The Fan

by Peter Abrahams

Book Overview

Baseball sensation Bobby Rayburn s major-league career is booming, and he just signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Sox. Knife salesman Gil Renard s job is hanging by a thread and he just... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446518603
• ISBN13: 9780446518604
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

One Man's Obsession Becomes A Psychotic Journey Into Madness

Gil Renard is a man on the edge, in more ways that one. Unable to keep his marriage together, unable to have a positive relationship with his son, and unable to climb the corporate ladder except for the glossy traps he surrounds himself with. The right car, the right suits; but his attempt at gloss fails when it comes to his one room apartment in a broken down building. Gil barely controls his rage, his drinking, and his contempt for his own son. Lost in his glory days of being MVP pitcher (which we discover was only Little League), he's obsessed with Baseball and player Bobby Rayburn in particular. Bobby Rayburn is a talented player, batting .314 last season and commanding the largest salary the Sox have ever paid. But there's one problem with him joining the Sox, another teammate Primo has his number: Number 11. Bobby is a womanizer, a player who's in the game for money and fame, who often scorns at his legion of fans. He takes advantage of being away from his wife Valerie and five-year-old son Sean to bed different women every night. When his abilities suddenly take a nosedive, he at first believes it must be due to his eyesight, but discovers his problem lies much deeper than the physical. Jewel Stern, a sports reporter for JOC radio, loves her career so much she's given up a normal life for it. Though she sees herself becoming "long in the tooth" as a woman, her career advancements more than make up for it. When Gil finally loses his job, the full force of his psychotic behavior breaks out, leaving behind no more boundaries. He's served a court order to stay away from his son, begins to drink more, and winds out in his old town digging up his father's grave to retrieve his old Little League trophy. He takes up with old friend Len Boucicaut; a childhood friend from Little League who's become a backwoods piece of trailer trash. It's Boucicant that teaches Gil that even legal boundaries are to be scoffed at. Gil, driven by his desire to be "closer to the game", takes his friend's advice and finally finds a way through his madness to get close to Bobby Rayburn. The book alternates chapters between Gil's life, Bobby's life, and Jewel's life; as each of them begin to closely intertwine as the story progresses. The characters are realistic with individual personalities. There is, of course, a lot of baseball description in the book, and though I'm not a sports fan I still found the storyline intriguing and captivating. 'The Fan' is an excellent tale of one man's degeneration into total madness. On a personal note, I saw the movie before reading the book, and despite highly different physical descriptions I could only picture the characters from the movie. The endings are quite different, though each story is done very well, so I recommend watching the movie after reading the book. Enjoy!

Taut, tense, and terrifying

Bobby Rayburn, the best hitter in professional baseball, has just signed on with the Boston Red Sox, an act which most believe will ensure the team a pennant. There's just one problem--early in the season, Bobby becomes mired in a slump of epic proportions. Gil Renard is also in a deep slump. His life is a shambles--he's lost his job, his ex-wife won't let him see his son, and he's drifted into a life of crime to make ends meet. The only things that make his life bearable are baseball and his beloved Red Sox. Two men, at crossroads in their lives, with little in common except baseball. The Fan tells the tale of how they meet, and the deadly and bloody results as hero worship degenerates into loathing. Abrahams masterfully draws readers into his narrative, never relaxing his iron tight grip on their attention; then, just when you think you might have guessed where he's going, he delivers a knockout punch guaranteed to leave you reeling right until the very last line of the novel. The last few chapters go by in a blur, as you turn the pages with ever increasing velocity. Taut, tense and terrifying, The Fan is vintage Abrahams, another satisfying thriller from a true master of suspense.

A Great Read

This is a haunting book. I mean that in a good way. You probably know somebody who is only a couple of clicks away from turning into The Fan. It's an especially appealing book if you love baseball, of course. The author does a great job of making you continue to feel for The Fan even though he is very selfish, and not merely disturbed -- although he is clearly that, too.

great read, quick, action-packed thriller

I gave this to a female friend and she was hesitant because there was a baseball on the cover. "It's not just about baseball," I told her. She returned it a day later saying she stayed up until she finished it. Being from Boston area made book fun and I could visualize scenes. Youn start out feeling bad for Gil, but, oh, do things change.

If it's suspense that you want...

Abrahams weaves a compact tale about NO ONE versus SOMEONE, while the two of them really suffer from the same affliction: they take themselves too seriously. Using baseball as a backdrop, Abrahams draws us in as the two main characters converge and collide. A good, quick, suspenseful read, especially for the baseball fan