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Bucky F&%@ing Dent
The New York Times bestselling author David Duchovny is back
Ted Fullilove, aka Mr. Peanut, is not like other Ivy League grads. He shares an apartment with Goldberg, his beloved battery-operated fish, sleeps on a bed littered with yellow legal pads penned with what he hopes will be the next great American Novel, and spends the waning days of the Carter administration at Yankee Stadium, waxing poetic while slinging peanuts to pay the rent.
When Ted hears the news that his estranged father, Marty, is dying of lung cancer, he immediately moves back into his childhood home, where a whirlwind of revelations ensues. The browbeating absentee father of Ted’s youth tries to make up for lost time, but his health dips drastically whenever his beloved Red Sox lose. And so, with help from Mariana—the Nuyorican grief counselor with whom Ted promptly falls in love—and a crew of neighborhood old-timers, Ted orchestrates the illusion of a Boston winning streak, enabling Marty and the Red Sox to reverse the Curse of the Bambino and cruise their way to World Series victory. Well, sort of.
David Duchovny’s richly drawn Bucky F*cking Dent explores the bonds between fathers and sons and the age-old rivalry between Yankee fans and the Fenway faithful, and grapples with our urgent need to persevere—and risk everything—in the name of love. Culminating in that fateful moment in October of ’78 when the mighty Bucky Dent hit his way into baseball history with the unlikeliest of home runs, this tender, insightful, and hilarious novel demonstrates how life truly belongs to the losers, and that the long shots are the ones worth betting on.
Bucky F*cking Dent is a singular tale that brims with the mirth, poignancy, and profound solitude of modern life.
Ted Fullilove, aka Mr. Peanut, is not like other Ivy League grads. He shares an apartment with Goldberg, his beloved battery-operated fish, sleeps on a bed littered with yellow legal pads penned with what he hopes will be the next great American Novel, and spends the waning days of the Carter administration at Yankee Stadium, waxing poetic while slinging peanuts to pay the rent.
When Ted hears the news that his estranged father, Marty, is dying of lung cancer, he immediately moves back into his childhood home, where a whirlwind of revelations ensues. The browbeating absentee father of Ted’s youth tries to make up for lost time, but his health dips drastically whenever his beloved Red Sox lose. And so, with help from Mariana—the Nuyorican grief counselor with whom Ted promptly falls in love—and a crew of neighborhood old-timers, Ted orchestrates the illusion of a Boston winning streak, enabling Marty and the Red Sox to reverse the Curse of the Bambino and cruise their way to World Series victory. Well, sort of.
David Duchovny’s richly drawn Bucky F*cking Dent explores the bonds between fathers and sons and the age-old rivalry between Yankee fans and the Fenway faithful, and grapples with our urgent need to persevere—and risk everything—in the name of love. Culminating in that fateful moment in October of ’78 when the mighty Bucky Dent hit his way into baseball history with the unlikeliest of home runs, this tender, insightful, and hilarious novel demonstrates how life truly belongs to the losers, and that the long shots are the ones worth betting on.
Bucky F*cking Dent is a singular tale that brims with the mirth, poignancy, and profound solitude of modern life.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2016
224 people are currently reading
4173 people want to read
About the author
David Duchovny
18 books1,335 followersBorn and raised in New York City David Duchovny earned an A.B. in English literature from Princeton University, and an ABD in English literature from Yale University. He was on the road to earning his Ph.D. when his interest in playwriting led him to acting. Subsequently, he emerged to become one of the most highly acclaimed actors in Hollywood.
Globally known for his roles in the Fox Television’s monster hit The X-Files and Showtime's Californication, David has made his way into our pop culture lexicon. David Duchovny remains the only actor to have won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television series in both the Comedy and Drama categories.
David Duchovny has published four novels, Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale (2015), a New York Times Bestseller; Bucky F*cking Dent (2016); Miss Subways (2018) and Truly Like Lightning (2021).
Additionally, David Duchovny has completed two studio albums, Hell or Highwater (2015) and Every Third Thought (2018), and his third album is slated for release in summer 2021.
Globally known for his roles in the Fox Television’s monster hit The X-Files and Showtime's Californication, David has made his way into our pop culture lexicon. David Duchovny remains the only actor to have won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television series in both the Comedy and Drama categories.
David Duchovny has published four novels, Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale (2015), a New York Times Bestseller; Bucky F*cking Dent (2016); Miss Subways (2018) and Truly Like Lightning (2021).
Additionally, David Duchovny has completed two studio albums, Hell or Highwater (2015) and Every Third Thought (2018), and his third album is slated for release in summer 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 570 reviews
October 10, 2023
Dragă David,
Nu era de ajuns că ai făcut două roluri masive și foarte puternice de-a lungul a 3 decenii și ai intrat în istorie ca un actor de prima mână?
De ce a trebuit să te apuci de scris?...
Vreau să vă zic din start că asta mi se pare a fi genul de carte pe care nu cred c-ar fi publicat-o nici dreaq dacă nu era scrisă de o celebritate. N-a fost nici distractivă, nici interesantă.
Rețeta dezastrului:
- coloana vertebrală a cărții e cel mai boring subiect pe care ar fi putut să-l aleagă: baseball-ul. Aici m-a pierdut complet, dacă aș avea de ales între a vedea un sezon de baseball și a fi ars de viu, aș zice să aduceți chibriturile;
- personaje insipide cu care nu poți empatiza deloc, pentru că-s niște parodii de oameni; niciunul dintre ei nu e simpatic, toți sunt plini de idiosincrazii enervante și toți vorbesc de parcă fac mereu reclamă la vreun căcat;
- dialoguri cu factor extrem de ridicat de cringe, pline de referințe pop (like, TOATE referințele pop din lumea asta) care se potrivesc ca Șoșoaca la un bal vienez. Se vede de la o poștă că omul s-a scremut cât de tare a putut să înfigă în text toate chestiile care i-au venit la mână, indiferent că ajută sau au vreun sens, ori ba. Nu înțeleg de ce. O fi crezut că-l fac să pară mai erudit? Puțin probabil, unele sunt atât de stupide şi gratuite încât mi-e imposibil să-mi dau seama ce-a fost în capul lui. Sau poate mă gândesc la cât de deştept era Mulder şi de aia îmi dă cu virgulă să văd asemenea prostii în pagină. La un moment dat se adună o mulțime de non-sequitur-ele la un loc şi paginile încep să arate de parcă au fost scrise de un epileptic, de-ți vine să-ți scoți ochii din cap cu un tirbușon;
- umor forțat, bazat la greu pe dialogurile mai sus menționate;
- dincolo de baseball, Duchovny a ales să împrumute plot-device-ul din Life is Beautiful. Nu-l ajută;
- probabil cea mai proastă traducere din engleză pe care am văzut-o vreodată. Citesc f mult în engleză, și pot să-mi fac traducere în cap aproape instant, pe măsură ce citesc, și la un moment dat a început să-mi curgă sânge din nas când am văzut ce alegeri a făcut dna. Fusoi. Ori n-a avut chef, ori n-a verificat nimeni rezutlatul final... cert e că asta NU e o traducere demnă de POLIROM.
