reading, switches with the thoughts of the girl and how she motivates herself to stay optimistic and move on, is exciting at any moment.
Finding hope in the small things
I am a European who knows absolutely nothing about baseball, or sports in general, and even those passages are interesting, because they are directly linked to her emotions and symbolize the importance of optimism and that hope can be awakened by the seemingly most trivial and mundane things one doesn´t find worthy noticing anymore until an extremely exceptional situation occurs. Near-death experiences, surviving a potential terminal illness, overcoming a trauma… it all opens the consciousness for the worth of the moment and mindfulness. So the girl is pretty Buddha too.
No conventional work and thereby not for everybody
Readers who aren´t so interested in literary experiments and just one character based narratives might find no pleasure with this one, but everybody who is open to a new, rather short read, should try it.
I may not be objective
I have to say, I am biased, praising the King is one of my favorite hobbies, people tend to run fast and as far as possible as soon as I mention his name, but I am pretty fit, so the poor fellows have no chance, although it´s difficult talking too much and quickly during exhausting pursuits and sometimes they intentionally run against obstacles or buildings and that´s great because it´s much easier to blather sitting in an ambulance, despite the annoying sirens. But I still haven´t found someone just close to his uniqueness and one of the largest fanbases in the history of literature may agree with me. Praise him, hail him, worship the King!
The most amazing fact is that King is no plotter, but lets the characters take control and gets lost in the creative flow while listening to music. One day in his shoes, man, how must it feel to be in such a creative process…
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
August 27, 2017
Let me begin by saying I am an ardent Stephen King fan and have been since reading "The Stand" back in 1978. First, I like the genre. Second I believe him to be the best story teller alive on the planet today. That being said, even though I have read nearly everything he has written under any pen name, this is the only review I plan to write for the extensive King library.
What is unique about this book was that it barely stepped into the usual worlds of Stephen King. It is a story about how a young girl survives being lost in the woods. And while there are some supernatural elements in it, they are not the overriding storyline. The focus is more on her psychological battle to survive. It's a tale of courage and the strength of will. You don't have to be a soldier or an athlete to be strong, you simply need the heart and mental toughness to never quit.
This is a book you won't put down until you've finished it.
What is unique about this book was that it barely stepped into the usual worlds of Stephen King. It is a story about how a young girl survives being lost in the woods. And while there are some supernatural elements in it, they are not the overriding storyline. The focus is more on her psychological battle to survive. It's a tale of courage and the strength of will. You don't have to be a soldier or an athlete to be strong, you simply need the heart and mental toughness to never quit.
This is a book you won't put down until you've finished it.
May 22, 2025
Trisha MacFarland's parents recently divorced. After which, her mother decided to move to Sanford, Maine, moving the kids along with her.
Their father still lives in Medford, Massachusetts, where their family home was located. Pete, Trisha's older brother, did not take the move well.
He continues to punish their Mom daily with his contentious attitude. Trisha tries to remain upbeat, but the constant fighting between Mom and Pete is treading on her last nerve.
On the day they head out for a hiking excursion along the Appalachian Trail, on the border between Maine and New Hampshire, they're at it again. Pete is in a particularly foul mood.
Her Mom has been doing this a lot since their move; planning little outings for them on the weekends. Trisha doesn't mind, but the adventures rarely go well.
Pete would rather be home on his computer and makes that fact known, a lot. Trisha doesn't even know why her Mom bothers.
As they hit the trail, Pete and Mom take the lead, arguing the entire time. It's like Trisha is invisible. They pay no attention to her whatsoever.
When Trisha decides she needs to pee, she hops off the trail and goes a little way into the dense woods. She doesn't need any hikers watching her do her business.
That's how Trisha becomes lost.
Left on her own, with just the items in her backpack, Trisha must figure out a way to survive. She facing not just Mother Nature, in all her brutal glory, but also, she feels something following her. Something old and dark that wishes to do her harm.
Survival stories are one of my favorite Horror subgenres. I personally spend a lot of time in the great outdoors, hiking and exploring, so I find them particularly horrifying.
In fact, I was along this same section of trail in late September. This is an area I absolutely love, but still can make me nervous. It's a lot of woods, one wrong turn and...
I think the fact that getting lost in the woods is one of my biggest fears contributed to my enjoyment of this story. Being in thick woods on your own is such a powerful feeling. It heightens all of your senses. I felt that through this writing.
With this being said, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is an incredibly well-written story, which I think can be enjoyed by anyone; even if you've never been hiking a day in your life.
Trisha proves to be a resourceful girl, even though she definitely makes some mistakes. She's nine!
I became so invested in her. She loves the Boston Red Sox, her favorite player being a famous relief pitcher of the time, Tom Gordon. Although really, Trisha knows the ins and outs of the whole team.
Trisha has her Walkman with her and is able to get the Sox games on it. That is her only company. Her one connection to the outside world; to her humanity.
I highly recommend this short novel to anyone. There's a lot to be found within these pages, just as there is within the dark, dark woods.
Their father still lives in Medford, Massachusetts, where their family home was located. Pete, Trisha's older brother, did not take the move well.
He continues to punish their Mom daily with his contentious attitude. Trisha tries to remain upbeat, but the constant fighting between Mom and Pete is treading on her last nerve.
On the day they head out for a hiking excursion along the Appalachian Trail, on the border between Maine and New Hampshire, they're at it again. Pete is in a particularly foul mood.
Her Mom has been doing this a lot since their move; planning little outings for them on the weekends. Trisha doesn't mind, but the adventures rarely go well.
Pete would rather be home on his computer and makes that fact known, a lot. Trisha doesn't even know why her Mom bothers.
As they hit the trail, Pete and Mom take the lead, arguing the entire time. It's like Trisha is invisible. They pay no attention to her whatsoever.
When Trisha decides she needs to pee, she hops off the trail and goes a little way into the dense woods. She doesn't need any hikers watching her do her business.
That's how Trisha becomes lost.
Left on her own, with just the items in her backpack, Trisha must figure out a way to survive. She facing not just Mother Nature, in all her brutal glory, but also, she feels something following her. Something old and dark that wishes to do her harm.
Survival stories are one of my favorite Horror subgenres. I personally spend a lot of time in the great outdoors, hiking and exploring, so I find them particularly horrifying.
In fact, I was along this same section of trail in late September. This is an area I absolutely love, but still can make me nervous. It's a lot of woods, one wrong turn and...
I think the fact that getting lost in the woods is one of my biggest fears contributed to my enjoyment of this story. Being in thick woods on your own is such a powerful feeling. It heightens all of your senses. I felt that through this writing.
With this being said, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is an incredibly well-written story, which I think can be enjoyed by anyone; even if you've never been hiking a day in your life.
Trisha proves to be a resourceful girl, even though she definitely makes some mistakes. She's nine!
I became so invested in her. She loves the Boston Red Sox, her favorite player being a famous relief pitcher of the time, Tom Gordon. Although really, Trisha knows the ins and outs of the whole team.
Trisha has her Walkman with her and is able to get the Sox games on it. That is her only company. Her one connection to the outside world; to her humanity.
I highly recommend this short novel to anyone. There's a lot to be found within these pages, just as there is within the dark, dark woods.
November 19, 2021
2016 read: I enjoy this book so much more on each re-reading. I feel sometimes the pull of (over) expectation can weaken a book's impact on first read, well it did for me. A nine year old girl gets lost in the New Hampshire woods; and this is her simple, yet captivating story about whether she can survive alone in the wilderness, and whether her Red Sox hero Tom Gordon can help her! Such a simple idea - a child lost in the woods, with only the idea of her hero to hold on to - made into something a lot more by King. 8 out of 12 ...I gave this book 4 out of 12 on my first reading!
October 8, 2022
“Part of her wanted to run. Never mind how flowing water was bound to take her to people eventually, all that was likely just a crock of Little House on the Prairie shit.”
Nine year old Trisha has only veered a little way off the trail but in her panic to get back to the path and her mother and brother, she ends up going deeper and deeper into the terrifying woods. At first it's just the bugs, midges and mosquitoes. Then comes the hunger. For comfort she tunes her Walkman into broadcasts of a Red Sox baseball game and the performances of her hero Tom Gordon. As darkness begins to fall, Trisha realises that she is not alone. There is something else in the woods. Watching. Waiting.
As always with Stephen King, this is well written and brilliantly descriptive. The way the wilderness is described is fantastic, and I found Trisha to be a very resourceful character. Especially for a nine year old! However, this is not your typical King novel, it does not provide the usual scares and intensity he is adored for. The baseball talk and references were also lost on me, which is why I think it didn't completely blow me away.
I had also hoped for more substance to the plot as it became relatively slow paced and predictable near the end, which was extremely anti-climatic. She finally faces this thing that she feels has been stalking her during her time in the forest, she survives, and then…. The End.
Overall, the story was still good and enjoyable, there were just some details that needed to be tightened up, which surprised me for a Stephen King book.
Nine year old Trisha has only veered a little way off the trail but in her panic to get back to the path and her mother and brother, she ends up going deeper and deeper into the terrifying woods. At first it's just the bugs, midges and mosquitoes. Then comes the hunger. For comfort she tunes her Walkman into broadcasts of a Red Sox baseball game and the performances of her hero Tom Gordon. As darkness begins to fall, Trisha realises that she is not alone. There is something else in the woods. Watching. Waiting.
As always with Stephen King, this is well written and brilliantly descriptive. The way the wilderness is described is fantastic, and I found Trisha to be a very resourceful character. Especially for a nine year old! However, this is not your typical King novel, it does not provide the usual scares and intensity he is adored for. The baseball talk and references were also lost on me, which is why I think it didn't completely blow me away.
I had also hoped for more substance to the plot as it became relatively slow paced and predictable near the end, which was extremely anti-climatic. She finally faces this thing that she feels has been stalking her during her time in the forest, she survives, and then…. The End.
Overall, the story was still good and enjoyable, there were just some details that needed to be tightened up, which surprised me for a Stephen King book.
November 3, 2024
Some books, even by a long-standing treasured name, don’t garner much interest from me. Some of those same books, however, find themselves in my hands because they happen to be within my reach while I’m bedridden one October for days with what felt like some combination of Ebola, Bubonic Plague, and the Wrath of God Almighty. (Okay, it was just the flu, but it suuuucked). In between bouts of shakes and death (I think), I deliriously read this.
