BOOK REVIEW: Charlie St. Cloud

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD by Ben Sherwood may be the perfect Christmas book. The story is introduced by the fireman who was at the scene of the accident involving Charlie and his younger brother, Sam. His opening words are, “I believe in miracles” and if you also believe in miracles, you will enjoy this book.

Charlie St. Cloud was a junior in high school and seemed to be a young man of promise. His mother even thought that he would leave the small fishing town in New England to go to college.

Charlie and his brother Sam were both big fans of baseball and one evening they “borrowed” a car and headed to Fenway Park to see their favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, play the hated Yankees. Coming home they were in an accident. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, but Fireman Florio Ferrente was able to bring Charlie back.

Charlie took a job as caretaker for the local cemetery where Sam is buried. It seems that his near death experience has given him a rare gift; Charlie can see and talk to the dead. He and Sam continue to be each other’s best friend and continue their evening game of catch.

Charlie grows, matures, and becomes a respected member of the community. Sam stays thirteen. The evening game of catch is more important to Charlie than any social life. He is afraid that if he does not show up for Sam, Sam will fade into the next level of life.

This becomes complicated when Charlie falls in love with a young woman, who might be among the dead.

The book has been described as a mix of The Sixth Sense and Field of Dreams. There are elements of both in it, but I found Charlie’s story to be a little warmer, a little more personal than either of these. The characters of the town, both the living and the dead, were believable; the description of the town was authentic--it is based on a real town outside Boston, plus Sherwood did his homework by actually working for some time in a cemetery.

The book includes a section by the author about his experience with the filming of the movie version of CHARLIE ST. CLOUD. I think that I will stick with the book. I do not want my vision of this small town and its people to be ruined, especially Charlie and Sam.