În final, vreau să închei spunând că mi se pare extrem de ironic faptul că Duchovny a interpretat în Californication, timp de 7 sezoane, un scriitor foarte inspirat, care părea să aibă cuvintele mereu la el, și imediat după ce serialul ăla s-a sfârșit, a scos în lume dezastrul ăsta de carte.
Nu era de ajuns că ai făcut două roluri masive și foarte puternice de-a lungul a 3 decenii și ai intrat în istorie ca un actor de prima mână?
De ce a trebuit să te apuci de scris?...
Vreau să vă zic din start că asta mi se pare a fi genul de carte pe care nu cred c-ar fi publicat-o nici dreaq dacă nu era scrisă de o celebritate. N-a fost nici distractivă, nici interesantă.
Rețeta dezastrului:
- coloana vertebrală a cărții e cel mai boring subiect pe care ar fi putut să-l aleagă: baseball-ul. Aici m-a pierdut complet, dacă aș avea de ales între a vedea un sezon de baseball și a fi ars de viu, aș zice să aduceți chibriturile;
- personaje insipide cu care nu poți empatiza deloc, pentru că-s niște parodii de oameni; niciunul dintre ei nu e simpatic, toți sunt plini de idiosincrazii enervante și toți vorbesc de parcă fac mereu reclamă la vreun căcat;
- dialoguri cu factor extrem de ridicat de cringe, pline de referințe pop (like, TOATE referințele pop din lumea asta) care se potrivesc ca Șoșoaca la un bal vienez. Se vede de la o poștă că omul s-a scremut cât de tare a putut să înfigă în text toate chestiile care i-au venit la mână, indiferent că ajută sau au vreun sens, ori ba. Nu înțeleg de ce. O fi crezut că-l fac să pară mai erudit? Puțin probabil, unele sunt atât de stupide şi gratuite încât mi-e imposibil să-mi dau seama ce-a fost în capul lui. Sau poate mă gândesc la cât de deştept era Mulder şi de aia îmi dă cu virgulă să văd asemenea prostii în pagină. La un moment dat se adună o mulțime de non-sequitur-ele la un loc şi paginile încep să arate de parcă au fost scrise de un epileptic, de-ți vine să-ți scoți ochii din cap cu un tirbușon;
- umor forțat, bazat la greu pe dialogurile mai sus menționate;
- dincolo de baseball, Duchovny a ales să împrumute plot-device-ul din Life is Beautiful. Nu-l ajută;
- probabil cea mai proastă traducere din engleză pe care am văzut-o vreodată. Citesc f mult în engleză, și pot să-mi fac traducere în cap aproape instant, pe măsură ce citesc, și la un moment dat a început să-mi curgă sânge din nas când am văzut ce alegeri a făcut dna. Fusoi. Ori n-a avut chef, ori n-a verificat nimeni rezutlatul final... cert e că asta NU e o traducere demnă de POLIROM.
În final, vreau să închei spunând că mi se pare extrem de ironic faptul că Duchovny a interpretat în Californication, timp de 7 sezoane, un scriitor foarte inspirat, care părea să aibă cuvintele mereu la el, și imediat după ce serialul ăla s-a sfârșit, a scos în lume dezastrul ăsta de carte.
December 4, 2021
Did I read this book? No.
Can David Duchovny really write? Meh. Probably. He was an English major at Princeton or something. Whatever. Don't care.
Picked this up at a book signing Duchovny was doing a few weeks ago. I've lusted after that guy since I was 13, getting my book signed was supposed to be my chance—you know, my moment to elevate myself from book nerd to starfucker.
Right?
Not so much.
Mr. “Yes-I'm-super-fuckin-hot-in-real-life-too” didn't so much as glance my way—he seemed to prefer to chat it up with my 7-year old instead. (Cock blocked by a 7 year-old. Goddammit).
Chopped liver over here didn't want to tread on the bromance or anything...by all means, boys, keep talking, I'll just stand over here and look at...stuff.
Whatever.
Despite the brushoff, automatic 5 stars for being rad to my kid. :)
Maybe I'll read the book some day, too. :)
Can David Duchovny really write? Meh. Probably. He was an English major at Princeton or something. Whatever. Don't care.
Picked this up at a book signing Duchovny was doing a few weeks ago. I've lusted after that guy since I was 13, getting my book signed was supposed to be my chance—you know, my moment to elevate myself from book nerd to starfucker.
Right?
Not so much.
Mr. “Yes-I'm-super-fuckin-hot-in-real-life-too” didn't so much as glance my way—he seemed to prefer to chat it up with my 7-year old instead. (Cock blocked by a 7 year-old. Goddammit).
Chopped liver over here didn't want to tread on the bromance or anything...by all means, boys, keep talking, I'll just stand over here and look at...stuff.
Whatever.
Despite the brushoff, automatic 5 stars for being rad to my kid. :)
Maybe I'll read the book some day, too. :)
Want to read
April 26, 2016I thought that cow thing was weird last time, but I can get behind Duchovny writing about baseball again.
May 4, 2018
Going into this book, I had no idea what to expect. The title was definitely an attention-grabber. I'm familiar with David Duchovny, the actor (who also wrote one of my favorite X-Files episodes - "The Unnatural"). I was unfamiliar with David Duchovny, the novelist. All I knew was baseball.
I'll skip the opportunity to make some silly baseball reference that I'm sure will find its way into many other reviews.
Yeah, there's baseball. There's also a touching story about family; a complicated one about forgiveness and redemption. About an adult child getting to know their parent as a person, instead of stubbornly holding on to beliefs formed in their childhood.
I truly loved the bit about the rain. Laugh-out-loud funny, and also really sweet.
I didn't want the game to end.
On a personal note, I grew up with a father who has always been super into baseball (Cardinals all the way). After staying up all night, reading this in one sitting, I kinda want to go visit him. :)
Nice work, David.
I'll skip the opportunity to make some silly baseball reference that I'm sure will find its way into many other reviews.
Yeah, there's baseball. There's also a touching story about family; a complicated one about forgiveness and redemption. About an adult child getting to know their parent as a person, instead of stubbornly holding on to beliefs formed in their childhood.
