A short move: a novel
Description
"This is definitely a good book for football fans. But it’s a great book for fans of men and boys, so many of them caught up in the dark world of dreams come true."—New York Times Book Review
“A Short Move is an ode to both the singular glory and the heavy cost of greatness. Katherine Hill uses the rhythms of the sports novel to explore everything from the complexities of masculinity to the illusion that is the American Dream—and makes the form her own in the process. This is a deeply felt and beautifully expansive novel, one that captures vital dimensions of American life.”—Laura van den Berg
“In Katherine Hill’s audacious new novel, A Short Move, football is not only the subject, but a lens through which Hill examines contemporary life under capitalism. In Hill’s sharply observed, brilliant prose, this ur-American game ultimately becomes a metaphor for human relationships, for the ecstasy and vulnerability within the body, and for life itself. This is a beautifully written novel about loss and endurance, about men and women doing the best they can with the gifts they’ve been given.”—René Steinke, author of Friendswood
“A Short Move is an expansive and beautifully written novel. Through the story of star linebacker Mitch Wilkins, Katherine Hill explores the sacrifices men make to become legends, and the toll their fame takes on everyone close to them. This book is about more than just the complicated and contradictory life of a football star who wishes he were a better man; it is a profound depiction of masculinity, obsession, power, and the unexpected beauty we find even in our darkest hours.”—Tom McAllister, author of How to Be Safe
"I submit that there is nothing you can’t get to about American culture through sports, and I further submit, as evidence, Exhibit A: A Short Move, Katherine Hill’s splendidly written and smartly observed second novel."—David Shields, director of Marshawn Lynch: A History and author of Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season
"Fans of sweeping family epics will enjoy this dissection of fame, sports, and the drive for connection."—Publishers Weekly
In a small Virginia town in 1971, a high school football star runs out on his pregnant girlfriend. Six years later, that child meets his father for the first time and discovers the athlete within. Before long he is on the fast-track to the NFL, coached by a relentless Vietnam veteran uncle, nourished by a patient working mom, and defended by an ambitious girlfriend, all of whom tie their own hopes to his career. When he finally makes it, as Mitch "Wilk" Wilkins, New England's fearsome middle linebacker, it all seems preordained. Then, almost immediately, his life begins to fall apart: a billionaire owns him, his marriage is on the rocks, and his body is betraying him in stages. As Mitch and his wounded family press on, seeking meaning in a relentlessly incentive-driven and forward-moving life, the sacrifices necessary for success in sports—and in attaining the “American Dream”—are laid painfully and tragically bare.
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Published Reviews
Booklist Review
Hill's (The Violet Hour, 2012; The Ferrante Letters, 2020) new novel is, to borrow from the book's parlance, a short move "from your mama's womb to your final tomb." It begins in a cow field in 1971, where a young man wonders if he should marry or run from his pregnant high school sweetheart, and ends in a research laboratory in 2030, where a mid-career scientist worries about infertility and her aging mother's dementia. Connecting the two is football player Mitch, son of the man in the cow field, whose brain is sent to the lab scientist for CTE research. Indeed, the story is his, though it is told episodically, primarily through those who know and love him--his mother on draft day in 1993, his smack-talking teammate in 2003 as Mitch nears retirement, his wayward daughter in 2012. The ups and downs of Mitch's NFL career and post-career life take a back seat to the emotional life of him and his loved ones, struggling to understand the meaning of success and how to attain it.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hill (The Violet Hour) fills this extensive life story of an NFL star with poignant emotional snapshots. Raised by a single mother, Mitch Wilkins shows remarkable football talent as a boy in the 1970s in his small town of Monacan, Va. He excels on the University of Miami team with support from his girlfriend, Caryn, who encourages him to go pro. As the last pick of the first round of the 1993 NFL draft, Mitch joins the New England Patriots as a linebacker. Hill hopscotches across time, highlighting changes in Mitch's life as he switches teams and matures from assured rookie to subdued veteran ("Every hit, every lost hour of sleep, caught up to him") through a 14-season career. Chapters alternate between characters, including Caryn, whom Mitch marries and divorces; their daughter, Alyssa; and Mitch's close friend and brash teammate, D'Antonio Mars. The ravages of football and multiple marriages catch up to an ailing Mitch, who in 2019 suffers from debilitating headaches and vision problems. Hill's elision of details about Mitch's divorces and retirement increase the emotional effect of the changes in his life on the reader, and a surprising coda generates painful hindsight for Mitch about his life choices. Fans of sweeping family epics will enjoy this dissection of fame, sports, and the drive for connection. (June)
Booklist Reviews
Hill's (The Violet Hour, 2012; The Ferrante Letters, 2020) new novel is, to borrow from the book's parlance, a short move "from your mama's womb to your final tomb." It begins in a cow field in 1971, where a young man wonders if he should marry or run from his pregnant high school sweetheart, and ends in a research laboratory in 2030, where a mid-career scientist worries about infertility and her aging mother's dementia. Connecting the two is football player Mitch, son of the man in the cow field, whose brain is sent to the lab scientist for CTE research. Indeed, the story is his, though it is told episodically, primarily through those who know and love him—his mother on draft day in 1993, his smack-talking teammate in 2003 as Mitch nears retirement, his wayward daughter in 2012. The ups and downs of Mitch's NFL career and post-career life take a back seat to the emotional life of him and his loved ones, struggling to understand the meaning of success and how to attain it. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Hill (The Violet Hour) fills this extensive life story of an NFL star with poignant emotional snapshots. Raised by a single mother, Mitch Wilkins shows remarkable football talent as a boy in the 1970s in his small town of Monacan, Va. He excels on the University of Miami team with support from his girlfriend, Caryn, who encourages him to go pro. As the last pick of the first round of the 1993 NFL draft, Mitch joins the New England Patriots as a linebacker. Hill hopscotches across time, highlighting changes in Mitch's life as he switches teams and matures from assured rookie to subdued veteran ("Every hit, every lost hour of sleep, caught up to him") through a 14-season career. Chapters alternate between characters, including Caryn, whom Mitch marries and divorces; their daughter, Alyssa; and Mitch's close friend and brash teammate, D'Antonio Mars. The ravages of football and multiple marriages catch up to an ailing Mitch, who in 2019 suffers from debilitating headaches and vision problems. Hill's elision of details about Mitch's divorces and retirement increase the emotional effect of the changes in his life on the reader, and a surprising coda generates painful hindsight for Mitch about his life choices. Fans of sweeping family epics will enjoy this dissection of fame, sports, and the drive for connection. (June)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly.