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The absence of a great football novel

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    The absence of a great football novel

    The United States has a tradition of excellent sports fiction written over many decades - one recalls Richard Ford's The Sportswriter, Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon, and an entire plethora of sporting movies from Field of Dreams to Any Given Sunday.

    It's noticeable however, that despite a global appeal, and thus the potential for copious works in multiple language, football's literary voice has largely been silent, with no stellar work based on the sport or using football as the background to a larger theme. Fever Pitch passes muster as a diverting read, but suffers from Hornby being the sole point of focus, and while The Damned United has been praised, it comes across as a hyperbolic monologue, a solipsistic caricature of its subject, with all supporting characters reduced to beige wallpaper.

    Could it be the case that the artificial divide between "high" and "low" culture still remains in the minds of both authors and literary critics, with sport largely considered as too mundane for the rarefied milieu of the novel?

    #2
    The absence of a great football novel

    Im sure this subject pops up in the football book thread. Ive bought a couple of football fiction books on otfs recommendations, these remain unread.

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      #3
      The absence of a great football novel

      I would argue (and have been for about ten years) that this 'absence' was filled back in the 1950s by Robin Jenkins's 'The Thistle and the Grail'. My amazon review, by 'a customer', is the first one on the list.

      Glanville's 'The Rise of Gerry Logan' and 'Goalkeepers Are Different' would be next on my all-time football novel list. JL Carr's 'How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The FA Cup' is a beautiful little book, and more recently, Anthony Cartwright's 'Heartland' was a very commendable effort. Beyond that, I'm not sure if the absence of great football novels is more down to the reluctance of football fans to read them (conditioned into thinking that all football fiction is based on Roy of the Rovers plot lines), or down to publishers not willing to take a risk on putting them out - a self-perpetuating cycle, admittedly.

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        #4
        The absence of a great football novel

        I've often wondered why this is. Indeed the US novels-Malamud's 'The Natural' I'd include to the list- are easily classified as literature. There are exceptions; Roth's 'Great American Novel' is mediocre- but Football writing/novels never gets past this level. Great working class novels are another failing in British Lit where again the US writers (and European) excel. The only 'classic' I can think of that mentions football was Jess Oakroyd going to the match in Priestley's 'Good Companions'

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          #5
          The absence of a great football novel

          The much under-valued Arnold Bennett touched upon football a fair bit.

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            #6
            The absence of a great football novel

            Goalkeepers Are Different is terrific.

            I managed about 40 pages of The Great American Novel before hurling it aside. I'm not sure even a baseball fan would get much out of it.

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              #7
              The absence of a great football novel

              Great topic - one is sorely needed and the more literary, the better.

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                #8
                The absence of a great football novel

                a fan's notes, loosely based around american football is one of the best books i have ever read

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                  #9
                  The absence of a great football novel

                  Diable Rouge wrote: Could it be the case that the artificial divide between "high" and "low" culture still remains in the minds of both authors and literary critics, with sport largely considered as too mundane for the rarefied milieu of the novel?
                  It didn't stop This Sporting Life which is (arguably) about a football code even "lower" culture than Association..

                  edit: though I'm not sure I would consider it a great.

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                    #10
                    The absence of a great football novel

                    Not really addressing the point, but I wouldn't really consider The Sportswriter to be a sports novel as such, great though it is.

                    And The Damned United is bloody good.

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                      #11
                      The absence of a great football novel

                      As I have mentioned on many occasions, “How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup”, is superb.

                      Though whether it can be classed as a novel is debatable.

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                        #12
                        The absence of a great football novel

                        Why on earth would it not be?

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                          #13
                          The absence of a great football novel

                          BEAK wrote:
                          Originally posted by Diable Rouge
                          Could it be the case that the artificial divide between "high" and "low" culture still remains in the minds of both authors and literary critics, with sport largely considered as too mundane for the rarefied milieu of the novel?
                          It didn't stop This Sporting Life which is (arguably) about a football code even "lower" culture than Association..

                          edit: though I'm not sure I would consider it a great.
                          It's a decent enough novel, though. And film.

                          I used to have a copy of Gladys Protheroe, Football Genius, somewhere, which was... not really very good, from what I remember. A kind of female Zelig in football.

                          I'd probably give it another go, but can't find it. I suspect it's one of many books that a former friend of mine used to help himself to whenever he stayed overnight at my house, sneaking them out in his bag. The bastard admitted to it later.

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                            #14
                            The absence of a great football novel

                            imp wrote: Why on earth would it not be?
                            Length?

                            So more of a novella?

                            (Edit: PS and given wikipediaisyourfriend.org not just lists another similarly lengthed piece as a "famous English language novella" from the same author's oeuvre, but lists it first to boot…)

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                              #15
                              The absence of a great football novel

                              Oh, fair enough - I thought you were somehow questioning whether it counted as a work of fiction. At 141 pages, novella is probably the right description.

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                                #16
                                The absence of a great football novel

                                Maybe this will be of interest:
                                https://www.amazon.co.uk/Idols-Underdogs-Edited-Nicol%C3%A1s-Campisi/dp/1910449849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469676914&sr=8-1&keywords=Idols+and+Underdogs

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                                  #17
                                  The absence of a great football novel

                                  Philip Kerr of Berlin Noir fame has written a small collection of modern whodunnit football novels, built around Scott Manson - an ex-footballer turned coach/amateur sleuth. I enjoyed them.

                                  There is also The Chairman's Daughter by Ian Plenderleith, which I also enjoyed - but I'm sure other OTFers can discuss it with more authority....

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                                    #18
                                    The absence of a great football novel

                                    Not a novel, but Dunphy's only a game? is a great little book. The best thing everyone's favourite coked out dried up simian has ever done. Almost developed a thing for Millwall while reading it. That soon wore off though.

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                                      #19
                                      The absence of a great football novel

                                      Michael Hardcastle's books from the 1970s. Shoot on Sight was superb. Scorton Rovers.

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                                        #20
                                        The absence of a great football novel

                                        The Brian Glanville one about an Italian/English striker signing for Alba in Italy was fantastic.

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                                          #21
                                          The absence of a great football novel

                                          Barry Hines' The Blinder was pretty good, I thought

                                          It's his first novel very influenced by Sillitoe and John Braine with a streak of Victor thrown in, it's got huge energey and he writes about football very well.

                                          And may be this is the place to link to BS Johnson again as he was the original screenwriter for the 1966 film Goal Anyone read the Unfortunates

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                                            #22
                                            The absence of a great football novel

                                            There aren't really any great football/soccer films either, really. Unless that one with Sylvester Stallone counts. And, of course, Will Farrell in Kicking and Screaming, but that doesn't count.

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                                              #23
                                              The absence of a great football novel

                                              Reed John wrote: There aren't really any great football/soccer films either, really. Unless that one with Sylvester Stallone counts. And, of course, Will Farrell in Kicking and Screaming, but that doesn't count.
                                              I think there are some good football films (although would that mean we have to migrate to the film forum)

                                              Gregory's Girl
                                              The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
                                              Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty
                                              This Boys Story
                                              Offside

                                              & part of Kes of course

                                              For starters

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                                                #24
                                                The absence of a great football novel

                                                I really enjoyed Barry Hines' "The Blinder" when I read it as a teenager. Just been looking at a few reviews of it and some say it's his best novel.

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                                                  #25
                                                  The absence of a great football novel

                                                  See thread on Steve Bruce's novels!

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