To the extent that anything with Stephen King’s name emblazoned on it could be considered underrated, I’d say The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon qualifies. It’s not his unsung masterpiece, his grand, grim triumph, but for the condition I was in when I read it, it was almost a curative tincture (or at least the best damn bowl of comforting chicken noodle soup ever brewed). Thanks to this novel, I will regard that otherwise miserable weekend with fondness.
As someone who often values and prioritizes use of language and sentence craft over narrative and character ‘likability,’ I rooted for that girl like I had ten grand on The Twins; like she was my own daughter.
Trisha’s determination in the face of such peril, after getting separated from her family on the Appalachian Trail, renders her a formidable heroine in the survival horror genre, especially being so young. Drawing on her admiration for her favorite baseball player to endure was adorable, wholesome, and encouraging.
This story reminded me of Don Bluth’s philosophy about the darkness of his movies: kids can handle anything as long as there is a happy ending. I don’t seek out crowd-pleasing, sentimental, happy endings, but once in a while, it’s just right, like a fairy tale.
To the extent that anything with Stephen King’s name emblazoned on it could be considered underrated, I’d say The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon qualifies. It’s not his unsung masterpiece, his grand, grim triumph, but for the condition I was in when I read it, it was almost a curative tincture (or at least the best damn bowl of comforting chicken noodle soup ever brewed). Thanks to this novel, I will regard that otherwise miserable weekend with fondness.
As someone who often values and prioritizes use of language and sentence craft over narrative and character ‘likability,’ I rooted for that girl like I had ten grand on The Twins; like she was my own daughter.
Trisha’s determination in the face of such peril, after getting separated from her family on the Appalachian Trail, renders her a formidable heroine in the survival horror genre, especially being so young. Drawing on her admiration for her favorite baseball player to endure was adorable, wholesome, and encouraging.
This story reminded me of Don Bluth’s philosophy about the darkness of his movies: kids can handle anything as long as there is a happy ending. I don’t seek out crowd-pleasing, sentimental, happy endings, but once in a while, it’s just right, like a fairy tale.
February 11, 2023
Stephen King is perfect at quieter, smaller, strangely intimate stories like this one.
This has always been among my favorites by him - the story of a young girl lost in the woods and trying to survive against the odds, all while being hunted by something dangerous, and walking a thin line between sanity and starved febrile hallucinations. It’s very short by King’s standards — just a couple of hundred pages that focus on the survival and also on the contrast between nature’s beauty and its cruelty, and the nature of faith and belief, and the nature of fear itself — and even baseball can’t spoil it. (Yeah, despite having lived in the US for many years now, this book is still where the only knowledge I have about baseball comes from; but hey, it’s not biathlon or tennis, so…)
I’ve been lost in the woods once, the same age as Trisha McFarland, but with my uncle and aunt and just for a day — and so it felt like a fun adventure, even though once the darkness fell the unease kicked in despite adults being in charge. It’s hard to even imagine a kid surviving that in her own over days and days, at times amazing in her cleverness and resilience, at other times making stupid choices that do make sense for a kid. It’s exactly that everyday horror that’s infinitely scarier than even that certain sewer-haunting clown. It’s just so mundane and easy to step off the path and find yourself lost and afraid — and King knows how to show the primal terror of being lost and alone and dwarfed by nature that’s suddenly not that friendly any longer.
And it’s amazing that King can have me spend 200-plus pages in the head of a 9-year-old girl and never feel bored or sense a false note. He’s amazing at writing kids well, and this is no exception.
This is a story that would work for those not enjoying the supernatural elements in books since you can opt for a rational explanation if you so desire. And the ending, unlike some of King’s “bigger” books with more elaborate stories, actually closes the story well. And clearly you don’t have to know jack abut baseball to enjoy it (Tom Gordon may be the only baseball player I can ever name, and it’s likely to stay that way).
Still 5 stars from my former 9-year-old self that was much safer in the woods than Trisha McFarland. Still among my favorites from the master storyteller.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
“The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted.”
This has always been among my favorites by him - the story of a young girl lost in the woods and trying to survive against the odds, all while being hunted by something dangerous, and walking a thin line between sanity and starved febrile hallucinations. It’s very short by King’s standards — just a couple of hundred pages that focus on the survival and also on the contrast between nature’s beauty and its cruelty, and the nature of faith and belief, and the nature of fear itself — and even baseball can’t spoil it. (Yeah, despite having lived in the US for many years now, this book is still where the only knowledge I have about baseball comes from; but hey, it’s not biathlon or tennis, so…)
I’ve been lost in the woods once, the same age as Trisha McFarland, but with my uncle and aunt and just for a day — and so it felt like a fun adventure, even though once the darkness fell the unease kicked in despite adults being in charge. It’s hard to even imagine a kid surviving that in her own over days and days, at times amazing in her cleverness and resilience, at other times making stupid choices that do make sense for a kid. It’s exactly that everyday horror that’s infinitely scarier than even that certain sewer-haunting clown. It’s just so mundane and easy to step off the path and find yourself lost and afraid — and King knows how to show the primal terror of being lost and alone and dwarfed by nature that’s suddenly not that friendly any longer.
“You could get used to anything, if you had to. She knew that now.”
And it’s amazing that King can have me spend 200-plus pages in the head of a 9-year-old girl and never feel bored or sense a false note. He’s amazing at writing kids well, and this is no exception.
This is a story that would work for those not enjoying the supernatural elements in books since you can opt for a rational explanation if you so desire. And the ending, unlike some of King’s “bigger” books with more elaborate stories, actually closes the story well. And clearly you don’t have to know jack abut baseball to enjoy it (Tom Gordon may be the only baseball player I can ever name, and it’s likely to stay that way).
Still 5 stars from my former 9-year-old self that was much safer in the woods than Trisha McFarland. Still among my favorites from the master storyteller.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
November 6, 2022
“Trisha turned back toward the slope, and then turned around again as the worst idea of her life came to her. This idea was to go forward instead of backtracking to the Kezar Notch Trail. The paths had forked in a Y; she would simply walk across the gap and rejoin the main trail. Piece of cake. There was no chance of getting lost, because she could hear the voices of the other hikers so clearly. There was really no chance of getting lost at all…”
- Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Major League Baseball pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon had a really solid professional baseball career. Over the course of twenty-one years, with eight different teams – primarily the Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Red Sox – he won 138 games, saved 158 more, had a sub-four earned-run-average, and accumulated 35 wins-above-replacement.
If you don’t follow baseball, it’s enough to say that these numbers won’t get you anywhere near the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Nevertheless, with three All Star game appearances, one standout year – 1998, when he led the American League in saves – and a lifetime spent earning a large income playing a child’s game, it’s hard to say that Flash Gordon didn’t succeed brilliantly.
With all that said, it is very likely that if he is remembered by anyone other than diehard baseball fans, it will be for his supporting role in Stephen King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
***
For all his enormous reputation as a horror author, King is a tremendously creative writer. He has done huge, elaborate, thousand-page opuses, and he has delivered extremely short short-stories. His genre-spanning work includes ghost stories, science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, splatter-fests, psychological thrillers, and even some detective fiction. King is not always successful in what he sets out to do, but he is never boring.
The setup for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a deliberate reimagining of a fairy tale, as filtered through the peculiar mind of Stephen King. Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland is on a six-mile hike with her mother and brother, traipsing along the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail. She momentarily steps off the beaten path in order to relieve herself. When she finishes, she attempts to catch up by cutting cross-country.
Very soon, Trisha is lost, with only a backpack containing a soda, some water, her lunch, and a Walkman with which she is able to listen to her beloved Boston Red Sox. As she journeys through the wilderness, she begins to sense that something menacing is stalking her. In response, she imagines that her favorite Bo Sox player – the aforementioned and eponymous Tom Gordon – is there at her side.
***
Few novels are perfect in the sense that their plots are entirely free of holes or gaps. King novels are no exception. There is typically a conceit that must be accepted in order to enjoy everything that follows. If you don’t accept it, then it becomes impossible to maintain the illusion of truth, and the magic spell of transformative fiction is obliterated.
In The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, the pill you have to swallow is Trisha McFarland. Specifically, the fact that she is allegedly nine years-old. In deciding to follow a vulnerable child, King ups the tension, and also stretches credulity.
Obviously, Stephen King is a father, and has therefore likely spent time around a nine-year-old. That is not evident from his presentation of Trisha. In her physical abilities and situational logic, she acts like a teenager. In her thoughts, her meditations, her intricate beliefs, her already-vast repository of pop-cultural detritus, and her modes of expression, she is closer to sixty. This isn’t really a question of precocity, which can defy age, but of maturity, which requires the wisdom of time and experience.
Not only is Trisha not an accurate representation of a nine-year-old, but she is an extremely familiar King archetype, a character whose interior monologue is well-lubricated by radio jingles, snatches of music, movie references, and literary allusions.
Quite early into The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, I actually set it down for a day, to allow myself some time to decide whether to proceed. Accepting the ridiculous in a King novel is usually a prerequisite. After all, in his Castle Rock metaverse – which is coyly alluded to here – there are vampire infested towns, a killer demon clown, haunted hotels, and murderous cars. What gave me pause is that this is purportedly grounded in reality. There is a tinge of the supernatural, but it remains at the margins. For the most part, this is a gritty, one-person survival story. If you can’t believe in Trisha, the underlying premise is threatened with collapse.
Eventually – as you can see – I picked this back up, figuring that “bad” Stephen King is still better than most good books by others.
This turned out to be true.
***
In all honesty, I never quite got over the age thing, which is an entirely subjective critique. Because of it, though, I didn’t connect with Trisha’s misadventure on an emotional level. That is to say, since I could not believe in her as a person, or trick myself into thinking she actually existed, I felt minimal investment in her fate. Still, King executes everything else so well that I’m not even sure it matters.
Trisha is the headliner in this drama – with an assist from the Gordon-Spirit – but the true star is the Appalachian Trail. King not only paints the geographical characteristics of the woods, hills, meadows, and bogs, but he gives them texture, and weaves them indelibly into the narrative. Atmosphere is hard to get right, and often times so-called “atmospheric novels” stumble into the realm of pathetic fallacies or rely on the overuse of cliches, such as oppressive fog and brooding clouds.
