“A ballpark at night is more like a church than a church.”
Baseball fans have watched the movie Field of Dreams, but I don’t know if many of them have read the book the movie is based on – Shoeless Joe. The movie follows the book very closely. “If you build it, he will come,” a voice tells Ray Kinsella and he begins to turn part of his corn fields into a baseball field. His wife and young daughter support him as he follows his instincts and listens to the voice and finally players appear on the field – Chicago White Sox players who were banned from the sport after gambling on a game.
We were on our way to Nebraska last summer for a family vacation and decided to stop by the Field of Dreams in Iowa. We decided to listen to the audio book of Shoeless Joe while we drove there to see how the book compared to the movie. It was really interesting to listen and really added to our experience of visiting the Field of Dreams.
The book differs in some aspects, but is really descriptive and verbose. There are some scenes that make the book definitely for adult readers. The most fascinating part of the book is how it describes what is currently happening in reality – a field has been built and people come from all over the world to see it, play on it and buy trinkets. The movie took the step that made the book come to life, not just on the screen, but in real life.
I would recommend this book to lovers of the movie or anyone planning to visit the Field of Dreams. It really is quite amazing when you consider all that has happened from a simple story about baseball. If you haven’t watched Field of Dreams, start there. Then read the book. Then visit the field. It’s a bit of magic that can’t quite be explained in words.
Are you a baseball fan? Do you want to visit the Field of Dreams? Share your thoughts on the blog!