I truly loved the bit about the rain. Laugh-out-loud funny, and also really sweet.
I didn't want the game to end.
On a personal note, I grew up with a father who has always been super into baseball (Cardinals all the way). After staying up all night, reading this in one sitting, I kinda want to go visit him. :)
Nice work, David.
April 15, 2016
I wait for the day this man writes his memoirs. I DO hope it's on the list. Then again, he treasures his privacy and probably wouldn't make those memories public. You have to respect that. You know, I'm biased because I LOVE David Duchovny. I really liked Holy Cow, his first fiction book that came out last year, and I loved this one- although for a host of different reasons. As I was reading this book- similar to when I was reading Holy Cow (although that was different because Elsie is a female, and David is NOT), I could hear his voice narrating the book. I told my coworker Andrew this, and he said he could see that, having snuck a peek at the book. That made it even easier to read. There's a love of baseball here, but more importantly, there's the love between a son and his dying father. That, given my situation at home with my dad, hits hard. There were points reading this where I had to set it down because it made me cry. Sometimes, it's cathartic to have a book do that for you. This book is such a book. Of course, you have the trademark Duchovny humor. The same sort you would imagine if you engage him in a Twitter conversation about politics, for example. (Or he takes to Twitter to expound on a book that he loved and that deserves major kudos- "The Cant-idates" by Craig Tomashoff, for the record). But you also have the unusual feat of a fictional book with a highly unusual premise grabbing your attention with the lead characters, and keeping that attention until the end of the book. It's a book you should pick up and gift your own father with on Father's Day. Seriously- my first post closer to Father's Day is going to be a gift guide for books for Father's Day.... and not the atypical "BBQ", "golf", etc. books...different books. This book is out now. Go grab a copy from your closest bookstore.
Ted lives with his battery operated goldfish. He's an Ivy League grad who took a turn down a different road- to the ballpark, where he plays Mr. Peanut at Yankee Stadium, while waiting for the ghost of the next great American novel to visit him. He gets a phone call telling him that his estranged father Marty is dying of lung cancer, so he packs up and moves home. It quickly becomes apparent that Marty is THE die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, and every time his Red Sox lose, his condition takes a turn for the worse. Ted, battling between his grief at his father's worsening health and attempting to be the good son and take care of his dad in his waning days, comes up with the harebrain scheme to end all harebrain schemes. With the help of the neighborhood friends and his dad's grief counselor, he stages the illusion of a Boston Red Sox winning season (this takes place during the Carter presidency, when the BoSox were in the same dregs as the Chicago Cubs. They had not yet seen the glory of that World Series ring), to get his father to rally. Things, as you can guess, don't quite go according to plan. And that, my friends, is why this book is so incredibly easy to get into and stay into. I can't tell enough people how great of a read it is, and how quirky and yet quietly heartbreaking in others. But don't just listen to me- go get a copy!
Ted lives with his battery operated goldfish. He's an Ivy League grad who took a turn down a different road- to the ballpark, where he plays Mr. Peanut at Yankee Stadium, while waiting for the ghost of the next great American novel to visit him. He gets a phone call telling him that his estranged father Marty is dying of lung cancer, so he packs up and moves home. It quickly becomes apparent that Marty is THE die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, and every time his Red Sox lose, his condition takes a turn for the worse. Ted, battling between his grief at his father's worsening health and attempting to be the good son and take care of his dad in his waning days, comes up with the harebrain scheme to end all harebrain schemes. With the help of the neighborhood friends and his dad's grief counselor, he stages the illusion of a Boston Red Sox winning season (this takes place during the Carter presidency, when the BoSox were in the same dregs as the Chicago Cubs. They had not yet seen the glory of that World Series ring), to get his father to rally. Things, as you can guess, don't quite go according to plan. And that, my friends, is why this book is so incredibly easy to get into and stay into. I can't tell enough people how great of a read it is, and how quirky and yet quietly heartbreaking in others. But don't just listen to me- go get a copy!
May 22, 2016
Wow. I expected to love this, but it was so incredibly bad that I couldn't even get halfway through it.
It's obnoxious. It's insipid. The plot, which Duchovny often ignores so he can riff (poorly) about nothing, isn't nearly compelling enough to inspire a reader to put up with all the drivel. And the book isn't really about baseball, despite being billed as such.
But mostly the problem is that Duchovny isn't funny. Which might be fine except for the fact that he clearly thinks he is. Look at my clever wordplay! Look at my witty remark! This is the pervasive tone of the writing, which Is neither clever nor witty.
There's a ton of good baseball fiction out there. Don't waste your time or your money on this irritating, self-indulgent word vomit.
It's obnoxious. It's insipid. The plot, which Duchovny often ignores so he can riff (poorly) about nothing, isn't nearly compelling enough to inspire a reader to put up with all the drivel. And the book isn't really about baseball, despite being billed as such.
But mostly the problem is that Duchovny isn't funny. Which might be fine except for the fact that he clearly thinks he is. Look at my clever wordplay! Look at my witty remark! This is the pervasive tone of the writing, which Is neither clever nor witty.
There's a ton of good baseball fiction out there. Don't waste your time or your money on this irritating, self-indulgent word vomit.
July 9, 2016
So this is one of those books that I got attracted by its cover. As a long time hater of the Yankees, I couldn't but agree about the title. Really "Bucky F*cking Dent" beat the Red Sox?! It was just blasphemy but it did happen. I guess I expected baseball and what I got was a great story about the final days of a man and his dying father.
Yes its wrapped around baseball loosely and yes the phrase gets mentioned. All Red Sox fans know the date and game. So no need to go to that painful heartache.
David Duchovny does an excellent job with the novel and it really works.
Highly recommended.
Yes its wrapped around baseball loosely and yes the phrase gets mentioned. All Red Sox fans know the date and game. So no need to go to that painful heartache.
David Duchovny does an excellent job with the novel and it really works.
Highly recommended.
January 27, 2021
I didn’t want it to end. Heartwarming and hilarious.
October 5, 2019
I'm a Duchovny fan, and I loved Miss Subways, so it was a pretty good bet I'd like this! Not just like, I loved this! It's wry, smart, hip, with just a hint of poignant too. There were many hilarious laugh out loud moments!
The gist of the story is a terminally ill father and his estranged son reconnecting over the 1978 baseball season in New York, culminating in the infamous home-run by Bucky Dent. I thought the characters, their dialogue, and the NY setting were so real and alive and wickedly funny!
This story has attitude! It won't appeal to everyone, but I loved it! And of course, IMO, the ONLY way to really appreciate this one is to listen on AUDIO, with Duchovny narrating it!
