"Field Of Dreams" remains one of my favorite movies. When I saw that Dwier Brown, the actor who played John Kinsella in the film, had written a memoir, I was eager to read it. This book chronicles Brown's experience in making the film, the progression of his career leading up to the brief but iconic role, and the ways in which playing this role have had a lasting impact on him and countless movie goers who have gone out of their ways to share their stories with him.
"If You Build It . . ." is a book about "Fathers, Fate and Field of Dreams." Like the film that inspired this memoir, the narrative that the author offers is compelling and moving. The pages are spiced with vignettes about fathers and sons whose lives and relationships with each other were impacted in a wide variety of ways by the film. Mr. Brown is a gifted storyteller, and he has written a book that any fan of baseball, any fan of the film and anyone who thinks deeply about their relationship with their father will enjoy.
The few minutes that John Kinsella appears on the screen near the end of the film have ballooned into images and a phrase that are indelibly etched into many of our hearts. "Hey Dad, you wanna have a catch?" In the epigraph that heads the chapter entitled "Is This Heaven?" the author shares a poignant quotation by William Faulkner: "No matter what it is a writer is writing about, if the writer is a man, he is writing about the search for his father." This wonderful book serves as a beacon in that ongoing search.
Enjoy!
Al
No comments:
Post a Comment