| Reviews
St. John of the Midfield
Sixth Review
Maccagnone crafts story of soccer and intrigue
St. John of the Midfield is a riveting story of Bobo Stoikov, a soccer player narrowly escaping death in the communist oppression of his country, Bulgaria. All at once calling in inspiration from The Godfather and the realities of the family immersed in the soccer life, St. John of the Midfield is full of intrigue and good insights in the world of soccer.
Garasamo Maccagnone, the author of St. John of the Midfield, harvested from his own life and the inspirations around him to craft this story. Like any good writer, he used what he knew to create an original piece. As a father-coach, Maccagnone came across professional player, Jordan Mitkov, who soon became the inspiration behind Bobo Stoikov's character. Mitkov was a Bulgarian soccer player who came to America, and in a stint of happenstance, came across with Maccagnone. Maccagnone's son played for Mitkov.
Jordon taught Garasamo, then a new soccer coach with mostly a background in baseball, how to train his soccer team. Their success was found in one team - an '87 group - who they worked with until they became a force to be reckoned with. Their club, now at a robust 55 teams, was built around this one team. Mitkov was invested - he saw the baseball player in Gary, the American parent who didn't really understand the game of soccer or the European/world tradition of the game. Mitkov was earnest in teaching Maccagnone what made soccer such a beloved sport around the world.
Real-life morsels from Mitkov's life as well as the harsh realities of the corruption in American soccer, not excluding the fans and parents involved in youth soccer, are elements in St. John in the Midfield. The bigger story inside St. John is more than just the life of Bobo Stoikov, but how he must simultaneously juggle his goodness versus the evils of his family. He is caught in the middle, and the story unfolds as he learns to deal with these two diverse elements.
The significance of Maccagnone's title, "St. John of the Midfield," gets its source from a luminous moment in the book when Bobo Stoikov, a coach of a soccer team and former midfielder, meets John at an indoor tryout in a gym. Stoikov immediately recognizes the prodigious skills, as well as his own personal traits in the boy. What resounded deeply in Stoikov was his recognition of goodness in the boy. Bobo understood that to be a central midifielder, your spirit must be good - from this stems a willingness to sacrifice, the ability to give up the ball to the outside mids, the capability to do whatever it takes for the glory of the team and not himself. Stoikov uses an apostolic metaphor and compares playing midfield to St. John. St. John was there when Christ died.
Without delving too deep, Stoikov understands that to be the best in the midfield, you have to be St. John of the midfield.
-Article Written By ESNN
For the Love of St. Nick
Third Review
For the Love of St. Nick is a feel-good, heartwarming tale of the Christmas season. At only 46 pages, it pulls you in with tragic sadness, then whirls you through the struggles of daily life before ending with the true meaning of the season.
Tiger lost his mother at the same time his sickly little brother, Johnny, was born. Raised by the father they called Commander - he was a Navy Commander - life on a military base near Lake Huron, Michigan is hard for all three.
Not only do they have to struggle with the harsh winters of Michigan, they also must cope with the frequent illnesses of Johnny. When the Commander must leave on a secret mission just before Christmas, both boys turn their faith to St. Nicholas and pray for their father's safe return.
This tiny book is narrated by Tiger and holds the child-like innocence of the magical season. This is the perfect book to read during the Christmas holidays and is an excellent way to teach children about the joys of the season. For the Love of St. Nick will be a treasured classic for families who celebrate true meaning of Christmas. -Bobbi's Book Nook (November 2, 2008)
Second Review
Garasamo Maccagnone - even the name is musical! - has created a tender, simple novella that should become one of those books we bring out every holiday season. But then the quality of the story should not be saved only for the spirit of Christmas it conveys: this is a story that rings of familial love and commitment and deserves to be read as a reminder of what is important - our sense of belonging to family, both birth and extended forms.
The story of FOR THE LOVE OF ST. NICK is narrated by Tiger, the older of two sons in a single father family: the mother died during childbirth of the younger son Johnny leaving the US Navy Commander father to raise his two boys with the help of the maternal grandmother. Life is complicated by the fact that Johnny is delicate - not of mind but of body - and much of Johnny's life is spent recovering from his physical maladies. Tiger and Johnny are devoted brothers and all goes well in their California home until the Commander is reassigned to Michigan. Adjusting to the change in climate and the other changes in environment affect the boys but they are resilient and soon find the varying seasons of Northern Michigan reasons for exploring new ventures. The Commander receives orders to participate in a secret mission shortly before Christmas and the boys are left in the care of their housekeeper. Johnny undergoes a near tragedy forcing Tiger to abruptly become a man, turning to prayers to his favorite saint, St. Nicholas, who makes a 'visit' and alters the consequences in a way that leaves the little family (and the reader) caught up in the giving spirit of the Christmas season.