In The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, you feel the sting of mosquitoes, the bites of midges, and the slimy-cold water of a swamp. You are given a very detailed description of the kind of vomiting and pooping you might do if you drank untreated water. You sense the overwhelming solitude of being somewhere entirely disconnected to your known world. But you also are treated to beautiful and breathtaking vistas, glimpses of a land as it might have existed at the first dawn. There is a relentless, natural brutality present on every page, but also the primal sense of triumph that comes when you reach the top of a ridge or the edge of a forest.
***
Like many King novels, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is firmly a product of its time, written with an eye for contemporary detail that does not always age well. When this was published in 1999, Tom Gordon was a crackerjack closer, the Boston Red Sox were loveable losers, and Red Sox fans were paragons of a unique kind of faith. Over twenty years later, Gordon is long-retired, the Red Sox are a high-payroll behemoth with four World Series trophies in the 21st century, and Red Sox fans are the most insufferable sports fans in America, and it’s not really close. The ur-meaning of Trisha’s Red Sox fandom no longer plays as it did in bygone days, when to root for the Fenway boys meant overcoming constant disappointment by the sheer dint of blind conviction. Beyond that, I’m sure there are many younger readers who will open these pages, and then pause to look up “Walkman” on their handheld super-computers.
Also, as I’ve already belabored, there’s no way Trisha is nine.
When the creakier elements are set aside, however, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon remains surprisingly solid. I’m late to recognizing King’s genius, and am nowhere close to completing his prodigious literary canon, but I’d put this somewhere in the middle of his output, not close to his best, yet not close to his worst, either. There is a fundamental appeal to stories centering on mankind versus nature. Though I am not sure King got his human right, he certainly nailed the nature aspect.
- Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Major League Baseball pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon had a really solid professional baseball career. Over the course of twenty-one years, with eight different teams – primarily the Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Red Sox – he won 138 games, saved 158 more, had a sub-four earned-run-average, and accumulated 35 wins-above-replacement.
If you don’t follow baseball, it’s enough to say that these numbers won’t get you anywhere near the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Nevertheless, with three All Star game appearances, one standout year – 1998, when he led the American League in saves – and a lifetime spent earning a large income playing a child’s game, it’s hard to say that Flash Gordon didn’t succeed brilliantly.
With all that said, it is very likely that if he is remembered by anyone other than diehard baseball fans, it will be for his supporting role in Stephen King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
***
For all his enormous reputation as a horror author, King is a tremendously creative writer. He has done huge, elaborate, thousand-page opuses, and he has delivered extremely short short-stories. His genre-spanning work includes ghost stories, science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, splatter-fests, psychological thrillers, and even some detective fiction. King is not always successful in what he sets out to do, but he is never boring.
The setup for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a deliberate reimagining of a fairy tale, as filtered through the peculiar mind of Stephen King. Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland is on a six-mile hike with her mother and brother, traipsing along the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail. She momentarily steps off the beaten path in order to relieve herself. When she finishes, she attempts to catch up by cutting cross-country.
Very soon, Trisha is lost, with only a backpack containing a soda, some water, her lunch, and a Walkman with which she is able to listen to her beloved Boston Red Sox. As she journeys through the wilderness, she begins to sense that something menacing is stalking her. In response, she imagines that her favorite Bo Sox player – the aforementioned and eponymous Tom Gordon – is there at her side.
***
Few novels are perfect in the sense that their plots are entirely free of holes or gaps. King novels are no exception. There is typically a conceit that must be accepted in order to enjoy everything that follows. If you don’t accept it, then it becomes impossible to maintain the illusion of truth, and the magic spell of transformative fiction is obliterated.
In The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, the pill you have to swallow is Trisha McFarland. Specifically, the fact that she is allegedly nine years-old. In deciding to follow a vulnerable child, King ups the tension, and also stretches credulity.
Obviously, Stephen King is a father, and has therefore likely spent time around a nine-year-old. That is not evident from his presentation of Trisha. In her physical abilities and situational logic, she acts like a teenager. In her thoughts, her meditations, her intricate beliefs, her already-vast repository of pop-cultural detritus, and her modes of expression, she is closer to sixty. This isn’t really a question of precocity, which can defy age, but of maturity, which requires the wisdom of time and experience.
Not only is Trisha not an accurate representation of a nine-year-old, but she is an extremely familiar King archetype, a character whose interior monologue is well-lubricated by radio jingles, snatches of music, movie references, and literary allusions.
Quite early into The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, I actually set it down for a day, to allow myself some time to decide whether to proceed. Accepting the ridiculous in a King novel is usually a prerequisite. After all, in his Castle Rock metaverse – which is coyly alluded to here – there are vampire infested towns, a killer demon clown, haunted hotels, and murderous cars. What gave me pause is that this is purportedly grounded in reality. There is a tinge of the supernatural, but it remains at the margins. For the most part, this is a gritty, one-person survival story. If you can’t believe in Trisha, the underlying premise is threatened with collapse.
Eventually – as you can see – I picked this back up, figuring that “bad” Stephen King is still better than most good books by others.
This turned out to be true.
***
In all honesty, I never quite got over the age thing, which is an entirely subjective critique. Because of it, though, I didn’t connect with Trisha’s misadventure on an emotional level. That is to say, since I could not believe in her as a person, or trick myself into thinking she actually existed, I felt minimal investment in her fate. Still, King executes everything else so well that I’m not even sure it matters.
Trisha is the headliner in this drama – with an assist from the Gordon-Spirit – but the true star is the Appalachian Trail. King not only paints the geographical characteristics of the woods, hills, meadows, and bogs, but he gives them texture, and weaves them indelibly into the narrative. Atmosphere is hard to get right, and often times so-called “atmospheric novels” stumble into the realm of pathetic fallacies or rely on the overuse of cliches, such as oppressive fog and brooding clouds.
In The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, you feel the sting of mosquitoes, the bites of midges, and the slimy-cold water of a swamp. You are given a very detailed description of the kind of vomiting and pooping you might do if you drank untreated water. You sense the overwhelming solitude of being somewhere entirely disconnected to your known world. But you also are treated to beautiful and breathtaking vistas, glimpses of a land as it might have existed at the first dawn. There is a relentless, natural brutality present on every page, but also the primal sense of triumph that comes when you reach the top of a ridge or the edge of a forest.
***
Like many King novels, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is firmly a product of its time, written with an eye for contemporary detail that does not always age well. When this was published in 1999, Tom Gordon was a crackerjack closer, the Boston Red Sox were loveable losers, and Red Sox fans were paragons of a unique kind of faith. Over twenty years later, Gordon is long-retired, the Red Sox are a high-payroll behemoth with four World Series trophies in the 21st century, and Red Sox fans are the most insufferable sports fans in America, and it’s not really close. The ur-meaning of Trisha’s Red Sox fandom no longer plays as it did in bygone days, when to root for the Fenway boys meant overcoming constant disappointment by the sheer dint of blind conviction. Beyond that, I’m sure there are many younger readers who will open these pages, and then pause to look up “Walkman” on their handheld super-computers.
Also, as I’ve already belabored, there’s no way Trisha is nine.
When the creakier elements are set aside, however, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon remains surprisingly solid. I’m late to recognizing King’s genius, and am nowhere close to completing his prodigious literary canon, but I’d put this somewhere in the middle of his output, not close to his best, yet not close to his worst, either. There is a fundamental appeal to stories centering on mankind versus nature. Though I am not sure King got his human right, he certainly nailed the nature aspect.
Read
January 23, 2023I'm learning a lot about myself as a reader during this retro challenge, which is putting books in my hands I wouldn't have ordinarily found or chosen based upon the jacket flap. I'm learning I like a lot of stylization—heightened prose or structure. Because of that, THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON was a miss for me. It's King, so it's competent and clean, but it's also a quite straightforward adventure-horror through the woods. I might have liked it better as one of his short stories, but for me, truly, I think it needed more stylization of some sort. It's possible I'm now a jaded enough reader that a linear through-the-woods tale doesn't do it for me anymore.
Also note: I tackled this book as part of my 2023 reading challenge to read books from this crowd-sourced list of recommended standalone novels published between 1985-2007: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
I am a brittle and crotchety reader, so please don't take my opinions on these novels as universal.
Also note: I tackled this book as part of my 2023 reading challenge to read books from this crowd-sourced list of recommended standalone novels published between 1985-2007: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
I am a brittle and crotchety reader, so please don't take my opinions on these novels as universal.
October 15, 2017
With my holidays finally coming to a close after a busy month, I was in need of a quick, fast paced read. A few of my goodreads friends in a group I regularly participate in, the reading for pleasure book group, engage in many buddy reads of thrillers and spooky stories that are otherwise out of my comfort zone. Psychological thrillers have been known to give me the creeps, and I still can not watch a scary movie past three in the afternoon in case it plants an idea in my head that would give me a nightmare. Yet, when the small group decided to read Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon I decided to join them. King is an ardent Boston Red Sox fan and even owns a minor league team, so what could be better than a book by an impassioned baseball enthusiast read during baseball's post season.
Trisha McFarland is nine going on ten and tall for her age. Her parents had gotten divorced the year before and her mother won custody. Both Trisha and her older brother Pete would have rather lived with their father Larry McFarland. Even though he on occasion could down a few beers too many, he still lived in the house that they knew as home, and they would be allowed to stay in the same schools. Trisha also shares a bond with her father, a love of baseball, specifically the Boston Red Sox. Larry saw how much the divorce had taken a toll on his kids so he wrote to Tom Gordon, Boston's closer at the time of this book (1998) and Trisha's favorite player, and asked him to sign a Sox cap for her. This cap cements the bond that Trisha shares with her father and becomes her most prized possession. While Trisha and Pete prefer the company of their father, their mother Quilla Andersen over compensates by dragging them on outings each Saturday when Pete would rather be playing video games and Trisha hanging out with her friend Pepsi or watching the Red Sox. After the divorce, Quilla appeared to lose sense of who her children were, becoming self-centered and uncompromising. Her staunch behavior would come back to haunt her.
