 Delayed Steal
Baseball is life, or so the saying goes. In this book, a man's relationship
with his father coincides with the twists, turns, and surprises experienced in
the game of baseball. From a sandlot in Massachusetts at the turn of the century
to an old stadium cum Wal-Mart in present day Oregon, the reader is
taken from one game to the next, with father and son ever present - either on
the field or in the stands.
Marshall Umpleby grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, not too far from the hometown
of the Brooklyn Dodgers. His parents were both baseball fans, his dad a college
and semi-pro player and his mom an expert at keeping score while "the boys" glued
their eyes to the game. Marshall pitched in high school and college, never making
to the bigs but certainly understanding and feeling the rewards and pitfalls
of competition on the diamond. Much of this collection has biographical elements
and is some twenty years in the making--many chapters are among the first short
stories this newly published author ever committed to paper.
Though the game of baseball is considered slow in the eyes the football, basketball
and hockey fan (and truly has no time limit), it is also methodical, finessed,
and demanding of its players. So also are these stories a carefully planned,
well-thought-out amalgam of a lifetime of experiences. Get your ticket, settle
in, grab some peanuts, and enjoy the show.
Review "Arcata Red" on Amazon:
"Delayed Steal, Marshall Umpleby's latest book, is a collection of engaging
stories using baseball as the background and unifying element. The core of
the book, portrays the complex, sometimes contentious relationship between
Jonathan Mansfield and his father, Russell Mansfield. As one attains maturity,the
other edges toward the finality of life, their paths woven together as they
attend the game they both love.
Umpleby creates vivid, believable, recognizable
characters and places them in telling situations to reveal their strengths
and weaknesses.
The writer
has an ear for language. The character's voices are honest, natural sounding
and capture the tension and love that exists between them. The writing is taut
and spare, yet filled with lasting images.
Like all good stories, Umpleby's last
beyond the telling.
A helluva good read."
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