The gist of the story is a terminally ill father and his estranged son reconnecting over the 1978 baseball season in New York, culminating in the infamous home-run by Bucky Dent. I thought the characters, their dialogue, and the NY setting were so real and alive and wickedly funny!
This story has attitude! It won't appeal to everyone, but I loved it! And of course, IMO, the ONLY way to really appreciate this one is to listen on AUDIO, with Duchovny narrating it!
April 12, 2021
Am rezistat doar vreo 30 de pagini. Holy Cow chiar mi-a plăcut, a avut o analogie interesantă. Însă asta e groaznică. Nu cred că am dat peste vreo scriitură mai haotică și cu atâtea fraze inutile, iar subiectul nu mă atrage suficient, încât să mă străduiesc.
December 13, 2017
I'm so conflicted. There were parts of this book that I really, truly loved and other parts that I hated and made me want to punch Duchovny in the face. I don't want to feel that way! I love David Duchovny!
On the upside, the dialogue was among the best I've read in any book, ever. It was so fucking realistic. It made the characters fly off the page. By the end of the book, they felt like old friends. I had so much affection for them, and I can tell that Duchovny did too. He really captured different New York accents and subcultures, and I got actively homesick for Brooklyn. I believed the story—even though I'm not a baseball fan, I was able to relate to how important the Red Socks-Yankees rivalry was to these people. The end of the book made me tear up. I was moved.
On the downside, holy verbal diarrhea. The narration was a word salad of every thought David Duchovny has ever had in his entire life. It's juvenile, pretentious, verbose, and it made me think Duchovny hasn't read a book that was published in the last 30 years. UGH. I wish he would have taken the advice his editors almost certainly gave him. Less is more, sir. It's especially frustrating because the dialogue shows how well he can write, he just chose not to.
On the upside, the dialogue was among the best I've read in any book, ever. It was so fucking realistic. It made the characters fly off the page. By the end of the book, they felt like old friends. I had so much affection for them, and I can tell that Duchovny did too. He really captured different New York accents and subcultures, and I got actively homesick for Brooklyn. I believed the story—even though I'm not a baseball fan, I was able to relate to how important the Red Socks-Yankees rivalry was to these people. The end of the book made me tear up. I was moved.
On the downside, holy verbal diarrhea. The narration was a word salad of every thought David Duchovny has ever had in his entire life. It's juvenile, pretentious, verbose, and it made me think Duchovny hasn't read a book that was published in the last 30 years. UGH. I wish he would have taken the advice his editors almost certainly gave him. Less is more, sir. It's especially frustrating because the dialogue shows how well he can write, he just chose not to.
September 27, 2019
2.5 rounded up
Another challenging Challenge read, chosen for the sports square on a Bingo card. I am not a fan of baseball, so luckily there were other plot points besides the Red Sox vs the Yankees. There was also a man getting to know his dying father before it's too late. Characters you might want to get to know better than we actually did here.
Duchovny has a few good laugh out loud one liners, but many, many snarky comments that should have been cut. For example, a character carrying a manilla folder elicits a "Thrill-a in Manila" from another person, out of the blue. Silliness abounds.
His own voice doing the narration was a good idea, but not enough here to make me rush to read his other books.
Another challenging Challenge read, chosen for the sports square on a Bingo card. I am not a fan of baseball, so luckily there were other plot points besides the Red Sox vs the Yankees. There was also a man getting to know his dying father before it's too late. Characters you might want to get to know better than we actually did here.
Duchovny has a few good laugh out loud one liners, but many, many snarky comments that should have been cut. For example, a character carrying a manilla folder elicits a "Thrill-a in Manila" from another person, out of the blue. Silliness abounds.
His own voice doing the narration was a good idea, but not enough here to make me rush to read his other books.
May 14, 2016
What a pleasant surprise this book was. It's funny, poignant, well-written, with a little bit of baseball thrown in for good measure. Good old Fox Mulder really has some writing chops. I recommend it highly.
April 16, 2016
I purchased this in both hard copy and audio, which I highly recommend. Hearing David Duchovny tell the story himself, with his own inflections, saying the words he wrote provides a deeper, fuller understanding of the characters, as he is who created them, designed them & gave them their personalities, words, & voices.
This novel is truly from the heart and it is reflected in his narration. Whereas his previous novel, Holy Cow, was a lovely little eccentric fable, BFD deals with much deeper issues, fathers, sons, loss, & baseball. It is both touching and funny, full of the quirky wit Duchovny has demonstrated in previous works and interviews. He is a master of allusion with a mind that makes lightning quick connections between multiple culturally literate references.
A common aspect in D.D.'s characters, present in his novels and scripts, that always surprises me is the deep sensitivity and vulnerability lingering just below the surface of all his characters, even in the snarkiest of the characters he has conjured into existence on the page. And, of course, as he is probably well aware, those characters are the ones who break our hearts the most when we see them lose their defenses and show any hurt or pain.
Listening to (& reading) BFD, at times, made my heart feel exposed, or that any given time it would be exposed, Hanuman-like, due to the intensity of feeling almost always present in the interactions b/n Marty & Ted, whether humorous or tragic. The poignant moments are particularly heightened emotionally when listening to the audiobook. I wanted to reach out to both give and receive comfort as Duchovny tells the story in his soft tones, his voice resonating with the grief, guilt, love, & regrets reflected within his characters.
The story takes place in 1978. Ted moves in with his estranged father, Marty, who is dying of cancer. Marty is rather curmudgeonly, typical of so many men in his generation. Ted is an adult, but a slacker with no real ambition. He is not a bad person, & not completely nihilistic, but he has lost any drive he may have once had and has resigned himself to the life of an underachiever. Both father & son carry heavy burdens of guilt and years of misunderstandings. Ted discovers that Marty's health & mood improves whenever the Red Sox win a game & begins, with the help of Marty's friends (the hilarious & marvelously constructed "Gray Panthers"), to create the illusion that the Red Sox are on a winning streak. Marty & Ted, despite all appearances to the contrary are more alike than different, demonstrated by their references, mutual knowledge & practical telepathy when it comes to thinking of the same poets & poems triggered by the same reference points.
This novel is full of love, laughter, life & baseball with a bit of sweet romance thrown into the mix. It revolves around everyday people, who live everyday lives, reflecting the fears, love, relationships, wishes & dreams that perhaps everyone carries in their hearts.
(For hardcore Duchovny fans, they may recognize some particularly personal references; not only regarding geography & Ted's educational & ethnic background, but of a mother who instilled a strict concern about money and a mention of an outline for a novel titled "Wherever There Are Two".)