The pleasures of Maccagnone's writing are many, but not the least of them is the quiet simplicity of the language he uses to relate his story. This may be told as a memory (in retrospect) by the adult Tiger, but the essence of the tale is centered in a child's vision - full of wonder, devotion, and love. Highly recommended. - Grady Harp, Los Angeles, CA (November 2, 2008)
First Review
For the Love of St. Nick by Garasamo Maccagnone is a heartfelt tale of the season.
Johnny and his beloved brother, known to the reader only as Tiger, are still dealing with the loss of their mother when their Navy Commander father is transferred to a military base in Michigan. Plagued by illness since birth, Johnny along with Tiger and the commander must survive the difficulties of military life from their hunter's cabin on Lake Huron. Luckily, kind and elderly Mrs. Pennington is there to help out. But when the commander is called away before Christmas to fulfill his secret mission for the U.S. Military, the boys pray to St. Nicholas for their father's safe return. Can the love of St. Nick save a life and reunite a family?
As with Maccagnone's novel, St. John of the Midfield, this story is held together by human emotions: the sorrow over the loss of a wife and mother, the pain of leaving home behind and the promise of starting fresh, the joys of living in the Michigan wilderness, and the fear of losing the person who connects you to the past. Woven into all this is the magic of Christmas and an undying belief in the love of St. Nick.
Tiger is the perfect narrator. Now older, he looks back upon this time in his life and brings the reader up close to what he and his family experienced, making you want to cry at times, laugh at times, and always hold onto the magic that is Christmas.
The jpg of the cover does not do the cover art justice. It is a striking cover when you see it up close. The cherubs to the right of the title are the perfect compliment.
A truly remarkable Christmastale, For the Love of St. Nick is a must read for those who hold family and Christmas close to their hearts. -Cheryl C. Malandrinos The Book Connection (October 15, 2008)
St. John of the Midfield
First Review
"What on the surface looks like a book about coaching soccer, its importance in the life of an adolescent and the effects on the family when a child belongs to a sports team grows into a book about life altering experiences which impact everyone involved. The book is about competition, loss, love, betrayal, murder, violence, and redemption. Most readers will be hooked within the first five pages. Garasamo Maccagnone writes a powerfully moving novel which leaves a huge impact on the reader toward the end when a number of unexpected events from various subplots within the novel intersect. The surprise ending hits the reader like a ton of bricks. It is totally unanticipated, coming out of the blue. What becomes crystal clear is how the family becomes the main priorty as the the subplots are resolved and interwoven into the main storyline.
The story is told in the second person, by Mario whose son Luca joins a soccer team coached by a once famous world champion soccer player from Bulgaria named Georgi "Bobo" Stoikov. Bobo and his brother Jordan narrowly escaped from under the yoke of communism. The Stoikov brothers hoped to join a league in the United States but due to injuries sustained during their escape their plans would never be fulfilled. Instead Bobo became a soccer coach for youngsters in southwest Michigan. He helps develop their physical skills but most importantly he builds their self-esteem, and teaches them the benefits of team work. He did what others before him only dreamed about, he motivated his young players to win the state championship. There was no way to predict the unintended and unexpected consequences of this win ... for Bobo nor for one of his best players, Luca, the midfielder. Nor could one predict how fate would intervene and treat Mario.
The book is multi-layered and complex because the author so beautifully ties together the Sicilian roots of Mario (the person whose voice describes events) with the main plot of the story. He does an admirable job of describing his mother, a sensitive woman of Polish descent, who mourns the loss of her daughter (Mario's sister). Sophie had drowned accidentally at the age of 17. His father is a strong willed man whose love of family and loyalty to his Mafia heritage rules his life. The family business involves drug smuggling under the guise of a trucking operation. Mario, the narrator of this book deals only with the legitimate aspects of the business. It is quite astonishing how the competitive nature of winning at soccer becomes blown into a life and death struggle for many who are affiliated with the sport Needless to say, there are many life altering lessons which surface within this book."