On a seemingly normal Saturday outing, Quilla has dragged Pete and Trisha to an Appalachian Trail hike near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. Instantly, Quilla and Pete commence on one of their classic arguments, losing site of Trisha. Immediately, she becomes lost in the woods. King paints a picture of a girl on the cusp of adolescence who is forced to come of age before her time. Relying on basic survival skills taught by both her parents and in science class, Trisha is forced to utilize her knowledge to not succumb to the big bad woods. The one link to the outside world that Trisha has left is her Walkman radio and with it Red Sox broadcasts each night as long as her batteries last. It is Trisha's imagination and her love of the Sox and Tom Gordon that have her creating life imparting wisdom from Gordon as a means for survival. This wisdom comes from being the ninth inning pitcher, the one called on when the game is on the line, who must have ice water in his veins at all times. In creating these imaginary scenarios in which Tom Gordon is her safety net and guiding light, Trisha attempts to defeat the opposition, the woods, unscathed.
In his prose that comes from being a master of his genre, one can see that King can create a scary story in no time at all. Yet, for someone who is scared if a person walks up behind her, I was not scared at all. Part of this is having an imagination as rampant as Trisha's, especially an imagination that created scenarios with a childhood me having conversations with my favorite baseball players. That time is based on when the Red Sox play and how the team kept her tethered to reality felt normal to me. If I ever got lost as child, g-d forbid, I would probably have had imaginary conversations with baseball players in my head too, if it meant staying focused on the task ahead of me. Empathizing with Trisha's situation and having a similar imagination, I did not scare when she created big bad monsters, real or imagined. All along I figured that Tom Gordon would save Trisha just as baseball players saved me from a recurring nightmare I had as a kid.
For someone who does not enjoy being spooked, I was not scared at all by reading Stephen King. I viewed this story as a coming of age tale of a girl who is a product of divorce and finds herself lost in the woods, using baseball as her anchor. It is evident from reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon that Stephen King is a huge fan of the game, as he inserts baseball facts and statistics within the story. Perhaps for someone who does not have as large of an imagination as I have or who is not a fan of baseball, this book would be scary. After all, the woods, as King states initially, is a scary place, especially for a girl who is nine turning ten and big for her age, who finds herself lost. If I really want to get scared, I will maybe just maybe read another of King's non-baseball centric stories at a later date. That is, if I read it before three in the afternoon so it doesn't give me nightmares.
3.5 stars
Trisha McFarland is nine going on ten and tall for her age. Her parents had gotten divorced the year before and her mother won custody. Both Trisha and her older brother Pete would have rather lived with their father Larry McFarland. Even though he on occasion could down a few beers too many, he still lived in the house that they knew as home, and they would be allowed to stay in the same schools. Trisha also shares a bond with her father, a love of baseball, specifically the Boston Red Sox. Larry saw how much the divorce had taken a toll on his kids so he wrote to Tom Gordon, Boston's closer at the time of this book (1998) and Trisha's favorite player, and asked him to sign a Sox cap for her. This cap cements the bond that Trisha shares with her father and becomes her most prized possession. While Trisha and Pete prefer the company of their father, their mother Quilla Andersen over compensates by dragging them on outings each Saturday when Pete would rather be playing video games and Trisha hanging out with her friend Pepsi or watching the Red Sox. After the divorce, Quilla appeared to lose sense of who her children were, becoming self-centered and uncompromising. Her staunch behavior would come back to haunt her.
On a seemingly normal Saturday outing, Quilla has dragged Pete and Trisha to an Appalachian Trail hike near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. Instantly, Quilla and Pete commence on one of their classic arguments, losing site of Trisha. Immediately, she becomes lost in the woods. King paints a picture of a girl on the cusp of adolescence who is forced to come of age before her time. Relying on basic survival skills taught by both her parents and in science class, Trisha is forced to utilize her knowledge to not succumb to the big bad woods. The one link to the outside world that Trisha has left is her Walkman radio and with it Red Sox broadcasts each night as long as her batteries last. It is Trisha's imagination and her love of the Sox and Tom Gordon that have her creating life imparting wisdom from Gordon as a means for survival. This wisdom comes from being the ninth inning pitcher, the one called on when the game is on the line, who must have ice water in his veins at all times. In creating these imaginary scenarios in which Tom Gordon is her safety net and guiding light, Trisha attempts to defeat the opposition, the woods, unscathed.
In his prose that comes from being a master of his genre, one can see that King can create a scary story in no time at all. Yet, for someone who is scared if a person walks up behind her, I was not scared at all. Part of this is having an imagination as rampant as Trisha's, especially an imagination that created scenarios with a childhood me having conversations with my favorite baseball players. That time is based on when the Red Sox play and how the team kept her tethered to reality felt normal to me. If I ever got lost as child, g-d forbid, I would probably have had imaginary conversations with baseball players in my head too, if it meant staying focused on the task ahead of me. Empathizing with Trisha's situation and having a similar imagination, I did not scare when she created big bad monsters, real or imagined. All along I figured that Tom Gordon would save Trisha just as baseball players saved me from a recurring nightmare I had as a kid.
For someone who does not enjoy being spooked, I was not scared at all by reading Stephen King. I viewed this story as a coming of age tale of a girl who is a product of divorce and finds herself lost in the woods, using baseball as her anchor. It is evident from reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon that Stephen King is a huge fan of the game, as he inserts baseball facts and statistics within the story. Perhaps for someone who does not have as large of an imagination as I have or who is not a fan of baseball, this book would be scary. After all, the woods, as King states initially, is a scary place, especially for a girl who is nine turning ten and big for her age, who finds herself lost. If I really want to get scared, I will maybe just maybe read another of King's non-baseball centric stories at a later date. That is, if I read it before three in the afternoon so it doesn't give me nightmares.
3.5 stars
March 3, 2009
Once upon a time, I could buy Stephen King books with confidence it would be a good read.
I think this book is the worst one I've read by King, and maybe one of the worst I've ever read, period. I do not have to words to properly express how crappy this book was.
I think this book is the worst one I've read by King, and maybe one of the worst I've ever read, period. I do not have to words to properly express how crappy this book was.
September 23, 2017
Stephen King has confessed that he suffers from “literary elephantiasis”: that is, his novels tend to bloat. I would agree. Compared to the three- to five-hundred page efforts of his early days, the current productions weigh in starting at a thousand plus: even though his books remain eminently readable, I for one prefer the early, slimmer King novels before he caught this disease.
But in between these gargantuan tomes, Steve produces small novellas rather like master chefs produce snacks once in a while as a break from five-course dinners. While many of them are light reading by his standards, suitable to while away an afternoon but nothing to write home about, some exceed expectations. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is such a book.
This is a suspense novel about a girl lost on the Appalachian Trail. On a hiking trip with her mother and brother, young Patricia MacFarland wanders off the path, ostensibly to take a piss but actually to get away from the constantly bickering pair of her parent and sibling. A small miscalculation and wham! She suddenly finds herself lost in the woods, frantically searching for a way out. As her situation grows more and more desperate, she has only her walkman for company; and through it, Tom Gordon, the Red Sox player. Soon, Tom (who points to the sky as if invoking God as he throws deadly balls to pluck out victory from the jaws of defeat) joins Trisha in her increasingly hallucinatory journey and his advice proves to be her salvation in the gripping climax.
Stephen King is a master of infusing the fantastic into the humdrum. He tells us that the facade of normalcy is only a sham which can tear at any moment and expose the terrifying visage beneath: that your parents may tell that there is no boogeyman in the closet but we know better, don’t we? Trisha’s trip across uncharted woods soon turns into a metaphorical passage across the primeval forest of the psyche: and the monster stalking her takes on mythical dimensions.
When human beings reach the end of their tether, they call out to God even if they don’t believe in Him: but what God? Steve gives us three choices: the New Testament God (the one Tom prays to with his finger pointed to the sky) who physically intervenes, but not always to one’s benefit; the God who is immanent in the universe but non-intrusive (Trisha’s father’s “subaudible”, more of a dormant force than a person); and the terrifying ogre God of all primitive religions including the Old Testament, the “God of the Lost” who comes from the thing in the woods. Trisha has to choose – and when the time comes, she enters into “the zone” (as sportsmen like Gordon would say) – and closes. As Tom says, it’s God’s nature to come out in the bottom of the ninth.
Modern sports have a lot of things in common with tribal religion. Even though I don’t know anything about baseball, I could imagine a youngster like Trisha in India bonding with a cricketer like, say, Sachin Tendulkar. Stephen King has used this trope perfectly to craft a delicious little tale.
But in between these gargantuan tomes, Steve produces small novellas rather like master chefs produce snacks once in a while as a break from five-course dinners. While many of them are light reading by his standards, suitable to while away an afternoon but nothing to write home about, some exceed expectations. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is such a book.
The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted. Trisha MacFarland discovered this when she was nine years old.
This is a suspense novel about a girl lost on the Appalachian Trail. On a hiking trip with her mother and brother, young Patricia MacFarland wanders off the path, ostensibly to take a piss but actually to get away from the constantly bickering pair of her parent and sibling. A small miscalculation and wham! She suddenly finds herself lost in the woods, frantically searching for a way out. As her situation grows more and more desperate, she has only her walkman for company; and through it, Tom Gordon, the Red Sox player. Soon, Tom (who points to the sky as if invoking God as he throws deadly balls to pluck out victory from the jaws of defeat) joins Trisha in her increasingly hallucinatory journey and his advice proves to be her salvation in the gripping climax.
Stephen King is a master of infusing the fantastic into the humdrum. He tells us that the facade of normalcy is only a sham which can tear at any moment and expose the terrifying visage beneath: that your parents may tell that there is no boogeyman in the closet but we know better, don’t we? Trisha’s trip across uncharted woods soon turns into a metaphorical passage across the primeval forest of the psyche: and the monster stalking her takes on mythical dimensions.
When human beings reach the end of their tether, they call out to God even if they don’t believe in Him: but what God? Steve gives us three choices: the New Testament God (the one Tom prays to with his finger pointed to the sky) who physically intervenes, but not always to one’s benefit; the God who is immanent in the universe but non-intrusive (Trisha’s father’s “subaudible”, more of a dormant force than a person); and the terrifying ogre God of all primitive religions including the Old Testament, the “God of the Lost” who comes from the thing in the woods. Trisha has to choose – and when the time comes, she enters into “the zone” (as sportsmen like Gordon would say) – and closes. As Tom says, it’s God’s nature to come out in the bottom of the ninth.