Two specific moments of note:
1) In the audiobook, the narration of Chap. 76 is particularly beautiful.
2) The scene when Ted & Marty return to Marty's home after the big game painfully pricked at my heartstrings & I found myself suddenly break into heavy, body-shaking, wrenching sobs. I may laugh often with a book, but it is much harder for one to bring me to tears. "All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was." ~ Ernest Hemingway
This novel is truly from the heart and it is reflected in his narration. Whereas his previous novel, Holy Cow, was a lovely little eccentric fable, BFD deals with much deeper issues, fathers, sons, loss, & baseball. It is both touching and funny, full of the quirky wit Duchovny has demonstrated in previous works and interviews. He is a master of allusion with a mind that makes lightning quick connections between multiple culturally literate references.
A common aspect in D.D.'s characters, present in his novels and scripts, that always surprises me is the deep sensitivity and vulnerability lingering just below the surface of all his characters, even in the snarkiest of the characters he has conjured into existence on the page. And, of course, as he is probably well aware, those characters are the ones who break our hearts the most when we see them lose their defenses and show any hurt or pain.
Listening to (& reading) BFD, at times, made my heart feel exposed, or that any given time it would be exposed, Hanuman-like, due to the intensity of feeling almost always present in the interactions b/n Marty & Ted, whether humorous or tragic. The poignant moments are particularly heightened emotionally when listening to the audiobook. I wanted to reach out to both give and receive comfort as Duchovny tells the story in his soft tones, his voice resonating with the grief, guilt, love, & regrets reflected within his characters.
The story takes place in 1978. Ted moves in with his estranged father, Marty, who is dying of cancer. Marty is rather curmudgeonly, typical of so many men in his generation. Ted is an adult, but a slacker with no real ambition. He is not a bad person, & not completely nihilistic, but he has lost any drive he may have once had and has resigned himself to the life of an underachiever. Both father & son carry heavy burdens of guilt and years of misunderstandings. Ted discovers that Marty's health & mood improves whenever the Red Sox win a game & begins, with the help of Marty's friends (the hilarious & marvelously constructed "Gray Panthers"), to create the illusion that the Red Sox are on a winning streak. Marty & Ted, despite all appearances to the contrary are more alike than different, demonstrated by their references, mutual knowledge & practical telepathy when it comes to thinking of the same poets & poems triggered by the same reference points.
This novel is full of love, laughter, life & baseball with a bit of sweet romance thrown into the mix. It revolves around everyday people, who live everyday lives, reflecting the fears, love, relationships, wishes & dreams that perhaps everyone carries in their hearts.
(For hardcore Duchovny fans, they may recognize some particularly personal references; not only regarding geography & Ted's educational & ethnic background, but of a mother who instilled a strict concern about money and a mention of an outline for a novel titled "Wherever There Are Two".)
Two specific moments of note:
1) In the audiobook, the narration of Chap. 76 is particularly beautiful.
2) The scene when Ted & Marty return to Marty's home after the big game painfully pricked at my heartstrings & I found myself suddenly break into heavy, body-shaking, wrenching sobs. I may laugh often with a book, but it is much harder for one to bring me to tears. "All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was." ~ Ernest Hemingway
August 31, 2016
Who knew Fox Mulder (X Files) could write? Turns out he has a bachelors and masters in English from Princeton and Yale. It shows now and then in this short novel as it gets a bit literary in places and contains references to some poetry and literature but what attracted me to the book was the title. Poor Bucky Dent, Yankee's shortstop will be forever "blessed" with that moniker by virtually any New Englander and he is even referenced that way in Wikipedia. Why, because the light hitting baseball player managed to hit a homer at exactly the wrong time in 1978 if you are a Red Sox fan (which would include me) during a one game championship play off game in 1978. My nephews attended his baseball camp in Florida so I actually think highly of Dent, with the exception of the game in question.
Back to the book. The main protagonist, Ted is an Ivy league grad, filling in the income gap while he writes the great American novel by pitching peanuts as a vendor in Yankee stadium. He gets word that his estranged father is dying from lung cancer and moves in to care for him. His dad has a strange condition in that he actually improves when his beloved Red Sox win so naturally Ted has to hide any bad news in that regard and fabricate the good news when necessary. This takes efforts by the local elders as well as the healthcare lady and the book moves through twists and curves until Ted and his dad are making their way to Boston's Fenway Park for the game in question. Among other obvious questions, why is this man so obsessed with a sports team and why especially would a New Yorker be pulling for the hated Red Sox? Well, I won't spoil it for you, use this enjoyable read to discover the interesting answers.
Back to the book. The main protagonist, Ted is an Ivy league grad, filling in the income gap while he writes the great American novel by pitching peanuts as a vendor in Yankee stadium. He gets word that his estranged father is dying from lung cancer and moves in to care for him. His dad has a strange condition in that he actually improves when his beloved Red Sox win so naturally Ted has to hide any bad news in that regard and fabricate the good news when necessary. This takes efforts by the local elders as well as the healthcare lady and the book moves through twists and curves until Ted and his dad are making their way to Boston's Fenway Park for the game in question. Among other obvious questions, why is this man so obsessed with a sports team and why especially would a New Yorker be pulling for the hated Red Sox? Well, I won't spoil it for you, use this enjoyable read to discover the interesting answers.
February 26, 2021
I would actually give it 3.5 stars; it's a well told story and very touching. It's filled with some interesting facts about baseball that is written in an engrossing style.
July 22, 2016
This audiobook was good fun, you could tell that the author enjoyed writing the material and then also bringing his creations to life.
By equal measures wry and wistful, a terminally ill father and his estranged son reconnect over the 1978 baseball season in New York, culminating in the homerun by the titular Dent.
By the end some elements of the narrative became a little too cartoon-y and ridden with wish-fulfillment for my tastes, but the journey to get there was amusing enough to give it a pass.
Worth checking out, for sure!
By equal measures wry and wistful, a terminally ill father and his estranged son reconnect over the 1978 baseball season in New York, culminating in the homerun by the titular Dent.
By the end some elements of the narrative became a little too cartoon-y and ridden with wish-fulfillment for my tastes, but the journey to get there was amusing enough to give it a pass.
Worth checking out, for sure!
May 15, 2022
What a phenomenal and moving read this was. I read this book not just with my eyes and hands but with my heart and whole damn body. It's not often an author can put me through the whole gamut of emotions like that and I'm just so grateful I gave it a chance. I strongly recommend this one to anyone who has ever felt that they maybe aren't living up to their potential, if you love and understand the value of baseball throughout time, or, most simply, if you just plain miss your old man.
