Mr. Raisin comes from
Yorkshire, so I am naturally biased in his favour. This novel, his third
and most recent, is set in the world of professional football. Football
is my country’s national game. The hype surrounding it is incredible.
Many people involved, audiences, management and footballers, are reputed
to be racist and homophobic. So, the main character’s homosexuality is
something he, as a footballer, instinctively hides. One critic wrote,
‘The book presents a brave and subtle portrait of a soul in torment.’
Raisin said it’s a book about ‘identity, shame and love’. It just
happens to be discussed through the lens of a modern football community.So, ladies, what impression are we given of that community?
Is it in anyway similar to, say, communities of American footballers or Australian cricketers? Or has the world moved on?
Is the British football community a useful environment in which to discuss identity, shame and love? Is the main character one with whom we can identify and sympathise?
Did you enjoy the book, set firmly as it is in a masculine environment?
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteHow are both of you and your families? We're all well here. My wonderful husband hasn't smoked for over a month, and is feeling the benefits. Long may this continue. Despite temperatures falling, there is still sunshine and we had a great time in Suffolk and Norfolk: lovely coastal towns, maritime festivals, some great museums, a trip on the river, and our discovery of the wonderful Bury St. Edmunds. Met up with old friends, too, which is always a joy. Hope you’ve enjoyed some equally good times, ladies.
To this month’s novel - I’m not sure why, but I found this book hard to put down. The central character was certainly a complex one. There were times you had to love him, trying to remove the graffiti from the shed, for example, and his desire to tell others he was homosexual. But his complicity in the treatment of Spencer, his increasingly distant relationship with his father, the reader’s awareness of what Tom’s successes and failures cost his family, and his treatment of Liam made me wish for a braver person. His sister, one felt, would have been braver.
But maybe not. Tom (and his family) made decisions based entirely on whether they would promote Tom’s success as a footballer. Everything else took second place. The only male footballer in the English league who came out as gay during his playing career eventually committed suicide. In such a homophobic environment, where success depends on your colleagues’ acceptance of you, Tom’s decisions were sometimes less than humane. And the cost to those around him, and to him was awful. That scream at the end was dreadful. He most certainly is a ‘soul in torment’. The results of loving and being ashamed of it at the same time are portrayed with awful clarity: isolation, deception, damaged emotional development . . . Tom, then, is the victim of his footballing gifts?
I have no idea of the accuracy of the portrait of the male football environment, but it certainly accords with the newspaper reports. Gay female footballers, however, have come out as gay, and it does seem to be regarded by many as irrelevant to a discussion of their footballing skills. Clearly, this is the way it should be. So what’s the matter with the male football community that makes such a misery of so many people’s lives?
Actually, it could be the wives. Can Leah be forgiven for what she did? Is she a victim or a catalyst? Mr. Raisin paints some wonderfully complex character portraits.
Very interesting book, which leaves lots of questions.
Love to you both.
Hello Ladies! Glad to hear you are well, Sue. Please give Jay our biggest congratulations on his success! How wonderful for you both! Hope you and your family is doing wonderful too, Nancy. The Chong crew is good. Nothing too exciting going on.
ReplyDeleteI was very late getting my copy of the book but I managed to read it pretty quickly. I was incredibly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I know nothing about sports and really don't care to. I had totally expected to be completely lost regarding the sports talk (and I was) but there was so much more depth to the rest of the novel to keep me intrigued.
The character I felt the most empathy for was Liam. He had his whole world uprooted because he trusted the wrong people. His lover abandoned him in his greatest time of need. The football community that he had served tirelessly and devotedly turned its back on him and treated him terribly. And all of this occurred because someone he considered a dear friend exposed his secret to try and fix her own rocky marriage. Despite it all, he kept his integrity and tried to stay positive. Certainly very admirable.
Sue, you ask for our opinions of the football community. If true sporting communities are anything like the one portrayed in our novel, I'd say they are quite harsh and terrifying. To be constantly watching your own back to make sure you don't reveal a poor side of yourself must be exhausting. Tom constantly trying to "blend" in and having to hide at least one side of his true personality was distressing. In addition to that, all the footballers were so quick to profess that they were not gay when most of their juvenile antics involved showing their genitals to one another or touching each other's butts. Seems very contradictory to me. The hazing mentality among men also baffles me. Why do fraternities feel a deep need to torture incoming members? We see Bobby willing lead the shoe polishing of Spencer's genitals after he suffered the same humiliation. One would think that he would not preform the same cruelties to others. I know nothing about the American football world, so I cannot give any insight on that.
I agree with you, Sue. There shouldn't be any reason why an individual's sexual preference would affect his performance on the field. It seems to me that the sporting world has not joined the 21st century and its acceptance of different ways of life. I don't think Liam would have been able to Leah if he knew she was the one who outted him. Regardless, incredible read Sue. I'm still so completely surprised I liked it so much.
To much more great reads!
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteSorry for delayed post this month, I have a bucket load of excuses but they really don’t make any difference late is still late. At the moment I am in NZ on the Banks Peninsula in a small village called Akaroa. It is incredibly beautiful, we are staying on a sheep property and this afternoon are heading out with the farmer to do sheepy business and to visit his resident fur seal colony. Typical NZ !!!!
Sue I am so happy for Jay, it is such a challenging thing to give up our addictions, I’m glad he’s feeling the benefits, well done him !
I enjoyed our story this month and found it very relevant. At the moment here in Australia we are in the middle of a postal survey whether to legalise gay marriage. The subject has been used as a political football [sorry, no pun intended] for a long time and there is all sorts of fear mongering taking place by the NO campaign. I feel the overwhelming majority of Aussie are in favour of a more equal society and hopefully our government will listen.
With all the discussion in the media here about gay marriage it is also heartening to see that both the Australian Rules Football and the National Rugby League Association have publicly endorsed the YES vote. Both are fairly blokey sports as is English football. The NRL recently played their Grand Final and much controversy was made of the US rapper Macklemore performing his “Same Love” song. It was brilliant and the song returned to number one on the charts and he donated royalties to the YES campaign. So as you can see the subject of homosexuality is very much in the front of our minds here in Australia, so it was interesting to read “A Natural” this month.
As well as Tom’s sexuality I feel the novel had much to say of the incredible pressures placed on professional athletes by their management, families and fans. These are such young people to be dealing with such enormous highs and lows and hero or villain scenarios, I don’t find it surprising the lengths they will go to fit in. I don’t think its healthy but it isn’t too difficult to understand.
I feel ‘A Natural’ is a fairly honest portrayal of professional sporting teams in general. I don’t know a whole lot about English Football but I am aware of the passion it ignites in its fans.
Hope all is well with you both and again sorry for my tardiness.
much love
Nancy
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteI'll certainly pass on your comments to Jay. Thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book, Katie, and it was interesting to read about the postal survey, Nancy. I envy you being in Akaroa. We visited but did not stay long enough. Beautiful place. Love to hear about the seal colony. Enjoy yourselves. Getting chilly here, as I expect it is with you, Katie. Take care ladies. Love to you both.