Welcome to another installment of If My Book, the Monkeybicycle feature in which authors compare their recently released books to weird things. This week Angelique Pesce writes about American Pastime, her new novel out from Woodhall Press.
If American Pastime were a breed of dog, it would be the Dalmatian, who is loyal to firefighting heroes. American Pastime is loyal to its readers, asking if you knew how your life was going to end would you live it the same way again and if not what heroic act can you do to change it?
If American Pastime were a yearbook superlative, it would be “build a future you want to see with what you’ve learned here” because the novel sets out to inspire the reader to be a team in the game of life and build a better world for future generations. That’s what Adam, the main character, sets out to do after a conversation with God at a baseball game.
If American Pastime were a superhero, it would be Captain America because the book discusses the nation and sticking up for it in the wake of the country’s school shootings epidemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and COVID there is no time like the present to support our best intentions.
If American Pastime were an athlete, it would be a baseball player who rounds bases like we round our youth, adult, and senior years with the acknowledgment that we are all headed for home base as a team. In life baseball is such a great analogy, and the book uses baseball as a vehicle to tell its story.
If American Pastime were a holiday, it would be the 4th of July since it discusses so deeply the nations past, present and future with tips and comments from God on how to build paradise, an endeavor this nation still celebrates every 4th of July.
If American Pastime were a comedian, it would be the ancient Voltaire who wrote tongue and cheek that “God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.”American Pastime achieves getting the reader to laugh along with God as well as cry.
If American Pastime were a body part, it would be the brain because it really gets you to think, the ear because it asks you to listen, the hand to build paradise but also the heart because it really gets you to love your humanity. A team.
As a legal analyst, historian, and pop culture ethicist, Angelique Pesce has taught western and eastern culture media and law ethics for twelve years. As an artist making documentary and narrative films, she is able to tell a story that interests audiences of all ages. Her prior writing experience is two children’s books, a legal blog, and several novels. She has worked in costume design and film production for productions released by United Artists, Discovery ID, and NBC Networks. Follow her on Twitter at @AngeliquePesce1.
