Scan barcode
A review by boogsbooks
Godwin: A Novel by Joseph O'Neill
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
(thanks to Pantheon Books for the gifted copy!)
Well, well. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this and it turned into an enjoyable experience that both tested me and swept straight through the plot. I recommend you pick this up!
GODWIN blends two loosely connected storylines. The primary follows the antics of two stepbrothers - Mark, a technical writer from Pittsburgh, and Geoff, a struggling British soccer agent - plotting to track down a potential young soccer star in Africa. Mark and Geoff aren’t close but a sense of familiar duty brings them together. The other, seemingly secondary, storyline navigates office politics in the co-op style professional writing group that Mark is a member of, led by Lakesha. We jump back and forth between Mark and Lakesha’s lives in a meandering yet still propulsive narrative. For much of the novel, the question of how exactly these two storylines connect in any meaningful way is prominent. It does come together in the end, though it’s up to you to decide if that conclusion works.
This is marketed loosely as a soccer novel. And while that isn’t entirely wrong, it’s not required that you enjoy or even know much about soccer. It happens to be my favorite sport and this was a major draw for me to pick this novel up. I appreciate how O’Neill sprinkled in soccer history and context that works for a fan or novice.
A common thread between both storylines is control. Everyone involved is obsessed with having it, losing it, grasping for it, or fighting the illusion of it. We’re also dealing with control in the themes of colonization, capitalism, and those aforementioned office politics. Hand in hand with control is the idea of perception and how others perceive us (our worth, our strengths and weaknesses, etc.).
While the themes and setting are entirely different, I kept getting TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi vibes with this one. I think O’Neill is using a similar refraction tool (though not as severely) to break down and mix up how the reader moves through seeing the main characters through different lenses. That may not be the best comparison, but there’s definitely something there!
Well, well. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this and it turned into an enjoyable experience that both tested me and swept straight through the plot. I recommend you pick this up!
GODWIN blends two loosely connected storylines. The primary follows the antics of two stepbrothers - Mark, a technical writer from Pittsburgh, and Geoff, a struggling British soccer agent - plotting to track down a potential young soccer star in Africa. Mark and Geoff aren’t close but a sense of familiar duty brings them together. The other, seemingly secondary, storyline navigates office politics in the co-op style professional writing group that Mark is a member of, led by Lakesha. We jump back and forth between Mark and Lakesha’s lives in a meandering yet still propulsive narrative. For much of the novel, the question of how exactly these two storylines connect in any meaningful way is prominent. It does come together in the end, though it’s up to you to decide if that conclusion works.
This is marketed loosely as a soccer novel. And while that isn’t entirely wrong, it’s not required that you enjoy or even know much about soccer. It happens to be my favorite sport and this was a major draw for me to pick this novel up. I appreciate how O’Neill sprinkled in soccer history and context that works for a fan or novice.
A common thread between both storylines is control. Everyone involved is obsessed with having it, losing it, grasping for it, or fighting the illusion of it. We’re also dealing with control in the themes of colonization, capitalism, and those aforementioned office politics. Hand in hand with control is the idea of perception and how others perceive us (our worth, our strengths and weaknesses, etc.).
While the themes and setting are entirely different, I kept getting TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi vibes with this one. I think O’Neill is using a similar refraction tool (though not as severely) to break down and mix up how the reader moves through seeing the main characters through different lenses. That may not be the best comparison, but there’s definitely something there!