''Shoeless Joe'' is a 1982 magic realist

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Canadian author

W. P. Kinsella William Patrick Kinsella (May 25, 1935September 16, 2016) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, known for his novel '' Shoeless Joe'' (1982), which was adapted into the movie '' Field of Dreams'' in 1989. His work often concerned bas ...

that was later adapted into the 1989 film ''

Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel '' Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...

'', which was nominated for three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

. The novel was expanded from Kinsella's short story "Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa", first published in his 1980 collection of the same name. Kinsella first developed the idea for the story while attending the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

, and decided to incorporate the stories he told about the

Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a match fixing, game-fixing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for p ...

, imagining if

Shoeless Joe Jackson Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 20th century. His .356 career batting average ...

came back to the same city Kinsella was living in,

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

Plot

Ray Kinsella lives and farms in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

where he grows corn with his wife Annie and their five-year-old daughter Karin. Kinsella is obsessed with the beauty and history of American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, specifically the plight of his hero,

, and the

of the

1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1919 Major League Baseball season, 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion 1919 Chicago White Sox season, ...

. When he hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field in the midst of his corn crop in order to give his hero a chance at redemption, he blindly follows instructions. The field becomes a conduit to the spirits of baseball legends. Soon, Kinsella is off on a cross-country trip to ease the pain of another hero, the reclusive writer

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

, as part of a journey ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' called "not so much about baseball as it's about dreams, magic, life, and what is quintessentially American."

Characters

Main

*Ray Kinsella, protagonist and devoted baseball fan *Annie Kinsella, wife of Ray *Karin Kinsella, 5-year-old daughter of Ray and Annie

Supporting

*Richard Kinsella, Identical twin brother of Ray *"Gypsy", Richard's girlfriend *Mark, Annie's brother and Ray's brother-in-law *Abner Bluestein, Mark's business partner and accomplice *Eddie Scissons, originally owned Ray's farm and was locally known as the oldest living Chicago Cub

Historical/real life

, baseball player *

, reclusive author of ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is the only novel by American author J. D. Salinger. It was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its theme ...

'' and " A Young Girl in 1941 with No Waist at All", which are referred to in the book * Moonlight Graham, baseball player and later a doctor in the small town of

Chisholm, Minnesota Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location i ...

Awards and nominations

''Shoeless Joe'' was the winner of the 1982 Books in Canada First Novel Award and a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship. In 2011, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame awarded Kinsella the Jack Graney Award for a significant contribution to the game of baseball in Canada through a life's work or a singular outstanding achievement.

Film adaptation

''Shoeless Joe'' was later adapted into the 1989 film ''

'' by

Phil Alden Robinson Phil Alden Robinson (born March 1, 1950) is an American film director and screenwriter whose films include '' Field of Dreams'', ''Sneakers'', and '' The Sum of All Fears''. Early life and education Robinson was born in Long Beach, New York, the ...

. The original working title of the film was ''Shoeless Joe'', like the book. The original title of the book was ''Dream Field'', but the publisher renamed it ''Shoeless Joe.''

J.D. Salinger

W.P. Kinsella, who had never met Salinger, created a wholly imagined character (aside from his being a recluse) based on the author of ''

'', a book that had great meaning to him when he was a young man. To get a feel for Salinger, he re-read his body of work. "I made sure to make him a nice character so that he couldn't sue me." In addition to having a character named "Ray Kinsella" in the short story "A Young Girl in 1941 with No Waist at All", Salinger had also used the surname in ''The Catcher in the Rye'' (

Holden Caulfield Holden Caulfield (identified as "Holden Morrisey Caulfield" in the story "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", and "Holden V. Caulfield" in ''The Catcher in the Rye'') is a fictional character in the works of author J. D. Salinger. He is most famous f ...

's friend Richard Kinsella). Additionally, Salinger's mother, Marie Jillich, was born in Atlantic, Iowa, about one-hundred miles in distance from the Dyersville, Iowa, setting of the motion picture version of the novel. Known for his litigiousness, Salinger contacted Kinsella's publisher via his attorneys to express outrage over having been portrayed in ''Shoeless Joe'' and intimated he would sue should the character "J. D. Salinger" appear in any other medium, should ''Shoeless Joe'' be adapted. In the novel ''Shoeless Joe'', Ray Kinsella seeks out J. D. Salinger, although in the film this character was renamed Terence Mann (and was changed to a black man by the casting of

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

) as the movie producers were worried over being sued by Salinger. The producers believed that it was not significant to jettison Salinger, as they figured only 15% of the potential audience would know who the author was. Kinsella told Maclean's Magazine in a 2010 interview on the death of Salinger that many of the book's readers believe that Salinger is a wholly fictional character. Kinsella denied that Salinger, as a writer, had any particular influence on his own writing.

Release details

*1982, United States,

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

, Pub. date April 12, 1982, (Paperback) *1999, United States, Mariner Books , Pub. date April 28, 1999, Paperback

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoeless Joe (Novel) 1982 Canadian novels Baseball novels Canadian magic realism novels Canadian novels adapted into films Cultural depictions of Shoeless Joe Jackson Ghost novels Houghton Mifflin books J. D. Salinger Novels by W. P. Kinsella Novels set in Iowa Novels set on farms