Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers

List Price: $16.00 Discount Price: $5.95

Customer Reviews:

Another world [Posted on 2008-06-09]
My advice:

1. Consider the title/subjectmatter of WF. If you're not curious, take a pass.
2. If you are curious, read the first chapter. If
2.a. You're not totally (I do mean totally) sucked in, take a pass on the rest
2.b. You're totally (ditto) sucked in, read on.

My guess is that all of the middling/negative reviews on this page were posted by disgrunted 1- or 2a-readers who should have hit the eject-button early on; all of the praising reviews from us 2b-ers, contentedly strapped in for the ride. With all due respect to 1- and 2a-ers -- and with no aim to convert them from their 1/2a-ish ways (many of them have my sympathies, in fact) -- I'll just say that I'm squarely in the 2b camp. I thought WF was terrific, soup to nuts. I loved every character study, every competition, every lead-up to the next competition, every bout of authorly self-doubt, every instance of authorly self-satisfaction. Fatsis does a brilliant job of capturing -- and, indeed, being captured within -- an exceedingly odd subculture at the crossroads of game- and math-geekdom, on the wire (often literally) between sanity and insanity.

Fatsis writes about Scrabble-mania with a true insider's knowledge, and with a deep affection for both his subjectmatter and his subjects. The result is a greatly engaging, at times inspiring, often humorous, occasionally pathetic glimpse into a slice of life few of us can imagine, but one we must on some level respect.

WF is an odd and entertaining bit of social history. A wonderful read!

Cool book on the scrabble sub-culture [Posted on 2008-07-10]
A friend recommended this one to me. Not a topic that I ever even knew existed - professional scrabble! But this is a fascinating subculture populated by lovable misfits -- the introverted nebbish Joel from New York, the hip Marlon, who comes from one of the poorest black neighborhoods in America, but scrapes by on his earnings from his totally ingenious mastery of a word game most of us know only as a casual past-time. Fatsis writes with genuine affection for his subject - despite using the term "freak" in his title - and he is a really good guide to the intricacies of the game, which, when played at a really high level is far more complicated than I ever could have imagined. He also gives an excellent overview of the history of the game itself - its invention, its commercialization, its growth as a kind of American icon among board games. I can't say how glad I am that I read this book. It's a joy...even if the topic is a bit unusual. Highly, highly recommend.

Clumsy Bad Writing -- Good Vocabulary Though [Posted on 2008-08-11]
In choosing to write about the misfits, neurotics, and obsessives who call themselves Scrabble players Stefan Fatsis could have chosen one of two approaches. He could have for one year followed North America's best players as they trained for and played in the National championships -- the result would have been a screwball comedy. Or he could have focused on why he -- an ostensibly successful Wall Street Journal reporter -- would himself become as obsessed with the game as the unemployed geniuses that constitute the core of the Scrabble elite -- the result would have also been a screwball comedy. Instead Mr. Fatsis chooses the middling path, and focuses on how he as an amateur tried to make it as an elite Scrabble player -- the result is interesting but is the furthest away from a screwball comedy -- it's about a serious man with a serious mission to master a serious game.

That's the most frustrating thing about reading "Word Freak." It should be funny and entertaining, light and ironic -- but it takes itself and the game too seriously. That's because when writing the book Stefan Fatsis the journalist cannot separate himself from Stefan Fatsis the Scrabble player -- and the book becomes bogged down by detail, trivia, and minutaie that only Scrabble players care about. Fortunately for Fatsis there just happens to be millions of Scrabble players out there.

For these Scrabble lovers Fatsis offers sound advice and analysis on playing the game, and shows well the stress and pressures of competitive Scrabble. And Fatsis does a decent job on writing about the history of Scrabble. He has a chapter on the solitary genius Alfred Butts who invented the game, and even a chapter on Scrabble's corporate history.

Even though it's useful and highly marketable "Word Freak" is nonetheless written by a very pedestrian and inexperienced writer. The book is much too long, badly organized, and the diction is just terrible. Instead of gliding across the page the reader stumbles through it, sometimes tripping over the clunky words that Stefan Fatsis has intentionally placed there to show off his vocabulary.

The book feels like a rushed piece of work, and not at all edited. It felt as though when writing the book Fatsis was on a 25 minute timer, and it didn't matter if the chapters and paragraphs he created made any sense he just had to get it done under 25 minutes, and if he did he would win. And judging by the sales of this book he had indeed won.

A surprising read [Posted on 2008-08-25]
Word Freak surprised me with its depth. It's a work that weaves technical details of what can be a very tedious game at the upper levels, with an engaging tale filled with emotion and humor. It's basically the journey of one guy (the author) going from "I've played Scrabble before" to a bona fide expert at the game. And along the ways, there are fascinating personalities and gripping stories to enjoy.

The story really becomes more a commentary on an underground society -- the personalities, compulsions, emotion, and triumphs of a small group of people for whom Scrabble is more than just a game. You start out wondering just how someone can come to be so deeply into the game. But fortunately, you get to see it firsthand as the author himself undergoes his transformation.

The book at times becomes laden with technical talks...study techniques, game details...which can be a chore to work through at times. But I felt these passages really enhanced the book, exploring just what people go through for love of the game. Without them, it would be difficult to convey the real feel of the game. It can jst make it a bit harder of a read at times.

All in all, a really great book that was more moving than I thought it would be. Very recommended to anyone...just a lot of fun.

The greatest book ever for the ultra-serious Scrabble player: The rest of us? Not so much. [Posted on 2008-11-20]
I enjoyed this book on the whole, but can recommend it only to those with a serious interest in Scrabble. A lot of the book gets bogged down in the intricacies of competitive Scrabble tournaments, which is interesting only for a short time. I play living room Scrabble, but did not understand how complex and complete the knowledge required to become a true skilled player is.

The parts of the book describing the game's genesis and history were interesting. But the 366 pages could have been cut by a third to make for a better book for the masses, in my opinion. Three stars out of five. But a nice effort nonetheless.

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