 |
The Bromley Boys – Dave Roberts In some books, nothing happens. In The Bromley Boys, the same thing happens every week. The Author goes to the Bromley match, full of youthful optimism and a belief that they are improving derived from something from their previous match, and they lose. Again. Sometimes by ludicrous margins. Actually that is not quite fair. They only lose 31 out of 38 league games (and a few cup ones), and actually manage to win 3. They are saved an even more downbeat ending because, being at the very bottom of the league structure, they cannot be relegated so struggle on into the next season. But what really saves this from a downbeat ending is that it is about more than a set of football games. It is about the almost religious faith that keeps fans supporting their team regardless. The same faith that is currently keeping high street store chains struggling on, hoping like Mr Micawber that ‘something will turn up’ when really they should liquidate to minimise losses. So, The Bromley Boys becomes an illustration of a great principle of human behaviour, reduced to the easily understandable scale of the relationship of a 14 year old to his chosen football club. If you are looking for a comprehensive autobiography, this is not it. Roberts covers his interest in football and his school life for a period of about 1 year. It feels in some ways more like a novel than autobiography, and certainly succeeds, however you categorise it. Although I do not have a great interest in football, I enjoyed this, against my expectations, having read it because I had enjoyed Roberts’ later autobiographical work, Sad Men. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great book to read
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Amazing story, hilarious
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
