Finn McCool's Football Club Given the growing number of books about American soccer fans trapped in a country that doesn’t value or even understand their sport, Rea’s take—that of a Northern Irishman trying to watch and play the beautiful game in New Orleans—adds an enjoyably different perspective. Dissatisfied with the lack of camaraderie at pickup games and desperate to find broadcasts of his beloved Chelsea, Rea breaks his vow to assimilate and starts hanging out with a bunch of other expatriates at a pub called Finn McCool’s. But just when their team is starting to gel, Hurricane Katrina blows everything to hell. Rea is an agreeable chronicler, and his blend of comedy, tragedy, and social observation moves briskly. The narrative arc isn’t entirely satisfying, and it can be hard to keep track of all the characters (many of them, oddly enough, named Stephen), but Rea’s thoughts on the pains and pleasures of globalism’s diaspora, and the horrors of Katrina and its aftermath, make worthwhile reading. The parts about soccer, however, may mean that the book’s best audience will be made of the usual suspects: those to whom football is never played on a gridiron. --Keir Graff | | Tell A Friend |
| |
Customer Reviews
This product has not yet been reviewed.
Write a Review
Please login or register to write a review for this product.
|
|