- Erika Borsos (Gulf Coast of FL, USA) January 17, 2008
Second Review
 This wonderful book has three stories in it: "St. John of the Midfield" (novel), "White Fang" (short story), "My Dog Tim" (short story). They are all by the same author, Garasamo Maccagnone.
"St. John of the Midfield"
This story starts out as the tale of Giorgi "Bobo" Stoikov, an Olympic-class soccer player, and defector from an Eastern European Communist country, who came to America for freedom and to escape poverty, but who was injured in his flight from oppression. While Bobo remains an integral part of the story, this is really the story of the narrator of Bobo's story, Mario, an assistant soccer coach, who came from a Mafia family and is trying to distance himself from the mob aspect of his family, while continuing the family traditions of loyalty and strong family ties.
As the story progresses, it evolves into a tale of sin, revenge, redemption, and forgiveness, with soccer taking more of a backseat to everything else going on in Mario's life. Even as Searching for Bobby Fischer was about chess, but was really about the father-son relationship, so St. John of the Midfield uses soccer only as a context to tell a broader story, of human values and weaknesses and triumphs.
At first glance, one might think this is a simple little book about soccer and the personal politics that goes on behind the scenes of youth soccer. One might even be tempted to pick it up as "light reading" or even as a gift for a teenaged nephew or niece who plays soccer. That would be a mistake, as this book addresses issues like murder, sin, and infidelity. While "St. John of the Midfield" is a quick read, it includes many serious topics, and is definitely aimed at adult readers.
This story could easily have ended up with a highly predictable ending. It does not. I read some parts of the ending over again, to be sure I had read them correctly. The ending is entirely credible, and genuinely shocking.
After reading "St. John of the Midfield", I am more than halfway convinced that Garasamo Maccagnone could write a riveting yarn about used toothpicks or navel lint. He writes like a story-teller speaks, with rhythm, perfect pace, pauses, the right degree of detail, well-described settings, and well-developed, credible characters. I have seen reviews that question whether there is an element of extremism or exaggeration in the story, but I grew up in a neighborhood where the echoes of the old Mafia families lingered, and this tale rang true to me. I have also spoken with a friend, whose sons are active in youth soccer, and nothing that I mentioned, from the story, surprised him. Garasamo Maccagnone is just a good story-teller.
"White Fang"
When I saw the title of this short story, I wondered what the author was doing, using the title of the great action-adventure tale by Jack London. This twelve-page story has nothing to do with Alaska, sled-dogs, or snowdrifts. It is all about brotherly love, maliciously benign revenge, and orthodontia. It was just plain fun to read. It made me smile.
"My Dog Tim"
I recently read a book named A Dog Like Jack that was designed to help children deal with the loss of a beloved pet, but I was not thrilled with the book. In the fourteen pages of "My Dog Tim", Garasamo Maccagnone left the book "A Dog Like Jack" in the dust. This little tale will give you the warm fuzzies, and then leave grown men crying in their beer, without ever seeming corny or sappy or schmaltzy. If you want someone to understand the full experience of owning a dog, have them read "My Dog Tim", and have plenty of tissues handy, at the end.
Overall: To me, these three tales are story-telling at its best. From reading this book, I am guessing that the author is an interesting person to talk to, not because he is unusual in any way, but simply because he is an ordinary guy who sees and understands the richness of ordinary life.
An added dimension, for me, is that, while I have never met, or spoken with, Mr. Maccagnone, he lives but ten miles from me. All three stories in this book are set in my area, and many familiar roads, cities, and landmarks get mentioned.
- C. McCallister Janaury 30, 2008
Third Review
"Since I coached AYSO youth soccer for four years, I can relate to these descriptions of the competitive aspects of the sport. Since I was often pressed into working as a referee as well, I experienced the negative aspects of trying to call a game and have parents complain about the calls. When I received a message that I was required to attend a training session on how to handle a physical assault from a parent, I chose to bow out of coaching.
The main premise of this book is that two stars of the Bulgarian national soccer team during the Communist era defected by leaping from a moving train. Both were injured in the jump and can no longer play at that level. One of the men (Bobo) is now expressing his love for the game by coaching youth soccer and trying to instill all of the good qualities of sportsmanship into the boys. The narrator (Mario Santini) has a son named Luca who is playing on Bobo's team.
