Introduction to A. Word Smith, narrator
Smitty’s curse (the labor of writing)
Literary allusions and references provided
The lie of Hall of Fame “memories” is revealed
The history of the Patriot League explained
Characters of General Oakhart, Gil Gamesh, and Ulysses S. Fairsmith and Glorious Mundy introduced
Explanation of stadium sale and Mundys’ homeless condition
Introduction of assorted odd-ball Mundys players
Losing, synthetic Wheaties, and sexual escapades are a focus
Team and league begin an inevitable slide of deterioration
The new leader of the team Gil Gamesh and the innocent and honest Roland Agni are introduced
Team relies on dirty tactics and begins winning
Roland opposes the team’s new moral direction
Roland is assassinated in the middle of a game
Congressional investigations end with ten Mundys being imprisoned
League cities change their name: Port Ruppert becomes Newark, New Jersey
The possible inability to write the great American novel
The demythologizing of writing itself as myth
The difficulty of revealing truth in the face of mass deception
Memories as a means of retaining joy but from a wiser and more weary perspective
The limitations of literature to transform individuals and society
The ruin of baseball is akin to our own ruin as a society
All that is possible is temporary distraction from urban chaos
The outcomes of this book will more than likely result in the recognition and greater awareness of how many myths like the “American Dream” and “playing fair achieves success” are actually illusions more than reality. I think this because the part read up to now has demythologized capitalism, superstar athletic status, and other aspects of contemporary life. I also think that one of the themes of the book appears to be a demythologizing of how much a writer can transform through literature, so I believe the narrator will come t...