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sunsetcici's review against another edition
2.5
if i never hear the words "but laws are laws" again it will be too soon.
jimmydean's review
sped through this, very insightful and thoughtful, captures a love of football from such a unique, brilliant perspective
ccallan's review
2.0
What a missed opportunity this book was. A good idea, telling the life of an English football referee in the form of a novel, the potential is huge for personal insight, high drama and wonderful stories.
What we get instead is a long series of match reports told in a staccato style that gets old quickly. It’s halfway through the book before we find out that he’s married and has two kids, and somewhere in there he works during the week as a magistrate. Both of those dealt with in a single line. Another line reveals he’s a devout Christian. And other than that all we hear over and over is I’m just applying the laws of the game. No inner life, big conflicts flicked off like an annoying fly, in fact very little interaction with other humans not wearing uniforms and yelling at him.
Even if we go with the fact that the book will be all about the matches, you could be forgiven for not knowing till well into the book that there are four officials in a referee crew. And my experience as a referee is that that crew can be amazing and exasperating often on the same night. How did he manage the emotions after a match, particularly those with controversial decisions. Precious little. None of that here.
So I guess the field is still wide open for the referee novel.
What we get instead is a long series of match reports told in a staccato style that gets old quickly. It’s halfway through the book before we find out that he’s married and has two kids, and somewhere in there he works during the week as a magistrate. Both of those dealt with in a single line. Another line reveals he’s a devout Christian. And other than that all we hear over and over is I’m just applying the laws of the game. No inner life, big conflicts flicked off like an annoying fly, in fact very little interaction with other humans not wearing uniforms and yelling at him.
Even if we go with the fact that the book will be all about the matches, you could be forgiven for not knowing till well into the book that there are four officials in a referee crew. And my experience as a referee is that that crew can be amazing and exasperating often on the same night. How did he manage the emotions after a match, particularly those with controversial decisions. Precious little. None of that here.
So I guess the field is still wide open for the referee novel.
queergoth_reads's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
andrew61's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
An interesting story about the life of Uriah Rennie, the first black premier league referee. Rennie came to the UK with his younger sister from Jamaica, age 11, where he was reunited with his parents and their children born in Britain. This was Sheffield in the early 1970s, and the book contrasts the drainers with the colour of the carribean.
The first section juxtaposes Rennie's early life with the start of his refereeing career, and I enjoyed the early portrait of an intriguing and proud man.
The second part is the tale of his refereeing career where he is in the centre of the top league of British football where he provokes the anger of players and fans alike, perhaps most vividly with his encounters with Alan shearer. The question is obvious: Does Rennie provoke this because of his self-belief that he is the centre of the show, or is it racism at a black man in the middle.
The book ends with his life after football when he is involved in significant charity work.
This is an interesting story well told from the 1st person perspective. My only slight fault is that I found little out about Rennie's personal life but overall a good piece of writing.
The first section juxtaposes Rennie's early life with the start of his refereeing career, and I enjoyed the early portrait of an intriguing and proud man.
The second part is the tale of his refereeing career where he is in the centre of the top league of British football where he provokes the anger of players and fans alike, perhaps most vividly with his encounters with Alan shearer. The question is obvious: Does Rennie provoke this because of his self-belief that he is the centre of the show, or is it racism at a black man in the middle.
The book ends with his life after football when he is involved in significant charity work.
This is an interesting story well told from the 1st person perspective. My only slight fault is that I found little out about Rennie's personal life but overall a good piece of writing.
olliewheaton's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
empalmer09's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
baratheonbooks's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0