Modern sports have a lot of things in common with tribal religion. Even though I don’t know anything about baseball, I could imagine a youngster like Trisha in India bonding with a cricketer like, say, Sachin Tendulkar. Stephen King has used this trope perfectly to craft a delicious little tale.
June 19, 2023
One of the biggest snoozes in King's catalogue. It may be one of his shorter books, but it didn't feel like it. Not scary at all and almost none of Trisha's thoughts felt like the thoughts of a nine-year-old.
September 5, 2015
This isn't a big book, but it's one of my fave Stephen King books. It's brilliantly written and I think any lost-in-the-woods book will pale against it. King keeps his "I digress" waffling moments out of this one. Don't get me wrong I love his waffling most of the time ... it makes for great characters.
The ominous feeling of the little girl being stalked by something unknown is so powerful.
I read this in one sitting. Any reader who thinks Stephen King isn't a literary genius should read this book. This man is never more formidable when he is writing in a small set with one character. This book should be studied in schools.
Also, there's a moral. Don't wander off on paths in the woods, kiddies! Bad things can happen. Listen to your parents, too. Or bad things will happen. lol.
The ominous feeling of the little girl being stalked by something unknown is so powerful.
I read this in one sitting. Any reader who thinks Stephen King isn't a literary genius should read this book. This man is never more formidable when he is writing in a small set with one character. This book should be studied in schools.
Also, there's a moral. Don't wander off on paths in the woods, kiddies! Bad things can happen. Listen to your parents, too. Or bad things will happen. lol.
September 5, 2021
Novela tensa y claustrofóbica.
Y sí, parece que es una ironía ya que toda la novela es al aire libre -en un bosque-, pero no, no lo es. El sentir que no puedes salir de ese bosque enorme -tan enorme que parece no tener final- lo hace claustrofóbico. El intuir o el creer que alguien te vigila da mucho miedo también.
No puedo ni imaginar lo que ha tenido que sentir la protagonista, que no hay que olvidar que es una niña de 9 años.
Una novela corta que se disfruta de principio a fin. No me ha parecido lo mejor de King, pero como siempre, gracias a sus personajes y a la prosa del autor, se lee rápido y te engancha.
Y sí, parece que es una ironía ya que toda la novela es al aire libre -en un bosque-, pero no, no lo es. El sentir que no puedes salir de ese bosque enorme -tan enorme que parece no tener final- lo hace claustrofóbico. El intuir o el creer que alguien te vigila da mucho miedo también.
No puedo ni imaginar lo que ha tenido que sentir la protagonista, que no hay que olvidar que es una niña de 9 años.
Una novela corta que se disfruta de principio a fin. No me ha parecido lo mejor de King, pero como siempre, gracias a sus personajes y a la prosa del autor, se lee rápido y te engancha.
November 11, 2023
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was deeply layered with King's personal aesthetic, as in his name didn't need to be on the cover to know he wrote it. The whole thing felt like returning to an old friend.
Tricia was a great protagonist. Young but bright, and ice water flowing in her veins.
It was difficult in the beginning to understand some of her choices. Doesn't everyone know the first rule of being truly lost in the woods is stop walking and wait for rescue? Tricia does not know this. I had to keep reminding myself of her age at these times, though she certainly seemed older than nine other times.
Overall it was very enjoyable.
Tricia was a great protagonist. Young but bright, and ice water flowing in her veins.
It was difficult in the beginning to understand some of her choices. Doesn't everyone know the first rule of being truly lost in the woods is stop walking and wait for rescue? Tricia does not know this. I had to keep reminding myself of her age at these times, though she certainly seemed older than nine other times.
Overall it was very enjoyable.
September 20, 2019
Stephen King is one of the few writers I have been reading religiously since a teenager, either buying or snagging a library copy of every new release roughly as they were published. Hence, like millions of others, I feel rather possessive about the phrase ‘Constant Reader’. That’s me, goddamit! I am your biggest fan! (Every reader has a bit of Annie Wilkes in them …)
For some reason, I skipped The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon from 1999. Or I probably just ignored it, as I neither like nor understand baseball. Which is surely what most Americans think about our rugby. Somehow though I don’t think The Girl Who Loved Chester Williams would have gone down as well.
Tom Gordon is an interesting book, published in the same year as Hearts in Atlantis. It follows the blockbusters Desperation (1996) and Bag of Bones (1998), and was followed, in turn, by On Writing (2000) and Dreamcatcher (2001). Of course, 19 June 1999 was when King suffered that terrible accident which proved almost fatal.
What makes Tom Gordon such a prescient book in the King oeuvre is that he confronts religion – well, the existence of God, as it were – head-on. Trisha recalls asking her dad what he believes in. “I’ll tell you what I believe in. I believe in the subaudible.” Here her dad is referring to the quiet background thrumming of any house. God, presumably, is humming along in the background as well, part of the warp-and-weft of the very universe.
And then there is:
“I come from the God of the Lost. It has been watching you. It has been waiting for you. It is your miracle, and you are its.”
…
“I come from the God of Tom Gordon,” he said. “The one he points up to when he gets the save.”
…
This is because:
It’s God’s nature to come on in the bottom of the ninth, Tom had told her.
Interestingly, King would return to psychological intimacy, such a smaller scale, and the ambiguous horror represented by Tom Gordon in Gerald’s Game in 2017. I think part of the reason is because King really excels at these kind of ‘high-concept’ books: rabid killer dog (Cujo), haunted car (Christine). Of course, one cannot include It here as simply being a book about a killer clown.
Tom Gordon strips King’s writing and ideas down to a mere couple of hundred pages (which for King is like a narrative precis). The writing is taut as a bow, and the narrative is relentless. Here King’s mastery at characterisation – his uncanny ability of getting inside a fictional person’s skin until you seem to hear their thoughts and feel their breath – is on magnificent display.
A big criticism I have of King is laid to rest with Tom Gordon as well. A native of Maine, he rarely seems to write about his native state’s natural heritage, other than the back woods briefly mentioned in Pet Sematary. It would take a non-native Irish writer, John Connolly, to instead mine the richness available here.
Well, King doesn’t go all Hemingway on us with Tom Gordon (thank God). Suffice it to say that the nature writing here is superlative. The long descriptive passages, riffing on light and texture, are incredibly immersive and detailed, and some of the most beautiful writing that King has ever produced.
And then there is the (inevitable) monster. I think that King, of all people, truly understands that evil is banal. The brilliance of It is that the book transforms a wholesome American symbol such as the clown into the living face of that banality.
Always up to a challenge, in Tom Gordon the monster is truly faceless (apart from the wasps, which is a classic King trope of evil). How King weaves this sense of a faceless presence into Tom Gordon, and how the story darkens and approaches a showdown that seems straight from the Dark Tower, is a writing masterclass in sheer technical perfection.
And when the inevitable showdown does transpire, it is because we know it will, and because King understands so well that some dark, unacknowledged part of us actually wants shit to go down.
What made me marvel at the ending of Tom Gordon (not the coda; no halfway decent King book only has a single ending) is that the appearance of the boogeyman in no way diminishes the evil, as it often does in Hollywood CGI-stuffed horror movies. Here King understands so well what terrifies us the most: that beyond the clown, or the car, or the dog, is simply nothing.
We are nothing. And that is the greatest horror of all.
For some reason, I skipped The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon from 1999. Or I probably just ignored it, as I neither like nor understand baseball. Which is surely what most Americans think about our rugby. Somehow though I don’t think The Girl Who Loved Chester Williams would have gone down as well.
Tom Gordon is an interesting book, published in the same year as Hearts in Atlantis. It follows the blockbusters Desperation (1996) and Bag of Bones (1998), and was followed, in turn, by On Writing (2000) and Dreamcatcher (2001). Of course, 19 June 1999 was when King suffered that terrible accident which proved almost fatal.
What makes Tom Gordon such a prescient book in the King oeuvre is that he confronts religion – well, the existence of God, as it were – head-on. Trisha recalls asking her dad what he believes in. “I’ll tell you what I believe in. I believe in the subaudible.” Here her dad is referring to the quiet background thrumming of any house. God, presumably, is humming along in the background as well, part of the warp-and-weft of the very universe.
And then there is:
“I come from the God of the Lost. It has been watching you. It has been waiting for you. It is your miracle, and you are its.”
…
“I come from the God of Tom Gordon,” he said. “The one he points up to when he gets the save.”
…
This is because:
It’s God’s nature to come on in the bottom of the ninth, Tom had told her.
Interestingly, King would return to psychological intimacy, such a smaller scale, and the ambiguous horror represented by Tom Gordon in Gerald’s Game in 2017. I think part of the reason is because King really excels at these kind of ‘high-concept’ books: rabid killer dog (Cujo), haunted car (Christine). Of course, one cannot include It here as simply being a book about a killer clown.
Tom Gordon strips King’s writing and ideas down to a mere couple of hundred pages (which for King is like a narrative precis). The writing is taut as a bow, and the narrative is relentless. Here King’s mastery at characterisation – his uncanny ability of getting inside a fictional person’s skin until you seem to hear their thoughts and feel their breath – is on magnificent display.
A big criticism I have of King is laid to rest with Tom Gordon as well. A native of Maine, he rarely seems to write about his native state’s natural heritage, other than the back woods briefly mentioned in Pet Sematary. It would take a non-native Irish writer, John Connolly, to instead mine the richness available here.
Well, King doesn’t go all Hemingway on us with Tom Gordon (thank God). Suffice it to say that the nature writing here is superlative. The long descriptive passages, riffing on light and texture, are incredibly immersive and detailed, and some of the most beautiful writing that King has ever produced.
And then there is the (inevitable) monster. I think that King, of all people, truly understands that evil is banal. The brilliance of It is that the book transforms a wholesome American symbol such as the clown into the living face of that banality.
Always up to a challenge, in Tom Gordon the monster is truly faceless (apart from the wasps, which is a classic King trope of evil). How King weaves this sense of a faceless presence into Tom Gordon, and how the story darkens and approaches a showdown that seems straight from the Dark Tower, is a writing masterclass in sheer technical perfection.