Bobo is a superb coach and under his tutelage, his teams become very powerful and his players masters of the sport. However, this is the time when things get ugly. There are tournaments and a great deal of despicable competitive actions that culminate in a cheap shot against Luca. Other, less subtle manipulations include a coach that chooses his players based on the quality of their mother's body, extramarital flings and trash talking. All thoroughly believable and some of which I have witnessed.
A second undercurrent is that the father of the narrator is a member of an organized Sicilian crime family that imports and distributes illegal drugs. The family is ruthless and will have someone killed if they are sufficiently angered. When the parent of a soccer player gets inexcusably nasty, the family steps in and "takes care of it."
This book does not have a happy ending, people die, others are injured and it is all quite depressing. Unfortunately, while the circumstances depicted here are extreme, given the atmosphere that exists at some youth sports events, they are not all that implausible. The author tells a good story and while there are many different plot elements involving the soccer teams and Mario's family, he does not engage in plot device overload. I started the book and was so engrossed that I finished it in a day."
- Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) January 12, 2008
Fourth Review
 Powerful, thought-provoking, and filled with the love of the game, "St. John of the Midfield" by Garasamo Maccagnone is a literary fiction lover's dream.
Told entirely as a flashback, Mario Santini begins by retelling the story of the night Bulgarian soccer great Georgi "Bobo" Stoikov shared with him how he and his brother, Jordan, jumped from a speeding train to escape Communist Bulgaria in the hopes of living the American Dream. All is lost when Jordan and Bobo are injured during the escape, but Bobo satisfies his love of the game by teaching youth soccer to travel teams. When Mario's son Luca joins Bobo's team, it sets in motion an intense one-sided rivalry between Bobo and a man from his past, which ultimately leads to Bobo's death.
As a parent to a son who played youth sports, I can attest to the realism found within the pages of "St. John of the Midfield"--when the desire to win is so strong, that people do unspeakable things all in the name of victory. Opening the story with Bobo telling the story of his defection to Mario is pure genius, as it immediately draws the reader in and makes Bobo a sympathetic character. And the challenges Mario deals with as he tries to be a good man despite the ties to his Sicilian crime family, speak eloquently to the struggles all people deal with as they move through life. While a little heavy on the similies for my taste, this is an excellent read.
In "St. John of the Midfield" Garasamo Maccagnone combines youth soccer, the Sicilian mob, and the frailities of the human condition to create an entertaining and all too realistic portrait of youth sports that all adults will enjoy.
- Cheryl C. Malandrinos (Western Mass) January 28, 2008
Fifth Review
Just finished up St. John of the Midfield by Garasamo Maccagnone. St. John of the Midfield is a story within a story. One the one hand, the story is supposed to be about Bobo Stoikov, a defector from communist Bulgaria who comes to the States to play soccer, and find his own "American Dream". He is injured in his journey, and when he reaches America is unable to play soccer any more. He becomes a neighborhood team coach, showing young kids how to play soccer they way that made him great as a player in Bulgaria.
The story we get, but don't exepect is that of the story teller, Mario Santini. Mario is the father of one of the boys Bobo starts to teach. Bobo tells Mario's son Luca, that if he plays right, shares his victory and knows how to the work the field he can become like St. John. And be a "St. John of the Midfield". Bobo thinks Luca has a lot of promise and throughout both stories, we find how Mario gets swept up in the whole idea.
This novel is an engaging and entertaining read, even if it's not exactly what I was expecting when I started out. The description can be a little misleading, I thought I was getting a story about Bobo's journey, when in turn the story is more about Mario's journey than anyone elses. And that's not a bad thing, just not expected. There are places where Maccagnone's descriptions get the better of the story, especially when describing other team parents, and it took me out of the story just enough that I found myself rereading sections. But for the style, and length, it's all very fitting. Despite the descriptions, I still find myself enjoying the different characters that show up throughout, especially those of Mario's family - his Italian mafioso father (and uncles), haunted Polish mother and loving, but independent wife.
Not one of my normal type of choices, but I did enjoy it a great deal because it was such an engaging read. And I managed to finish it in about a day, which is pretty good for me lately.
- Anonymous February 21, 2008
The Suburban Dragon
First Review
This is a delightful book with surprises and lots of fun.
The first sentence of the book caught my attention "It was a cold day in the tiny suburb called Chippewa Valley", which included an artistic depiction of storms, crooked houses and jagged lightning. I could almost hear the thunder.
