Book Club Review: One Hit Wonder by Charlie Carillo

In our celebrity saturated society even those thought long forgotten, idols from our youth who glimmered for just a summer, leaving us with a singular hit song that resonated in the public sending ripples through the pop culture pool, even they become relevant and interesting once more.

In Charlie Carillo's new book One Hit Wonder, we follow Mickey DeFalco, a Queens native who hit it big with his sappy yet melancholy ballad 'Sweet Days' as he returns home an utter failure and total has-been. In his shoes we feel what it's like to be loved and adored for that one contribution to people's lives.

An aging fan hooking up with her teenage fantasy. Bitter former classmates still toiling at menial jobs at home. The girl that was loved and lost, inspiring those epic refrains. These are the people around Mickey that marvel at his achievement and fall from grace. They hold him at a distance, as something other than themselves.

Through flashbacks we're shown even more moments of awkward celebrity. From playing a cruise ship to kids birthday parties, no indignity is spared, and Mickey just casually walks his way through each of them, only passionate and excitable when clinging to his last shreds of dignity.

There's something to Mickey's boy-like demeanor and passive aggressive nature that really shines in the prose. This feels like a real person who could neatly slide into our pop song past. His parents are peppered with sentimental details that make them so true to life. You can see their past as Mickey grew up in their home.

The whole book is littered with truths. About life, love, family. Just lines tossed out here and there that feel like universal truths, spit out by a wiseass Queens kid in a 38 year old's body. The concept of hitting bottom and trying to resurface, flailing about in inconsistency of actions, taking the easy route when available, this is how people behave.

And then there's lost love. Idyllic in memory, which taints all reality about him, making it all a joke, another tragedy heaped upon the pile. How do you react when all you want is the girl, but instead are given fame and fortune? You self-destruct of course. Spiral to the bottom and find yourself again.

The book is very well written and consistent in its tone, with more than a few twists and turns that feel like the randomness of life, rather than the structure of plot. Not to give spoilers, but there is a happy ending there, but it may not exactly come as you'd think it would.

I have yet to read Carillo's other novels, but from this book I imagine he's got more than just this one song to offer.

Check out Charlie Carillo's website or his other book RAISING JAKE.

Book Club: "Blockade Billy" by Stephen King

Stephen King loves baseball, or at least he appears to. Characters in lots of his books wear Red Sox jerseys and hats, and several times, I've seen him on TV, sitting at a Red Sox game, reading a book. Who brings a book to a ballgame? At least hide it in a mit, Mr. King.

So King loves baseball, which led him to write "Blockade Billy," a novella that starts off as an old man's romanticized story about the good ol' days of baseball, but eventually turns a horific corner into classic King territory. The narrator is George "Granny" Grantham, former third base coach for the now defunct New Jersey Titans. Granny lives in a nursing home (a "zombie hotel," where "virtual bowling" is the preferred pastime), and because he's got the time, he has invited "Mr. King" to listen to his stories about his time with the Titans, and specifically, what happened to Billy Blakely in the Spring of 1957. Billy's name, and all team stats from during his time with the Titans, have been erased from the record books, and only Granny remembers why.

Billy is remembered as being a very strange character, who talked to himself in the third person and frequently repeats what other people say. Occasionally, an opposing player who slides into home winds up with a bloody cut on his leg, which in once case takes a player out for six weeks. His teammates let these eccentricities slide, since Billy is an unstoppable catcher and a heck of a hitter. Billy's talents lead him to become a celebrity, with fans bringing "Road Closed" signs to the park, and newspapers naming him Blockade Billy. Little clues about Billy's true nature are peppered throughout, which lead careful readers to discover Billy's terrible secret . . . sorry, no spoilers here.

So, how did I like it? I liked it a heck of a lot, and I can't think of a complaint, other than wanting a longer story. I could have listened to Granny for another 300 pages and been perfectly happy. Granny's voice is completely believable, and I felt like there really was an old man telling me this story. He's funny and casually crude, like an ex-baseball coach would be. King has really done his homework here; he's recreated a pitch-perfect view of late 50s American baseball. The story is suspenseful and rewarding, and I'd recommend it to anyone who even casually likes baseball, or to hardcore Stephen King fans. If you're looking for a real-deal, non-stop terror thriller, you'll be let down here. This is a great, fun read for a Summer afternoon, but not a dumb beach read. It's got a soul.

The cover art is what made me really want to pick up this book. Blockade Billy is posing like the Sentry or some other hero, ready to fire a ball of energy at the player trying to slide into home plate. Of course, the story didn't involve any supernatural powers, but Billy's superhuman feats of baseball lived up to the cover.

If there was any doubt King loved baseball, check out his author photo for this book: