Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tietam Brown | 2003 | Mick Foley | Buy |
| 2 | Scooter | 2005 | Mick Foley | Buy |
Mick Foley’s two novels are both set in the 1970s and deal with troubled young men growing up in difficult circumstances. Tietam Brown (2003) is a dark story about Andy Brown, a teenager recently released from juvenile detention who tries to build a new life while uncovering his father’s dangerous secrets in upstate New York. The novel contains graphic violence and was published by Knopf.
Scooter (2005) takes place in the Bronx during the late 1960s and 1970s. Scooter Riley, named after Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto, grows up amid the decay of his neighborhood. After his father, a well-meaning but alcoholic cop, accidentally shoots him in the leg during a drunken celebration, Scooter’s family falls apart. The novel follows his path through racial violence, family tragedy, and ultimately baseball, which becomes his way out. Publishers Weekly and Kirkus both noted the ambitious scope of Foley’s fiction, which drew on many of the same themes of resilience and physical pain that defined his wrestling career.