18 – A Novel of Golf and Life, by John Barnes, published by The Unapologetic Voice Publishing House

I had no idea what to expect from this book except that it would have some golf in it. As an avid golfer I looked forward to that being part of the theme and plot line of the book. I will say right up front that in general, I really enjoyed the book, the plot and the characters.

18 is the story of a golfer, but it is really so much more. It’s almost difficult to provide a lot of details on the premise of the book without include spoilers. Craig Cantwell, the main protagonist in this story is a professional golfer, who like many has had ups and downs in his career. When we meet Craig at the outset of the book, he is at the high point – but the author quickly leads us down the path of Craig’s foibles, his self-destruction and ultimately to his redemption. Along the way, we meet other characters. Craig’s love interest Rachelle Keys and her daughter Kelly. We meet Craig’s first teacher, Hank. We meet Seth, a surprising character who had a huge impact on Craig’s life. And we meet another golfer, and the nemesis of the story Zeke Monroe.

What I liked about the book: I really liked Craig. He’s a great character – full of hope, flaws and heart. He is well written. The book has some familiar themes – part of the book reminded me a bit of the story of Scrooge – where the ghosts of Christmas past and future visit him and show him what’s happened to cause people to act the way they do – and Craig has some eye opening experiences that help him heal. I liked how the rest of the plot was woven around Craig’s playing in the US Open Golf event. I liked that there was some difficulty in not having certain things revealed and not having everything in the plot turn out perfectly.

What could be improved: It is a good thing there were years above chapter beginnings because the timing jumped around a lot and had me confused as to where I was in the story. It jumped around a lot from chapter to chapter. Some of the movement was okay – ie going from the golf tournament to the rest of the plot, but it was a little too jumpy. Not sure how you fix that when you are weaving two themes together like that.

Overall I think it was a great effort and I enjoyed the book.