And when the inevitable showdown does transpire, it is because we know it will, and because King understands so well that some dark, unacknowledged part of us actually wants shit to go down.
What made me marvel at the ending of Tom Gordon (not the coda; no halfway decent King book only has a single ending) is that the appearance of the boogeyman in no way diminishes the evil, as it often does in Hollywood CGI-stuffed horror movies. Here King understands so well what terrifies us the most: that beyond the clown, or the car, or the dog, is simply nothing.
We are nothing. And that is the greatest horror of all.
March 21, 2025
This is Stephen King at the top of his game.
This seems to me to be one of those Marmite books, you either love it or you hate it. I'm firmly in team love it. It may be predictable in some regards and not the most action-packed to books but I adored the feeling of something evil creeping about in the background without even truly knowing its full extent.
King's writing was amazing throughout, immersing me in each scene. I could honestly close my eyes and put myself in Trisha's sneakers at every twist and turn.
I'll leave it there as I do not want to reveal any details for those who still haven't read this delightful story, even though I'm dying to talk about a few things I have just read.
Give this a try, you know you want to!
This seems to me to be one of those Marmite books, you either love it or you hate it. I'm firmly in team love it. It may be predictable in some regards and not the most action-packed to books but I adored the feeling of something evil creeping about in the background without even truly knowing its full extent.
King's writing was amazing throughout, immersing me in each scene. I could honestly close my eyes and put myself in Trisha's sneakers at every twist and turn.
I'll leave it there as I do not want to reveal any details for those who still haven't read this delightful story, even though I'm dying to talk about a few things I have just read.
Give this a try, you know you want to!
April 26, 2017
3.5*
One of my biggest fears is to get lost in the woods. Stephen King makes a story out of this horrifying situation with a 9 year old little girl. It has all the eliminates that one would experience in a situation like this: paranoia, hunger, sickness, and even a predatory stalking her. This is a quick read, which is not common for a King book, but like most King books you will not regret reading it!
One of my biggest fears is to get lost in the woods. Stephen King makes a story out of this horrifying situation with a 9 year old little girl. It has all the eliminates that one would experience in a situation like this: paranoia, hunger, sickness, and even a predatory stalking her. This is a quick read, which is not common for a King book, but like most King books you will not regret reading it!
October 24, 2014
This book was a huge sucker for me. I'm not a fan of horror and only when the planets align themselves properly and when the sun doesn't shine for three days do I ever pick up books from this genre.
Apparently there was a fault in the alignments because I didn't like or enjoy this book one bit. I didn't hate it either but lack of any emotions is just as bad.
The plot sounded quite promising. A girl lost in the creepy woods... what scary things might await her? NOTHING!
Unfortunately, I didn't find anything scary in this book. Nothing made me look under my bed during the cold dark nights. There were pretty gross scenes but that doesn't count as scary because they only made me want to vomit.
I also didn't like Trisha, our main character. She's only 9 years old and would have been quite interesting to read about but I just found her too boring and was also quickly losing interest. I guess, in other words, that this book was not meant for me.
This was also my first Stephen King's book and I'm pretty sure this won't be the last. I've heard great things about his other novels and will surely pick it up when you know, the planets and the sun do their job.
For a better review, click here.
To know what the whole plot is about, click here.
I would suggest you find something else to read because this ain't a good book.
Apparently there was a fault in the alignments because I didn't like or enjoy this book one bit. I didn't hate it either but lack of any emotions is just as bad.
The plot sounded quite promising. A girl lost in the creepy woods... what scary things might await her? NOTHING!
Unfortunately, I didn't find anything scary in this book. Nothing made me look under my bed during the cold dark nights. There were pretty gross scenes but that doesn't count as scary because they only made me want to vomit.
I also didn't like Trisha, our main character. She's only 9 years old and would have been quite interesting to read about but I just found her too boring and was also quickly losing interest. I guess, in other words, that this book was not meant for me.
This was also my first Stephen King's book and I'm pretty sure this won't be the last. I've heard great things about his other novels and will surely pick it up when you know, the planets and the sun do their job.
For a better review, click here.
To know what the whole plot is about, click here.
I would suggest you find something else to read because this ain't a good book.
September 8, 2011
I very much enjoyed this story about a nine 'but big for her age' year-old girl who gets lost in the Maine wilderness. For the most part. So let's get down to it.
What I liked: The girl who loved baseball. Yep, that pretty much sums up why I loved this book. I mean, how can you not love a nine-year-old who loves baseball, in large part because she shared it with her absent-through-divorce father. And maybe I'm a little biased because I was a kid who loved basketball, and then baseball, and then football. Yep, I had favorite players, I could recount their stats. I knew who they pitched against, if they had trademark moves, etc. And for sure I could understand why and how baseball was her link to the world, how she listened to the games for solace and sanity and hope, for escape and, well, everything we love about sports as children or adults. And the girl was tough-as-nails but not unrealistically so. I didn't even mind that she cried ALL the time. I mean, not only was it realistic, but it didn't annoy me how, say, reading YA books about girls crying all the time makes me want to throw the book against the wall. No, when Trisha cried, it fit into the story and didn't make her seem like a spoiled whiny brat (sorry, I have a thing against girls who cry a lot in books). Instead of giving up and feeling sorry for herself, our plucky little heroine gets her resourceful butt up and goes on.
Which, incidentally, brings me to the next part of my review: what I didn't like so much. First of all...I may have read this wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is how it happens. Girl hiking in woods with family. Girl comes to fork in the road, goes off in the MIDDLE to pee, and gets lost. She tries to slant off to one side to catch up with her family on the trail, taking the short cut. Okay, so maybe the trail winds away somewhere and she wouldn't intersect it that way. So what does she do? She keeps walking. FOR NINE DAYS!!!!! Hello, why not just turn around? She's in the middle of a fork. When she realizes she's lost, if she'd turned around and gone back, she'd have to either run into one of the two trails or come back to the intersection. It's geographically not possible that she wouldn't. Draw a picture if you don't believe me. For such a smart, resourceful kid to not think of something so simple...I don't believe it for a minute. Not for a kid who knows what to eat in the woods better than I do, and I'm an adult who happened to grow up, that's right, IN THE WOODS!
The next thing that sort of bothered me was how she got sick from drinking clear pure stream water. That's pretty much a myth. If you drink stream/river water that comes out of a farm where there's runoff from animal dung, maybe. In the middle of a pristine forest? Not so much. I'd buy it if the swamp water, or the puddle water, made her violently ill ie food poisoning, but not the clean water. And the last thing. Yeah, I know, SK points out that this was her first bad decision, to go north towards Canada instead of south when she got to almost civilization. I could see how she'd miss when she was so close. I could see how she didn't hear the town. But who goes north? Come on, she's seen maps, right? She lives in Maine, right? Can anyone name a town north of Maine besides, um, Canada? Can anyone name a town south of Maine? Yeah, that's what I thought. This girl was way too smart to make those mistakes. If she'd been an idiot, I'd buy it. But then, she wouldn't have lived.
So I guess my final word would be this: come on, Mr. King. Don't fall back on the same lame old lost-in-the-woods cliches. Your fans expect more.
Also, like most of King's almost could-happen books, I didn't need the supernatural stuff. It was hokey. There's plenty of horror in real life, plenty of scary situations for a girl lost in the woods. We really don't need wasp-gods to know it's scary. Really. I like King's supernatural books fine, but some of them, I always think, are more plausible (aka scary) without it. Those elements just ruin the spine tingling "this could REALLY happen" vibe and distract/detract from the suspense. Maybe he just adds it bc he thinks the fans like that? I know I don't need it in every book. Not. At. All.
I definitely fell in love with the character in this book, which is one of the things that Stephen King does SO well. I just didn't buy all the circumstances. But overall, it was a satisfying, if not exactly terrifying, story.
I'd recommend to younger King fans or those just getting into his work. And YA readers. And people who have gotten or would like to get lost in the woods.
What I liked: The girl who loved baseball. Yep, that pretty much sums up why I loved this book. I mean, how can you not love a nine-year-old who loves baseball, in large part because she shared it with her absent-through-divorce father. And maybe I'm a little biased because I was a kid who loved basketball, and then baseball, and then football. Yep, I had favorite players, I could recount their stats. I knew who they pitched against, if they had trademark moves, etc. And for sure I could understand why and how baseball was her link to the world, how she listened to the games for solace and sanity and hope, for escape and, well, everything we love about sports as children or adults. And the girl was tough-as-nails but not unrealistically so. I didn't even mind that she cried ALL the time. I mean, not only was it realistic, but it didn't annoy me how, say, reading YA books about girls crying all the time makes me want to throw the book against the wall. No, when Trisha cried, it fit into the story and didn't make her seem like a spoiled whiny brat (sorry, I have a thing against girls who cry a lot in books). Instead of giving up and feeling sorry for herself, our plucky little heroine gets her resourceful butt up and goes on.
Which, incidentally, brings me to the next part of my review: what I didn't like so much. First of all...I may have read this wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is how it happens. Girl hiking in woods with family. Girl comes to fork in the road, goes off in the MIDDLE to pee, and gets lost. She tries to slant off to one side to catch up with her family on the trail, taking the short cut. Okay, so maybe the trail winds away somewhere and she wouldn't intersect it that way. So what does she do? She keeps walking. FOR NINE DAYS!!!!! Hello, why not just turn around? She's in the middle of a fork. When she realizes she's lost, if she'd turned around and gone back, she'd have to either run into one of the two trails or come back to the intersection. It's geographically not possible that she wouldn't. Draw a picture if you don't believe me. For such a smart, resourceful kid to not think of something so simple...I don't believe it for a minute. Not for a kid who knows what to eat in the woods better than I do, and I'm an adult who happened to grow up, that's right, IN THE WOODS!
The next thing that sort of bothered me was how she got sick from drinking clear pure stream water. That's pretty much a myth. If you drink stream/river water that comes out of a farm where there's runoff from animal dung, maybe. In the middle of a pristine forest? Not so much. I'd buy it if the swamp water, or the puddle water, made her violently ill ie food poisoning, but not the clean water. And the last thing. Yeah, I know, SK points out that this was her first bad decision, to go north towards Canada instead of south when she got to almost civilization. I could see how she'd miss when she was so close. I could see how she didn't hear the town. But who goes north? Come on, she's seen maps, right? She lives in Maine, right? Can anyone name a town north of Maine besides, um, Canada? Can anyone name a town south of Maine? Yeah, that's what I thought. This girl was way too smart to make those mistakes. If she'd been an idiot, I'd buy it. But then, she wouldn't have lived.