Excuse me but I have to go watch 'Field of Dreams' now...
Excuse me but I have to go watch 'Field of Dreams' now...
November 12, 2015
От этой книжки - ну, нет, не штырит, но паровозит она будь здоров. Смех и слезы вперемешку - Дуковны написал замечательный, ловко скроенный роман, от которого становишься лучше (особенно вспоминая о родителях - тут она у меня шла параллельно с Остером). Только на хихи пробивает постоянно. Марти и Тед - натуральные былинные герои ХХ века. Даже бейсбол, в общем, не сильно раздражает.
April 2, 2021
David Duchovny is the greatest blessing on earth. I would read this man’s grocery lists if I could.
July 16, 2025
I got this one from Audible. Picking out a book by chance is nice sometimes, like being a child and just choosing one on the library shelf that looks good, and not because it's a book club read or something I want to learn about. ....Although maybe not exactly like the childhood library-shelf fantasy, since I did look to see if prior readers had liked it...
Anyway, back when I used to watch TV shows, X-Files was one of them. Fox and Scully, remember? Played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. They had a certain chemistry, at least in my mind they did.
Five or eight years ago X-Files had a radio-play type of rerun. I guess that was on Audible too. Pretty bad. Just didn't work.
But David Duchovny also is a novelist, so I tried this one. And thoroughly enjoyed it. Sent off for a paperback, too, and now I have two gift recipients in mind, both males.
The premise is that a 30-something guy is a would-be writer but is going nowhere with it. He's Mr. Peanut at New York Yankee home games -- has to throw peanuts at the fans or something -- and also a pothead. He had lost his true love by courtin' too slow, and he's estranged from his father. Then he finds out his dad is dying of lung cancer. But Dad's a Red Sox fan who perks up noticeably every time they win and wilts when they don't. So Ted, the 30ish wastrel, initiates a harebrained scheme to make his father think they're winning. It's 1978....
And the story unfolds from there.
Sounds a little lame, meaning I haven't quite done it justice, since it works quite well.
Full of literary flourishes and references. A disguised romance, but for the guys. I noticed a few instances of male fantasy but mostly I was enjoying too. About a late-bloomer, belatedly coming of age. Whose last name, in a nice touch, is Fullilove.
Tragicomedy.
In the audio version, read by the author himself.
I enjoyed it five stars' worth.
Anyway, back when I used to watch TV shows, X-Files was one of them. Fox and Scully, remember? Played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. They had a certain chemistry, at least in my mind they did.
Five or eight years ago X-Files had a radio-play type of rerun. I guess that was on Audible too. Pretty bad. Just didn't work.
But David Duchovny also is a novelist, so I tried this one. And thoroughly enjoyed it. Sent off for a paperback, too, and now I have two gift recipients in mind, both males.
The premise is that a 30-something guy is a would-be writer but is going nowhere with it. He's Mr. Peanut at New York Yankee home games -- has to throw peanuts at the fans or something -- and also a pothead. He had lost his true love by courtin' too slow, and he's estranged from his father. Then he finds out his dad is dying of lung cancer. But Dad's a Red Sox fan who perks up noticeably every time they win and wilts when they don't. So Ted, the 30ish wastrel, initiates a harebrained scheme to make his father think they're winning. It's 1978....
And the story unfolds from there.
Sounds a little lame, meaning I haven't quite done it justice, since it works quite well.
Full of literary flourishes and references. A disguised romance, but for the guys. I noticed a few instances of male fantasy but mostly I was enjoying too. About a late-bloomer, belatedly coming of age. Whose last name, in a nice touch, is Fullilove.
Tragicomedy.
In the audio version, read by the author himself.
I enjoyed it five stars' worth.
May 1, 2021
The beginning of this book was a 5 star rating, but I don't know if I hate anything more than an ending that's even more boring than it is predictable. There was so much that I loved here - relatable experiences/emotions of watching a loved one die, INCREDIBLE character development, witty and realistic conversation...I don't often audibly laugh while reading, but I did numerous times with this book. The second half though...you lost me David, and trust me, I wanted to rally. It felt like this story almost prided itself on being shocking and raw, but then at the end decided to just take a left turn and chicken-soup-for-the-soul it home. Also, no spoiler alert - but I will say that a few sections are what I would expect from an overly-hormonal-adolescent, and not someone actually tethered to a reality in which women exist.
also, the epilogue just made this bad ending even worse. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself to skip it, and save myself the eye roll.
Obviously I still plan to read everything that David has written/will write (honestly "Truly Like Lightning" was amazing and by reading that first, the bar was set very high), because when his writing is good, it's so very very very good.
also, the epilogue just made this bad ending even worse. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself to skip it, and save myself the eye roll.
Obviously I still plan to read everything that David has written/will write (honestly "Truly Like Lightning" was amazing and by reading that first, the bar was set very high), because when his writing is good, it's so very very very good.
November 10, 2016
I'll always think of David Duchovny as an actor. I never knew he wrote. But since I live in the Cleveland area and it was World Series time, the library had several baseball-oriented books displayed. The title, "Bucky F*cking Dent," caught my eye. So I checked it out.
Glad I did.
First off, I want to lay something out there. I lost my father, a baseball fanatic, a few years back. I think he may have had lung cancer, but that's a guess. So this book really struck a chord with me. My eyes teared a few times as I read, remembering my father. And as an added quirk, "The X-Files," starring Duchovny, was my father's favorite show when it was on. Because of this, my review may be less than objective.
Anyways, "Bucky" starts out slow. It's set in 1978. The lead character, Ted, is a frustrated, Ivy League educated writer. He's a poor slacker, reminiscent of a well-read Big Lebowski. He's happy smoking tons of dope, working as a peanut vendor at Yankees games, listening insistently to the Grateful Dead and bemoaning disco. But things get interesting when he a hospice nurse, Mariana, calls to inform Ted that his estranged father Marty is dying. And from here on in, the book grows, exploring the themes of love, from erotic to paternal, and the father/ son relationship.
