Jesse Kornbluth on the metaphorical masterpiece that is Todd Walton’s Inside Moves.
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I read “Inside Moves” when it came out in 1978. And I read it again every few years. The usual reason: I’m a fool for novels that have great characters and pure story — and nothing else.
Great characters? Careful. These aren’t guys you’d voluntarily hang with. Jerry is a cripple and Roary got shot in Vietnam and Max has no legs at all — as the book starts, they’re losers hanging out in Max’s bar. Attitude? Roary’s the narrator, and here’s how he introduces himself:
I don’t want you to get the idea this book is about me, because it isn’t. It’s about Jerry, but I thought I’d better say something about myself so you know what kind of angle you’re getting. In a way, you’re getting a cripple angle, but then again I wasn’t born a cripple. There’s a big difference between a born cripple and somebody who gets crippled. The main difference seems to be how bitter they are. That isn’t always true, but take Jerry, he was born cripple and he’s the sweetest guy in the world. Me, I was born straight, played fullback in high school. Me, I’m
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bitter. I’m no sweetheart.
The old fiction trick, the unreliable narrator? Not at all. Roary really is a mess; overweight, unshaven, hostile. Which is why he idolizes Jerry and becomes his sidekick. Because Jerry, despite a knot in his hip and one leg shorter than the other and no height to speak of, has a skill — he is a playground basketball star.
Basketball is, you should excuse the literary talk, just a metaphor here. The title first: inside moves are what get a player a shot near the basket. They are also, as I know you know, your internal changes, the ability to adapt to new situations and people. In basketball, Jerry has a sensational shot from the outside; he also has great inside moves. But off the court? Jerry has no mojo, as he proves daily in his marriage to Ann, a junkie whore.
Cripples. A bar for losers. A junkie whore. Todd Walton seems to kiss every possible cliché on the mouth. Sensibly you asks: Why should I read this bummer?
Because it’s not a downer. Anything but. [To buy the paperback from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle edition, click here.]
There’s a ton of plot in this book, and I’m telling you none of it, because you’d think I’ve lost all critical ability. Jerry challenges someone to a 10-point basketball game, and as the result of that — no, no way. Roary forges a business partnership with a rich widow, and the next day — no, that’s laughable. And the last half of the book? Don’t even start.
Here’s the thing: A few pages into the book, you will stop judging these people. And not to get all J.S. Salinger on you, you will see that the metaphor powering this book is not as cheesy as it’s going to sound here. Because we are all cripples, every last one of us. And yet we persevere.
Jerry and Roary and a few other characters in “Inside Moves” make gigantic changes. Improbable changes. Magical changes. But that’s the point. As C.S. Lewis says, “Miracles only happen to people who believe in them.”
“Inside Moves” will make you believe.
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This article originally appeared on The Head Butler.
Photo credit: Getty Images
