Books
by Joseph O'Neill
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Godwin |
An American businessman's life is becoming difficult. Contacted about a star African football prospect, he crosses the Atlantic and gets embroiled in the world of talent spotting and football agents. The narrator's journey includes a brilliant recounting of the rise of the black footballer, throwing incidental light on aspects of colonialism, and in the USA, the evocation of intensifying office politics is positively chilling. I'm not sure that the two worlds hang together well and maybe not for you if you are not a soccer fan.
(Tony Pratt - bwl 115 Winter 2025) |
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Netherland |
A cricket-playing Dutchman abandoned by his wife to their temporary apartment in The Chelsea Hotel in a post 9/11 NYC. This story has a surreal feel but captures the essence of New York with its endless possibilities. Hans's detached and increasingly desolate existence regains meaning when he is drawn into a friendship with his charismatic team mate, Trinidadian, Chuck Ramkisson. Chuck is living the American dream and has it all figured out . . . Excellent.
(Rebecca Howell - bwl 72 Spring 2014) |
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