Mark Friedman's debut novel is an unflinchingly honest portrait of the relationship between siblings, the heartbreaking tale of two brothers whose lives lead to vastly different fates. The narrator, Joe Columbus, tells the story of his brother CJ's remarkable success as a professional baseball player in an effort to explain not only CJ's apparently charmed life but also his own failures - his envy, his crumbling marriage, his missteps and cowardice. A richly imagined story that explores both the grand and enduring allure of our national pasttime and the complications of our lives - our longings, losses, and regrets - COLUMBUS SLAUGHTERS BRAVES is a dark and comic and ultimately redemptive novel. Like W. P. Kinsella's SHOELESS JOE Joe and Michael Shaara's FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME, this is a poignant and compassionate work that introduces readers to a gifted and extraordinarily perceptive writer.