When the Sparrow Sings

by Jason Linden, Brooke Howell (Illustrator)

Zack Hiatt is the best pitcher on maybe the best team in baseball, and he is going to the World Series. Zack’s arrival on the big stage is the culmination of his father’s dream as much as his own, and Zack has the scars to prove it. But before he can even throw a pitch in the Series, his father dies in a tragic car accident.The first question—whether or not to pitch—isn’t even a question. He has to pitch. The world demands it of him. And so does he. What follows is a story about trying to hold it together when you shouldn’t have to and about the memories our parents leave with us when they’re gone.Praise for the “Baseball fiction is hard. Well, all fiction is hard, but baseball fiction is particularly so because the game is so hard to capture. What makes Jason Linden’s When the Sparrow Sings so compelling is that it is easy to forget that it is fiction. The baseball feels authentic and close and—like the real thing—so fleeting.” - Joe Posnanski, national columnist for NBC Sports

Genres: Fiction, Baseball

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2014

About the author

Jason Linden is a writer and teacher who lives in Louisville, Ky. IJason's published writing includes work on baseball and education as well as short fiction and his recent novel, When the Sparrow Sings.

Reviews

[Nick Bachman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book that tells a very personal story through the structure of innings set over the course of just one baseball game. Excellently captures the interior nature of the game of baseball that makes it gripping and psychologically beautiful and also at times boring. At least for me - luckily this one is set in a very interesting game and not one of the boring ones haha. Definitely recommended to anyone who loves baseball!(also father/son focused tales) Thinking the Brothers K by David James Duncan but definitely more concise and with all the nuance kept in place.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linden captures the intensity of the moment that comes with championship competitions and deftly mirrors it against the fact that the athletes involved are real people, dealing with real life problems. Zack's struggle in the book is relatable for most readers as he tries to come to grips with his relationship with his father who recently died. Very well written and a very entertaining read.

[Ph. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carefully crafted and beautifully written. There is a lot in this book -- fathers, sons, sisters, mothers, daughters, women, youth, aging, introspection, integrity (and lack thereof) -- and oh yeah, some very intense baseball, suspenseful and accurately rendered. But the greatest gift to me from experiencing When the Sparrow Sings was that it got me thinking about baseball and my own father. Dad pitching to me in the back yard, first underhand, then overhand. Flipping the backyard field from east-west to north-south as I grew so that homers were harder to come by. Dad's pride in me through Little League (a very big deal in my hometown), then Babe Ruth league, then high school. Mostly, I thought about how lucky I was to have him. Much later, when I had kids of my own and had the opportunity to teach them the game, my goal was to be that kind of dad.

There is the potential for something special in the relationship of fathers, kids, and baseball. But it's complicated. There's an elusive boundary between the needs of the father and the needs of the child. Is baseball the end, or is it the means to the end? Think carefully about that as you read When the Sparrow Sings -- and as you head out to the backyard with your kid, a ball and a bat.

[L Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book.