Review Time--21: The Story of Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente was a seriously fascinating dude. In addition to being the first Latino baseball player in the Baseball Hall of Fame, getting over 3000 career hits, twice winning the World Series, and being named MVP of the 1971 World Series, he spent a large portion of his time involved in charity work. Essentially, he was an incredible human being with a ridiculous amount of talent who never lost touch with his humble roots. In a tragic twist of fate, he was killed in a plane crash in 1972 while on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua to deliver aid to the victims of a recent earth quake. Since his death, the MLB has created the Roberto Clemente Award, several sports arenas have been built in his name, and he's won dozens of honorary awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente, Wilfred Santiago tells the story of Clemente's life, from his childhood in impoverished Puerto Rico to the racism he endured in the 1950's and 60's, from the frustrations of his early career to his 3000th hit. Santiago has clearly done his homework, too, touching on the death of Clemente's infant sister and his relationship with his wife, Vera. It's an in-depth glimpse into the life of an important figure in the history of America's favorite pass-time. Santiago himself saw Clemente hit his 3000th ball and frames this biography with that recollection. This adds an interesting dimension to the story and personalizes it beyond mere biography.

However, I found Santiago's style of storytelling a little distracting, at best. Often, he skips from event to event without explaining what was happening or why. I had a very hard time with the chronology of the story, which sometimes jumped entire decades forwards or back. I kept waiting to get used to this style of writing but I never did. It felt a little like watching a post-modern movie where you know all of the pieces should connect but they never quite do and you're left feeling vaguely unsettled. Readers already familiar with the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente may not have a hard time following the story but I felt like I spent the entire 200 pages struggling to understand the story to the point that I couldn't quite enjoy the ride.

Final Grade: B-