{"id":6851,"date":"2026-07-21T11:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6851"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:59:00","slug":"honest-john-pine-by-vince-wheeler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6851","title":{"rendered":"Honest John Pine by Vince Wheeler"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sportsmanship is the word in this heartwarming narrative inspired by a true event.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sports have always and will always inspire great stories. Obviously motivated by his love of golf, Vince Wheeler has penned a beautiful paean to the sport wrapped up in a truly entertaining narrative. He was inspired particularly by an amazing episode in Bobby Jones\u2019 career, when the legendary golfer lost in the 1925 U.S. Open by bringing to the officials\u2019 attention his committing a foul which only he witnessed.<\/p>\n

It is 1941 and golfer John Pine has qualified to appear on the biggest stage of his thus far underwhelming career, the United States Open. On the day he is due to travel to Chicago for the event, however, he discovers that his wife has abandoned him, perhaps not completely out of the blue, leaving behind their eleven-year-old foster daughter Cora. Having no alternative, the two take off together on a spirited journey to Chicago for John\u2019s big break.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

At the competition, he is met with unexpected success, though not without difficulties. For one thing, the event is conducted in extremely high temperatures, as was the actual 1941 U.S. Open, which spells trouble for Bill, John\u2019s sick caddie. For another, the consequences of his personal actions at home follow not far behind him, putting John\u2019s run in the final stretch of the Open in jeopardy. Interspersed with the events of 1941 are snapshots from John\u2019s past narrated by himself, focusing on his young apprenticeship under a quirky old mentor.<\/p>\n

These glimpses of John\u2019s formative experiences go a long way in explaining and foreshadowing the events of the novel, as a strong sense of seriousness and fairness when it comes to golf is instilled in him. His sense of fairness is also evident in his reflections about his relationship with his wife and the degree to which he was at fault. Accountability and self-reflection are powerful defining themes in this story.<\/p>\n

Golf fans will certainly appreciate the vivid and meticulously detailed descriptions of their beloved sport, which authenticate the author as no mere poser. We feel as though it is us who are walking from hole to hole on the silly artificial terrain and in sweltering heat, with the arc of our life about to be drawn by a golf club\u2019s swing. In fact, the writing is sharp across the board, perhaps nowhere more consciously so than in this fantastic simile: \u201chis eyes shone like delicate crystals, ready to fall and shatter.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If John\u2019s sense of fairness and sportsmanship are the heart of the book, then his and Cora\u2019s relationship is its lungs. But even on her own, the character of the young girl, to put it plainly, steals the show. She is wise, eloquent, and helpful, which also makes her the most unrealistic part of the book, since it may be too unbelievable that she could be eleven.<\/p>\n

With a secure chassis of canny sports writing and an engine provided by its treatment of responsibility and a powerful father-daughter dynamic, Honest John Pine<\/em> is smooth driving and all that it should be.<\/p>\n

The post Honest John Pine by Vince Wheeler<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sportsmanship is the word in this heartwarming narrative inspired by a true event. Sports have always and will always inspire great stories. Obviously motivated by his love of golf, Vince Wheeler has penned a beautiful paean to the sport wrapped up in a truly entertaining narrative. He was inspired particularly by an amazing episode in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}