The plot itself is by turns humorous and tragic, though it never dissolves into sentimentality. Marty and Ted share a love for baseball, but not the same teams. Ted is a Yankees fan, and his father roots for the Red Sox. And in 1978, the Sox start the year with a huge lead on the Yanks, only to watch it slip away over September. Which makes the already caustic Marty even more bitter. And yet Ted, who slowly begins to see his father for the good, if imperfect, man and father he is, tries to cushion that blow. Regardless, as goes Boston, so goes Marty's health. And when Yankees shortstop and mediocre hitter Bucky Dent hits a homer that seals the Red's fate, Marty's comments take one into the book's central theme, it's the little things that matter... along with giving a accurate sense of the brash New Yorker Marty is:
Indeed, its the little things that not only ease Marty's end, but bring Ted back from his spiritual death. Ted's growing relationship with the colorful denizens of Marty's neighborhood. A love affair, and some hot sex, with Mariana, who turns out to be curvy and attractive. Him and Marina bringing Marty together with Maria, a lost love Ted learns about. A move which leaves Ted torn, since Marty cheated on his mother with Maria. But most importantly, Ted realizes how dedicated a father and husband Marty was despite his philandering. Because he and Maria were both married at the time. Neither would leave their families high and dry. Both agreed to break off the affair in honor of their vows.
Unfortunately, I cannot go further without spoiling. So I won't. But suffice it to say that I did laugh at a lot of the scenes. They weren't hilarious, but human. With Marty a typical crusty, hard-driving middle class New Yorker, paired off with his long-haired stoner of a son with his penchant for quoting poets. Or, more often, the Dead.
Unfortunately, the book is not perfect. There were several plot points that seemed a tad too Hollywood, as to be expected of a Hollywood actor who writes. These plot devices were clever and charming, but seemed unrealistic. They didn't detract from the power of the main story, nor did they cause me to roll my eyes. But I do think that, all things considered, they caused me to shave a half a point or so off my review.
But in "Bucky F*cking Dent," Duchovny's pitched a good one. Not a no-hitter, but a winner with solid characters dealing with hard times. Who illustrate how, working together, we can overcome the most dire of storms. From the big ones like cancer, to the minor tragedies, like Bucky Dent.
Highly recommended for folks who enjoy character-based literature. Especially if you're looking for sensitive. strong, but NOT hyper-macho male characters. Or like baseball and want a good fiction read. Or are looking for a book that explores father/ son relationships in a new, creative way.
Glad I did.
First off, I want to lay something out there. I lost my father, a baseball fanatic, a few years back. I think he may have had lung cancer, but that's a guess. So this book really struck a chord with me. My eyes teared a few times as I read, remembering my father. And as an added quirk, "The X-Files," starring Duchovny, was my father's favorite show when it was on. Because of this, my review may be less than objective.
Anyways, "Bucky" starts out slow. It's set in 1978. The lead character, Ted, is a frustrated, Ivy League educated writer. He's a poor slacker, reminiscent of a well-read Big Lebowski. He's happy smoking tons of dope, working as a peanut vendor at Yankees games, listening insistently to the Grateful Dead and bemoaning disco. But things get interesting when he a hospice nurse, Mariana, calls to inform Ted that his estranged father Marty is dying. And from here on in, the book grows, exploring the themes of love, from erotic to paternal, and the father/ son relationship.
The plot itself is by turns humorous and tragic, though it never dissolves into sentimentality. Marty and Ted share a love for baseball, but not the same teams. Ted is a Yankees fan, and his father roots for the Red Sox. And in 1978, the Sox start the year with a huge lead on the Yanks, only to watch it slip away over September. Which makes the already caustic Marty even more bitter. And yet Ted, who slowly begins to see his father for the good, if imperfect, man and father he is, tries to cushion that blow. Regardless, as goes Boston, so goes Marty's health. And when Yankees shortstop and mediocre hitter Bucky Dent hits a homer that seals the Red's fate, Marty's comments take one into the book's central theme, it's the little things that matter... along with giving a accurate sense of the brash New Yorker Marty is:
“I never saw it before. I see it all now. All of it. It’s never Mickey Mantle that kills you. Never Willie Mays. Never the thing you prepare for. It’s always the little thing you didn’t see coming. The head cold that puts you in your grave. It’s always Bucky Dent.”
Indeed, its the little things that not only ease Marty's end, but bring Ted back from his spiritual death. Ted's growing relationship with the colorful denizens of Marty's neighborhood. A love affair, and some hot sex, with Mariana, who turns out to be curvy and attractive. Him and Marina bringing Marty together with Maria, a lost love Ted learns about. A move which leaves Ted torn, since Marty cheated on his mother with Maria. But most importantly, Ted realizes how dedicated a father and husband Marty was despite his philandering. Because he and Maria were both married at the time. Neither would leave their families high and dry. Both agreed to break off the affair in honor of their vows.
Unfortunately, I cannot go further without spoiling. So I won't. But suffice it to say that I did laugh at a lot of the scenes. They weren't hilarious, but human. With Marty a typical crusty, hard-driving middle class New Yorker, paired off with his long-haired stoner of a son with his penchant for quoting poets. Or, more often, the Dead.
Unfortunately, the book is not perfect. There were several plot points that seemed a tad too Hollywood, as to be expected of a Hollywood actor who writes. These plot devices were clever and charming, but seemed unrealistic. They didn't detract from the power of the main story, nor did they cause me to roll my eyes. But I do think that, all things considered, they caused me to shave a half a point or so off my review.
But in "Bucky F*cking Dent," Duchovny's pitched a good one. Not a no-hitter, but a winner with solid characters dealing with hard times. Who illustrate how, working together, we can overcome the most dire of storms. From the big ones like cancer, to the minor tragedies, like Bucky Dent.
Highly recommended for folks who enjoy character-based literature. Especially if you're looking for sensitive. strong, but NOT hyper-macho male characters. Or like baseball and want a good fiction read. Or are looking for a book that explores father/ son relationships in a new, creative way.
June 25, 2016
Theodore Lord Fenway Fullilove is a "quirky dude with a BA in English literature from Columbia who works as a peanut vendor in Yankee Stadium while he slaves away on the great American novel." A devotee of the Grateful Dead, ganja, and general socialism, Ted glides to midlife alone but generally content. When his cancer-stricken father, Marty, needs help around the house, Ted sees an opportunity to be the caretaker this parent never was. Together, they fuse a profane but peaceable partnership centered on baseball, the beautiful and enigmatic counselor Mariana, and a shared if not fully realized love of writing.
Duchovny beautifully captures aspects of an adult child's reckoning with parental judgment. "Often, Marty appeared to Ted like one of those cheap renderings of Jesus…. Dad. Man. Dad. Man. Ted realized the actual man, Marty, was somewhere in between the extremes, but could never fix him there, could never stop him from shimmering back and forth between savior and accuser."
He also pens some touching reflections on mortality. As Marty undresses, he asks Ted to not avert his gaze and instead take in the surgical scars and generally battered body. In this exposed frailty, Ted begins to find forgiveness after years of emotional estrangement. "He beheld the dying animal in front of him that was his father, and he felt his eyes fill with tears."
Duchovny can write, no doubt. But he packs the novel with seemingly every random observation or quasi-humorous quip that entered his consciousness.