So, of course, that one page drew me to another and another. The pictures are bright, even in the gloomy day, and there are subtle hints that quick eyes will find and put together as the story moves on.
Mom, ever the heroine, decides to read the three children their favorite story book, but discovers they had heard it too many times and were bored. Just then, however, the Suburban Dragon comes around the sofa and steals Mom away.
The wicked storm, the terrifying dragon, and their missing Mom puts their acute imaginations into overdrive. They will find a way to save her. No dragon was going to steal their Mom and keep her. The day passed quickly as they worked on their trap to capture the dragon, who might have been breathing fire.
Their enchanting imagination creates all of the items for their plan to work, and then they begin the process. By working together, the siblings learn many things, solve problems, and face the fiery dragon together.
Enjoy this with your children. I chuckled and smiled through it, then handed it to my mom to read. Her reaction was the same as mine. Two 5 star ratings for The Suburban Dragon by Garasamo Maccagnone with illustrations by Al Ochsner.
- Victoria Tarrani February 7, 2008
Second Review
The Suburban Dragon, a new children's book by Garasamo Maccagnone, is a wonderful little tale of a creative dad who plays a trick on his unexpected kids. The book is set on a dull, rainy day and Garasamo begins his tale "It was a cold day in the tiny suburb...". After seeing his children stiff with boredom, a father gets creative and creates a dragon costume to entertain his family but the children mistake him for a real dragon. After the scary "dragon" captures their mother, the children begin making plans to conquer him. As they work together to rescue their mother, they are able to turn a gloomy day into a stirring adventure.
Filled with colorful, watercolor illustrations by artist Al Ochsner, The Suburban Dragon is a whimsical tale that will delight kids and parents alike. I read this book to my 2-year old daughter and she loved it and she's a tough critic. When I finished reading it, all she said was "Again Daddy".
- Ronald Gross June 29, 2007
Pictures At an Exhibition
A review of three works by Garasamo Maccagnone - "Last Dream", "Work Dream" and "Church Dream"
By Norm Stephens
Maccagnone's writing blends and folds the reader in the dreams as deftly as any master of the arts.
"LAST DREAM" — His account of an accident during a boyhood baseball game evolves subtly into a timeless father-son paradox. As boys become fathers, often exchanging roles with their aging parent, the father's fear for his son may be exchanged with the son's fear for his father. Resonating through to the reader is that common fear frequently unresolved into adulthood: The unrequited love of every man for father lost: that the other's death is our own.
"You will never become a man until I die."
The reader is drawn into this cold, relentless wisdom, reminded of the inevitable cruelty of life cycles with which we cope. For male readers, denouement resides in the break with denial; that it is all right to mourn the loss of what one never fully appreciated, let alone possessed.
"WORK DREAM" - A short, extremely vivid diversion that is anything but work for the reader. The reminiscence so elegantly joyful, the intense description caused the reader to forget this is a dream account. The writer toys with the reader, deceiving us with the context of the chase, reminding us that certain simple joys in life, when overlaid, are synonymous.
"We find ourselves in the darkness. We lose ourselves in the light."
Perhaps an allegorical reference to the act of dreaming. Through concise reflection, this dream is made universal and therefore, brought to life.
"CHURCH DREAM" - Images of a Catholic celebration of Easter, this account is meticulous to the point of bordering on the iconoclastic. The description of this otherwise mundane setting intimately engages the reader, creating anticipation of a miracle even in these universal surroundings. The reader is not disappointed.
"Yet out of the darkness, when the Mass is over, when the permeation of incense escapes the Church as fast as the patrons, when the hissing of candle wicks wetted sends smoke halos spiraling, when it becomes so quiet you can almost hear the statue of St. Louis de Montfort whispering, "I am all yours," comes Dino, the crippled village boy, braces to his knees, left arm atrophied, knocking down lily pots that line the sides of the pews. The boy stops at the altar. Slowly he lifts his head. He reaches his right arm above his head with the palm open, wavering. He smiles easily at the Christ, his eyes swollen but soft, his crystalline gaze as pure as the blood of martyrs.
In a miracle of his own, the author shows us faith which transcends religion and the believer's limitations.
Effective execution of the short-story by any writer is, in itself, miraculous. In these works, Maccagnone accounts for himself masterfully, with neither pretense nor overbearing narrative voice. The reader, enriched by the interactive nature of the writing, emerges feeling thoroughly absorbed into these pictures, as at an exhibition.
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