So I guess my final word would be this: come on, Mr. King. Don't fall back on the same lame old lost-in-the-woods cliches. Your fans expect more.
Also, like most of King's almost could-happen books, I didn't need the supernatural stuff. It was hokey. There's plenty of horror in real life, plenty of scary situations for a girl lost in the woods. We really don't need wasp-gods to know it's scary. Really. I like King's supernatural books fine, but some of them, I always think, are more plausible (aka scary) without it. Those elements just ruin the spine tingling "this could REALLY happen" vibe and distract/detract from the suspense. Maybe he just adds it bc he thinks the fans like that? I know I don't need it in every book. Not. At. All.
I definitely fell in love with the character in this book, which is one of the things that Stephen King does SO well. I just didn't buy all the circumstances. But overall, it was a satisfying, if not exactly terrifying, story.
I'd recommend to younger King fans or those just getting into his work. And YA readers. And people who have gotten or would like to get lost in the woods.
November 9, 2019
Seeking a filler before tackling more of my TBR pile, I turned to Stephen King for one of his shorter novels. I chose well, taken into the backwoods of the Appalachian Trail and a harrowing tale of a young girl. While out on a ‘forced hike’ with her mom and brother, Trisha McFarland strays from the path and finds herself lost. What starts out as an adventure of sorts soon turns nerve-racking and eventually into a terrible ordeal. Armed with only the lunch she packed for the hike and a few supplies, Trisha is left alone in the woods. Thankfully, she has her Walkman, allowing her to tune in and listen to the reports of her disappearance, as well as catch a few innings of her beloved Boston Red Sox, with dreamy relief pitcher, Tom Gordon. As the story progresses, King offers up views not only from Trisha’s perspective, but also her panicked family, pushing the narrative into moments of intensity. With only the sound of the game to ground her, Trisha cheers on her team and dreams of encounters with Tom Gordon to keep her relaxed. With help surely on the way, Trisha will have to navigate through the woods in hopes of hearing someone calling out for her, or die with Tom Gordon and his pitching heroics on her mind. A wonderful stroll through the less graphic side of King’s mind, this story is both engaging and highly entertaining. Recommended to those who love King’s creativity, as well as the reader who wants something to bide their time.
I have always said that Stephen King knows how to write a wonderful tale, while inserting twists I would not predict along the way. This story was no different, though offered some uniqueness that I have come to expect. The story moved along well, divided into ‘innings’ as the reader progresses through this larger game. Trisha McFarland proves to be a wonderfully entertaining protagonist, taking the reader into her young mind and all that passes through it while she tries not to panic. Much is revealed about her, particularly the struggles she has with her parents’ divorce and how she is trying to come to terms with it. The reader learns much of her backstory and some development here and there, which is essential to tie into the larger narrative. King is able to use others to help advance the plot as well, with vignettes focussed on the other family members as they worry, or flashbacks to events that define them. The plot was sound, as many are in a King story, though not always what I might have expected. King is always able to extrapolate on an easy idea and proves a master of his craft, helping to shape an already strong narrative. While only a filler for me, I did not feel the need to rush, as the story clipped along at a wonderful pace. I love a good King story and there are so many, I won’t ever run out!
Kudos, Mr. King, for another winner. I have your latest book to tackle soon, but this was a wonderful appetizer to tide me over until then.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
I have always said that Stephen King knows how to write a wonderful tale, while inserting twists I would not predict along the way. This story was no different, though offered some uniqueness that I have come to expect. The story moved along well, divided into ‘innings’ as the reader progresses through this larger game. Trisha McFarland proves to be a wonderfully entertaining protagonist, taking the reader into her young mind and all that passes through it while she tries not to panic. Much is revealed about her, particularly the struggles she has with her parents’ divorce and how she is trying to come to terms with it. The reader learns much of her backstory and some development here and there, which is essential to tie into the larger narrative. King is able to use others to help advance the plot as well, with vignettes focussed on the other family members as they worry, or flashbacks to events that define them. The plot was sound, as many are in a King story, though not always what I might have expected. King is always able to extrapolate on an easy idea and proves a master of his craft, helping to shape an already strong narrative. While only a filler for me, I did not feel the need to rush, as the story clipped along at a wonderful pace. I love a good King story and there are so many, I won’t ever run out!
Kudos, Mr. King, for another winner. I have your latest book to tackle soon, but this was a wonderful appetizer to tide me over until then.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
July 21, 2024
Stephen King is known for taking simple plots (eg. possessed car, rabid St. Bernard, haunted hotel, telekinetic prom queen, world-wide killer flu epidemic, child-killing demonic clown, etc.) and making grand horror epics. It's nice to read one of his non-epic scares once in a while, so "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" is a nice respite. This one is a pretty simple plot: little girl lost in the woods. But, it's Stephen King, so there's nothing very "simple" about what happens to her. There is a creepy monster-lurking-in-the-woods, of course, but isn't there always one of those in a King novel? As always, too, King's protagonist is lovable, scrappy, and strong, and you will be rooting for her all the way. Unlike most of King's novels, this one is a quick (less than 200 pages!) read.
April 27, 2025
3.5 stars
Original title: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
short review for busy readers:
A pretty good "man vs nature" tale in the vein of classics like To Build a Fire or more recently, Follow the River and The Vaster Wilds.
in detail:
While the actual writing didn't grab me, what I found excellent was how vivid the characterisation of the main character, Trisha, was. She's a real, tangible individual who you think you'd recognise immediately if you met her in real life. Impressive. And very natural feeling.
Her character also bolsters my conviction that readers really only want to read about characters smarter, braver, and tougher than they are.
Trisha is a perfect example. At 9, almost 10, years old, she knows more about nature than most adults do (despite living in the city), makes correct guesses about things adults wouldn't be able to get right and has more determination than almost all modern (American) kids and a great portion of adults.
I didn't find that, nor her age, plausible, but she's a likeable fmc.
Many writers believe the man vs nature plot to be the hardest of all plots to pull off. After all, there are no other people but the protagonist around for most of the story and the entire narrative is based on the ancient dangers and fear that nature inspires in us. Quite the opposite of the "sweet, beneficial natural world" we like to see today...now that we have electricity and modern medicine and weed killer.
King does an admirable job intertwining the beauty with the danger of the natural world to create a story that, if not exactly gripping, is captivating enough to keep you interested.
I listened to the German language audio which used bizarre sound effects, loud heavy metal snippets and crash!boom!bang! noises out of nowhere to underscore THIS IS SCARY!!! I've never heard an audio book that did that and I absolutely did not appreciate it.
Original title: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
short review for busy readers:
A pretty good "man vs nature" tale in the vein of classics like To Build a Fire or more recently, Follow the River and The Vaster Wilds.
in detail:
While the actual writing didn't grab me, what I found excellent was how vivid the characterisation of the main character, Trisha, was. She's a real, tangible individual who you think you'd recognise immediately if you met her in real life. Impressive. And very natural feeling.
Her character also bolsters my conviction that readers really only want to read about characters smarter, braver, and tougher than they are.
Trisha is a perfect example. At 9, almost 10, years old, she knows more about nature than most adults do (despite living in the city), makes correct guesses about things adults wouldn't be able to get right and has more determination than almost all modern (American) kids and a great portion of adults.
I didn't find that, nor her age, plausible, but she's a likeable fmc.
Many writers believe the man vs nature plot to be the hardest of all plots to pull off. After all, there are no other people but the protagonist around for most of the story and the entire narrative is based on the ancient dangers and fear that nature inspires in us. Quite the opposite of the "sweet, beneficial natural world" we like to see today...now that we have electricity and modern medicine and weed killer.
King does an admirable job intertwining the beauty with the danger of the natural world to create a story that, if not exactly gripping, is captivating enough to keep you interested.
I listened to the German language audio which used bizarre sound effects, loud heavy metal snippets and crash!boom!bang! noises out of nowhere to underscore THIS IS SCARY!!! I've never heard an audio book that did that and I absolutely did not appreciate it.
May 19, 2022
Cacare in mezzo alle felci
Freddo e noioso esercizio stilistico condotto da un King che, evidentemente, deve aver scritto l'opera con la famiglia sequestrata e un'indigesta peperonata a supporto.
L'incipit della storia è atroce nella sua inspiegabilità: com'è possibile smarrire l'orientamento nel giro di un nanosecondo, perdere di vista due persone e ritrovarsi in completa balia del bosco?
Tra goffi tentativi di dare profondità al background della bambina - padre alcolizzato che le alita in faccia, scena turbotrash in puro stile kinghiano - e improbabili escamotage narrativi per esacerbare la tensione (leggasi: cacate multiple e continui rimandi a Tom Gordon), l'intera storia si trascina stancamente su ogni banalità del caso, per chiudere, infine, con uno dei peggiori finali che la letteratura ricordi.
In alcuni casi, questo libro ne è prova lampante, King pare davvero l'autorucolo da autogrill che scrive qualunque purga gli venga in mente.
Freddo e noioso esercizio stilistico condotto da un King che, evidentemente, deve aver scritto l'opera con la famiglia sequestrata e un'indigesta peperonata a supporto.
L'incipit della storia è atroce nella sua inspiegabilità: com'è possibile smarrire l'orientamento nel giro di un nanosecondo, perdere di vista due persone e ritrovarsi in completa balia del bosco?
Tra goffi tentativi di dare profondità al background della bambina - padre alcolizzato che le alita in faccia, scena turbotrash in puro stile kinghiano - e improbabili escamotage narrativi per esacerbare la tensione (leggasi: cacate multiple e continui rimandi a Tom Gordon), l'intera storia si trascina stancamente su ogni banalità del caso, per chiudere, infine, con uno dei peggiori finali che la letteratura ricordi.
In alcuni casi, questo libro ne è prova lampante, King pare davvero l'autorucolo da autogrill che scrive qualunque purga gli venga in mente.
