Truly, Madly, BouncyNeal Pollack's Jewball is - amazingly - based on real characters and events. But the story might appeal to anyone with a love of chicken soup and basketball.It seems that American Jews had a lot more to do with popularising basketball than I ever imagined, and they had 'skin in the game.' The SPHA team (South Philadelphia Hebrew Association) were pre-NBA stars of the Twenties and Thirties and are the pre-cursors to the Philadelphia Warriors. In this zany story, they play the Aryans, a team put together by the German American Bund, sort of a Joe Louis-Max Schmeling contest. The focus is on a real player, Inky Trautman, a rough and tumble hero, who plays like a demon, fights like a boxer and has the moral compass of an escaped lunatic.This is yet another example of gonzo Jewish comedy writing, not unlike Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union or Shalom Auslander's Hope: A Tragedy. It seems aimed directly at Jews, but I think it is funny enough to entrap a few Gentiles ready for a deep dip in Marx Brother's type schmaltz.Fun, light, and out of it's mind kampf I picked this up to read on my Kindle Fire during a recent airplane trip just because it sounded unusual. This turned out to be a surprisingly fun read. This story is based on a real-life Jewish basketball team in the 1930's, and it's told in a hard-boiled but very humorous style. The dialogue is era-perfect, and the story is very fast-paced. My only complaint is that the book moves so fast that the climax and ending seemed sketchy and too pat. Other than that, this is a unique and enjoyable read that should appeal to anyone who likes basketball history or hard-boiled fiction.
What do You think about Jewball (2012)?
I thought the book was disappointing. Too light on basketball and to heavy on the rest of the plot.
—amber
Enjoyed this. Good story told with a nod towards classic crime noir.
—paulad
The only basketball noir story I've ever read.
—marcs797