While it's overstuffed and at times frustrating, there's still much to admire in this tale of finding love amid life's disappointments.
Duchovny beautifully captures aspects of an adult child's reckoning with parental judgment. "Often, Marty appeared to Ted like one of those cheap renderings of Jesus…. Dad. Man. Dad. Man. Ted realized the actual man, Marty, was somewhere in between the extremes, but could never fix him there, could never stop him from shimmering back and forth between savior and accuser."
He also pens some touching reflections on mortality. As Marty undresses, he asks Ted to not avert his gaze and instead take in the surgical scars and generally battered body. In this exposed frailty, Ted begins to find forgiveness after years of emotional estrangement. "He beheld the dying animal in front of him that was his father, and he felt his eyes fill with tears."
Duchovny can write, no doubt. But he packs the novel with seemingly every random observation or quasi-humorous quip that entered his consciousness.
While it's overstuffed and at times frustrating, there's still much to admire in this tale of finding love amid life's disappointments.
August 11, 2016
I loved this wry, hip, smart, poignant, and hilarious novel by David Duchovny. It's a story set in 1978 New York City of a struggling failed writer who works as a peanut vendor at Yankee stadium - Ted is cynical underachieving Columbia graduate with a great vocabulary and a kind heart. In the course of the short novel he moves in with his estranged Brooklyn dad who is dying of cancer, falls into lust and love with his dad's nurse (Duchovny writes great sex - I should have guessed), and ends up taking his father (sort of) to the wildcard one-game playoff between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox (where the meaning of the book's title is revealed).
It's not a baseball novel at all, or not really - but anyone nostalgic or even vaguely familiar with that time in baseball will appreciate the scattered baseball talk. It's also not satire - it's completely earnest but just very, very funny. And oh so sweet and sincere - the ending walked that line and almost went too sentimental, but it brought tears to my eyes because by that point I was 'all in.'
Listen to the audio read by Duchovny - as an actor he knows how to deliver this and reading his own prose makes all the jokes and tones so much funnier. I listen to these audiobooks while walking around town with my naughty German Shepherd mix and with most books when Bird does something bad I lose track of the narrative but then am usually able to cover the gap by context and don't worry about missing a sentence. But with this novel I'd always rewind the file the 15-30 seconds I'd needed to pull B off a skateboarder so that I wouldn't miss a single word.
It's not a baseball novel at all, or not really - but anyone nostalgic or even vaguely familiar with that time in baseball will appreciate the scattered baseball talk. It's also not satire - it's completely earnest but just very, very funny. And oh so sweet and sincere - the ending walked that line and almost went too sentimental, but it brought tears to my eyes because by that point I was 'all in.'
Listen to the audio read by Duchovny - as an actor he knows how to deliver this and reading his own prose makes all the jokes and tones so much funnier. I listen to these audiobooks while walking around town with my naughty German Shepherd mix and with most books when Bird does something bad I lose track of the narrative but then am usually able to cover the gap by context and don't worry about missing a sentence. But with this novel I'd always rewind the file the 15-30 seconds I'd needed to pull B off a skateboarder so that I wouldn't miss a single word.
May 31, 2016
"And don't let the Yankees fool you, Teddy, life's not about winning, life's about losing- Yankee fans don't know anything about life, but Boston, Boston knows the truth."
Having read David Duchovny's first novel, I didn't have high hopes for this one. Duchovny is intelligent, well-educated, and I think has a decent sense of humor (it's hit or miss), and I didn't think those qualities came through in Holy Cow. But those attributes are more apparent in the pages and plot of Bucky Fucking Dent. Not a perfect novel; not even a great or really good one, but decent and enjoyable. Though now I know why I really got that sense this was the plot to a season of television, or a movie: this novel was originally a screenplay.
I didn't even mind all the Grateful Dead stuff. I was able to look past it, at any rate.
And I can't help but think that Ted's red speedo at the YMCA was a little wink of an inside joke to The X-Files episode "Duane Barry." Maybe?
Having read David Duchovny's first novel, I didn't have high hopes for this one. Duchovny is intelligent, well-educated, and I think has a decent sense of humor (it's hit or miss), and I didn't think those qualities came through in Holy Cow. But those attributes are more apparent in the pages and plot of Bucky Fucking Dent. Not a perfect novel; not even a great or really good one, but decent and enjoyable. Though now I know why I really got that sense this was the plot to a season of television, or a movie: this novel was originally a screenplay.
I didn't even mind all the Grateful Dead stuff. I was able to look past it, at any rate.
And I can't help but think that Ted's red speedo at the YMCA was a little wink of an inside joke to The X-Files episode "Duane Barry." Maybe?
June 9, 2021
I apologize to David Duchovny for doubting him. This was really a great story. Funny, sweet, sad, redemptive. And it is not about Bucky Dent but rather a dying Red Sox fan and his estranged Yankees peanut vendor son. It is about life and regret and how the narrative of you life in your mind can be totally different from reality.
This story is about a man in 1978 NYC, who is coerced into taking care of his dying father whom he loathes only to find how much alike the two of them are. With what little time they have left, the two of them reconnect and ultimately come to love and understand each other.
Duchovny is funny, smart and tells a completely heartwarming, cathartic story.
This story is about a man in 1978 NYC, who is coerced into taking care of his dying father whom he loathes only to find how much alike the two of them are. With what little time they have left, the two of them reconnect and ultimately come to love and understand each other.
Duchovny is funny, smart and tells a completely heartwarming, cathartic story.
June 6, 2019
Familiar with the author's TV and screen work, his abilities to write are at or above the same level. The story of a father and son's relationship in need of healing, the son comes to the father's aid when he learns of a terminal health problem. While the plot isn't unique, the son's use of his father's favorite baseball team as the healing element is far from typical. Hilarious, heart warming and offbeat, the journey taken is wonderful; the characters fun, supportive and often, zany. I hope to see more stories from David and highly recommend this one!
January 2, 2022
I hesitated on starting this because... well, actors turned writers, who knows how it will go. But I knew Duchovny had written a few X-Files so I decided to give him a shot. I'm glad I did! It got a little 'stream of conscious' once or twice but on the whole I enjoyed the world and the characters. It seemed to take a while to get to the premise of faking a World Series but the ride getting to it was fun enough that I didn't care too much.
May 11, 2016
I really enjoyed reading this book. In particular, the dialogue between Marty and Ted and Ted and Mariana were entertaining and funny. A few times I laughed out loud. It isn't a comedy, but plenty of levity within the heavy context of a father and son making amends after years of estrangement. It's a fast, fun read.
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