October 3, 2017
I first read this book in high school and I loved it just as much (if not more) this time around as I did back then. Although it's quite a short book, it manages to make me FEEL so much every time I read it.
I think a big part of why it resonates with me so much is that I'm someone who has an incredibly terrible sense of direction and one of my greatest fears is getting lost and not being able to find my way back. And this book brings that fear to life for me and makes me feel like I'm lost alongside Trisha.
I don't think I'd be as strong as her in the same situation though. She is one HELL of a fierce child, no matter how scared she is or how much she feels like giving up, she just keeps pushing past it and surviving. She is and always will be one of my favourite King characters.
I really love how the supernatural aspect is present but just kind of lingers on the edges, making you wonder if it's really there, just like Trisha finds herself doing. It really adds to the atmosphere of the story and makes it all that much more terrifying!
I think a big part of why it resonates with me so much is that I'm someone who has an incredibly terrible sense of direction and one of my greatest fears is getting lost and not being able to find my way back. And this book brings that fear to life for me and makes me feel like I'm lost alongside Trisha.
I don't think I'd be as strong as her in the same situation though. She is one HELL of a fierce child, no matter how scared she is or how much she feels like giving up, she just keeps pushing past it and surviving. She is and always will be one of my favourite King characters.
I really love how the supernatural aspect is present but just kind of lingers on the edges, making you wonder if it's really there, just like Trisha finds herself doing. It really adds to the atmosphere of the story and makes it all that much more terrifying!
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July 25, 2025Дев'ятирічна дівчинка відбивається в лісі від своєї мами і брата й дев'ять днів намагається вибрести назад до цивілізації, пізнаючи темні підвалини релігійної віри, людське співіснування з фактом своєї смертності, особливості топографії Нової Англії і їстівну флору регіону - а заодно дорослішаючи, долаючи страхи й виростаючи в тих, хто був її рольовою моделлю. З нею йде уявний друг чи бог - бейсболіст Том Гордон (читала і стискалася від жаху і співчуття до перекладачів роману, бо бейсбол - це, звісно, спеціальний непотрібний спорт, вигаданий лише для того, щоб мучити перекладачів). І смерть також іде з нею, і ми не впевнені щодо обрисів цієї темної постаті на краю поля зору: це звичайна смерть від голоду, отруєння болотною водою, переохолодження? чи на дівчинку полює щось страшніше і древніше, залишаючи на її шляху пошматовані тіла тварин? (але чи смерть - у сюжеті чи в кожного з нас, зрештою - стає менш страшною, якщо ніякого надприродного елементу немає, ось питання?)))
Кінг дуже майстерно вибудовує ритм оповіді, наростання і спадання напруги, підігрівання саспенсу. І дуже добре пише характери героїв. І взагалі більший і кращий за значну частину американського високополичного канону, звісно. (Та й не тільки американського й літературного, бо, скажімо, "Меланхолія" фон Трієра дуже подібна - всі ми скінченні і не можемо протиставити цьому нічого, крім дрібних ритуалів, конструювання халабуди релігії з гівна, палок і турботи про своїх. Але "Меланхолія" на мою думку - пафосна хуйня з-під коня в дешево-красівенькій естетиці зйомки для Вог, натомість "Дівчинка, яка любила Тома Гордона" таки змушує щось ворушитися у душі.)
(Мою тривожність в кожний окремий момент можна заміряти за тим, скільки я читаю горорів - от зараз, скажімо, прочитала Кінга і взялася за "Ритуал" Невілла))
Кінг дуже майстерно вибудовує ритм оповіді, наростання і спадання напруги, підігрівання саспенсу. І дуже добре пише характери героїв. І взагалі більший і кращий за значну частину американського високополичного канону, звісно. (Та й не тільки американського й літературного, бо, скажімо, "Меланхолія" фон Трієра дуже подібна - всі ми скінченні і не можемо протиставити цьому нічого, крім дрібних ритуалів, конструювання халабуди релігії з гівна, палок і турботи про своїх. Але "Меланхолія" на мою думку - пафосна хуйня з-під коня в дешево-красівенькій естетиці зйомки для Вог, натомість "Дівчинка, яка любила Тома Гордона" таки змушує щось ворушитися у душі.)
(Мою тривожність в кожний окремий момент можна заміряти за тим, скільки я читаю горорів - от зараз, скажімо, прочитала Кінга і взялася за "Ритуал" Невілла))
September 29, 2024
My favorite place to be is in a leafy green wood, so tranquil, so airy, so full of nature. Stephen King takes us there in the dark when there are watchers and the atmosphere is palpable. It's truly scary! I couldn't listen at night.
Patricia "Trisha" McFarland is the main character of this story, she is "the girl," age nine, she is truly plucky and I marveled at her thought processes and how she keeps moving forward despite her many setbacks, while trying to find her way out of the terrifying forest.
Favorite lines:
"The woods came in clenches it seemed to her. For a while she would walk through great old stands of pine and there the forest seemed almost alright, like the woods in a Disney cartoon. Then one of those clenches would come and she would find herself struggling through snarly clumps of scrubby trees and thick bushes, all too many of the latter, the kind with thorns, fighting past interlaced branches that clawed for her arms and eyes."
Patricia "Trisha" McFarland is the main character of this story, she is "the girl," age nine, she is truly plucky and I marveled at her thought processes and how she keeps moving forward despite her many setbacks, while trying to find her way out of the terrifying forest.
Favorite lines:
"The woods came in clenches it seemed to her. For a while she would walk through great old stands of pine and there the forest seemed almost alright, like the woods in a Disney cartoon. Then one of those clenches would come and she would find herself struggling through snarly clumps of scrubby trees and thick bushes, all too many of the latter, the kind with thorns, fighting past interlaced branches that clawed for her arms and eyes."
November 25, 2025
One of my favorite stories to read are survival stories. They really push the main character to the farthest capacities of their mind, body and soul. In this story "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon", it was no different. The main character really struggles, but maintains her strength in a faith she doesn't know she has. Giving this book 5 stars. It wasn't my favorite of King's read, but there isn't any flaws that I could complain about so it gets the ol' 5 star treatment.
Trisha McFarland is 9, almost 10 and big for her age. Her parents are divorced and her older brother is a complaining numskull. Pete hates his new middle school because he has no friends. He hates the fact that his parents are no longer together and blames them for putting the kids in the middle. One Saturday morning, Quilla, Trisha's mom decides that they will all go on a hike in the Appalachian mountains. The hike was said to be moderate and only 6 miles. From the moment the trio stepped out of the van on that early morning, the subaudible was already in motion.
Pete and Quilla started arguing, which continued on the hike. Trisha couldn't take it anymore and decided she had to go pee. Scare them a bit for not paying any attention to her. Trisha could see the path from where she was squatting. However, instead of going back to the trail the way she came she cuts through the path at an angle. This was her downfall. She ended up veering from the original path and getting lost. The thing that saved her was a talk she had with her father about the subaudible, Tom Gordon, her walkman, and the knowledge that checkerberries and beechnuts are edible. The most important not mentioned above was her strength in herself to keep going.
I found the story to be slightly unbelievable because as a mother of two boys, there is no way they would have survived that long in the woods alone with only their wits. Maybe if my kids were in boy scouts and was taught a little about surviving in the woods. Trisha isn't that savvy. She learned a little from her mom who is a plant enthusiast. She learned a little bit in school and t.v., but mostly she winged it. She was lucky. I have heard of other small children surviving in woods after being lost and it always amazes me. I'm a grown adult and I'd probably die in 3 days.
I listened to this book on audio and it was read my Anne Heche, the actress. It was such a pleasant read. She did great being the voice of our 9 year old protagonist and really kept me in the game. I normally don't like books with sports in it, but this one was minimal only talking about the closing pitcher and fictional Tom Gordon. It was such a huge factor in the story to move Trisha along that I didn't mind.
A friend commented that this book is a YA version of Gerald's Game and I can definitely see the resemblance. A female character on the verge of death having to use her own wits and own voices to help her escape. There is also a supernatural entity watching closely hoping she doesn't succeed.
I enjoyed this book. This is the fourth book by Stephen King that I can remember that has a female protagonist. That may not be interesting to most, but I'm keeping track.
Trisha McFarland is 9, almost 10 and big for her age. Her parents are divorced and her older brother is a complaining numskull. Pete hates his new middle school because he has no friends. He hates the fact that his parents are no longer together and blames them for putting the kids in the middle. One Saturday morning, Quilla, Trisha's mom decides that they will all go on a hike in the Appalachian mountains. The hike was said to be moderate and only 6 miles. From the moment the trio stepped out of the van on that early morning, the subaudible was already in motion.
Pete and Quilla started arguing, which continued on the hike. Trisha couldn't take it anymore and decided she had to go pee. Scare them a bit for not paying any attention to her. Trisha could see the path from where she was squatting. However, instead of going back to the trail the way she came she cuts through the path at an angle. This was her downfall. She ended up veering from the original path and getting lost. The thing that saved her was a talk she had with her father about the subaudible, Tom Gordon, her walkman, and the knowledge that checkerberries and beechnuts are edible. The most important not mentioned above was her strength in herself to keep going.
I found the story to be slightly unbelievable because as a mother of two boys, there is no way they would have survived that long in the woods alone with only their wits. Maybe if my kids were in boy scouts and was taught a little about surviving in the woods. Trisha isn't that savvy. She learned a little from her mom who is a plant enthusiast. She learned a little bit in school and t.v., but mostly she winged it. She was lucky. I have heard of other small children surviving in woods after being lost and it always amazes me. I'm a grown adult and I'd probably die in 3 days.
I listened to this book on audio and it was read my Anne Heche, the actress. It was such a pleasant read. She did great being the voice of our 9 year old protagonist and really kept me in the game. I normally don't like books with sports in it, but this one was minimal only talking about the closing pitcher and fictional Tom Gordon. It was such a huge factor in the story to move Trisha along that I didn't mind.
A friend commented that this book is a YA version of Gerald's Game and I can definitely see the resemblance. A female character on the verge of death having to use her own wits and own voices to help her escape. There is also a supernatural entity watching closely hoping she doesn't succeed.
I enjoyed this book. This is the fourth book by Stephen King that I can remember that has a female protagonist. That may not be interesting to most, but I'm keeping track.
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