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Curveball
By Eric Goodman
Published by Post Hill Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
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Table of Contents
About The Book
What if the secret you've been keeping your whole life is the same one that could set you free?
Jess Singer has everything a young pitcher could dream of—a blazing fastball, the most devastating curveball in the minor leagues, and a legendary last name that opens doors before he even throws his first pitch in The Show. His father, Jewish Joe Singer, was a New York Mets star whose career was derailed by scandal. His grandfather Jack, now in his eighties, is still the sharpest man in any room. Three generations of Singer men, each carrying their own secrets, their own wounds, and their own unfinished stories.
But Jess is carrying the heaviest secret of all.
In 2024, no active Major League Baseball player has ever publicly come out as gay. Jess Singer intends to be the first, if he can survive the season, the spotlight, and the weight of everything his family has built and broken before him.
Curveball is the story of one extraordinary season that changes everything. It is a novel about fathers and sons, about the courage it takes to live honestly in a world that rewards silence, about love found in the most unlikely places, and about three generations of a family learning, finally, how to tell each other the truth.
For fans of literary fiction, LGBTQ+ coming of age stories, and anyone who has ever kept a secret too long, Curveball is the book you have been waiting for.
“Fast and fun...This isn’t just a story about baseball. It’s about family and secrets and love, and about what’s passed on from one generation to the next.” — Rajiv Joseph, Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama
“A first-rate intergenerational drama as well as a delightful read.” — T.C. Boyle
“Goodman does a fine job depicting the conflicts of a young player…In this knowing, compelling novel.” — George Vecsey, New York Times Sports Columnist
“Don’t leave Goodman’s Curveball off the plate." — Greg Prince, FaithandFearinFlushing.com
Jess Singer has everything a young pitcher could dream of—a blazing fastball, the most devastating curveball in the minor leagues, and a legendary last name that opens doors before he even throws his first pitch in The Show. His father, Jewish Joe Singer, was a New York Mets star whose career was derailed by scandal. His grandfather Jack, now in his eighties, is still the sharpest man in any room. Three generations of Singer men, each carrying their own secrets, their own wounds, and their own unfinished stories.
But Jess is carrying the heaviest secret of all.
In 2024, no active Major League Baseball player has ever publicly come out as gay. Jess Singer intends to be the first, if he can survive the season, the spotlight, and the weight of everything his family has built and broken before him.
Curveball is the story of one extraordinary season that changes everything. It is a novel about fathers and sons, about the courage it takes to live honestly in a world that rewards silence, about love found in the most unlikely places, and about three generations of a family learning, finally, how to tell each other the truth.
For fans of literary fiction, LGBTQ+ coming of age stories, and anyone who has ever kept a secret too long, Curveball is the book you have been waiting for.
“Fast and fun...This isn’t just a story about baseball. It’s about family and secrets and love, and about what’s passed on from one generation to the next.” — Rajiv Joseph, Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama
“A first-rate intergenerational drama as well as a delightful read.” — T.C. Boyle
“Goodman does a fine job depicting the conflicts of a young player…In this knowing, compelling novel.” — George Vecsey, New York Times Sports Columnist
“Don’t leave Goodman’s Curveball off the plate." — Greg Prince, FaithandFearinFlushing.com
Product Details
- Publisher: Post Hill Press (May 28, 2024)
- Length: 272 pages
- ISBN13: 9798888454596
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Raves and Reviews
“Eric Goodman's Curveball dwells in its details in the most fascinating way—and it reaches far beyond its baseball setting to become a first-rate intergenerational drama as well as a delightful read.”
– T.C. Boyle
“Fast and fun, Curveball, like its predecessor, In Days of Awe, is the best kind of sports story—gripping, poetic, and down-to-the wire. Even the non-fan will get swept away. This isn’t just a story about baseball...it’s about family and secrets and love, and about what’s passed on from one generation to the next. I don’t know anyone who writes about baseball like Eric Goodman. He’s got the savvy of an old pro, and the velocity of a young prospect.”
– Rajiv Joseph
“Goodman does a fine job depicting the conflicts of a young player… In this knowing, compelling novel…”
– George Vecsey, georgevecsey.com
“The book navigates many of life’s twists and turns, from being one of the few Jewish players in pro baseball, to the pressure a young pitcher feels in trying to follow his father from the Minors to ‘The Show’… I highly recommend scooping it up.”
– Steve Lawrence, Ithaca Times
“Each of the three Singer men presents his own emotional handful to those who care for them, which as the novel went on, included me. I raised my arms at least twice in triumph as I devoured their tale, and only once directly relating to the baseball action Goodman created. In the parlance of sports talk radio, I’m not a fiction guy, but my affection for this book was very real. In case you can’t make me out over PitchCom, I’ll put the signal in plain sight where any Astro can interpret it: don’t leave Goodman’s Curveball off the plate.”
– Greg Prince, “Faith and Fear in Flushing”
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