Book Info
Book Name: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Publisher: Scribner
Author: Stephen King
Release Date: April 6, 1999
Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland, her mother, and her brother go for a weekend hike in the woods in Maine. When her mother and brother start arguing again, Trisha slips off the path to go to the bathroom. This is a mistake that will change her life and could lead to death. Now Trisha is lost in the woods and sees no way out. As she go through the wood, there is only one person to keep her company…her favorite Red Sox player Tom Gordon. While Gordon fights to win games, Trisha fights for her life. Something is in the woods…watching her…following her. Is it all in her her mind or is there more to fear than starvation and dehydration?
Written by Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, like many of King’s short novel was a best seller. The book was adapted into a children’s picture book and was going to be made into a feature film with George Romero attached though plans have appeared to have fallen through.
Stephen King is a master of characterization. He creates great, realistic, rounded characters. Trisha McFarland is no different. She immediately feels real. The problem in Trisha relies in that Stephen King isn’t a convincing writer for a nine-year-old. She feels much older in her thoughts and speech than a real nine-year-old. Unlike something like To Kill a Mockingbird, the character just doesn’t feel real in that sense…she knows too much.
Opposed to many of King’s plots, The Girl Who Loves Tom Gordon kind of avoids the supernatural. It relies on Trisha’s fears of what could be in the woods more than what is really in the woods. There are no psychic kids, but there is an evil manifestation in the God of the Lost. This is the creature in Trisha’s head that is pursuing her…of course what the God of the Lost really is revealed by the end.
The ties to the Red Sox are obvious since King is a big fan, but King admits that the Tom Gordon in the story isn’t any reflection of the real Tom Gordon. He’s an idolization of a nine-year old girl who’s looking for a father figure due to her parents’ divorce. King also explains (much like his Cycle of the Werewolf) the games aren’t real and the games presented in the story didn’t occur when they are to have occurred in the story.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a nice, short story by King. If you are not a King fan, this story might be better since it isn’t really a supernatural or killer. Many of Stephen King’s recent novels have felt like they are scraping the barrel but at least this story feels pretty fresh. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a fun, quick read…so check it out.
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