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ladybirder 's review for:
A Natural
by Ross Raisin
People often emphasise that you don't need to be a football fan to read this, but it definitely helps to know something. I only pay attention to football during the world cup and I knew enough to get by. It also helps to know what the general attitude is around sexuality and masculinity in men's football. It's hard to think of a more outwardly homophobic industry than football.
Some of this made for very uncomfortable reading. The language the main character (Tom) uses when talking about his sexuality is always negative ('unnatural', etc) and the effort that he puts in to fitting in with the rest while also not drawing too much attention to himself shows that he doesn't see himself as normal. He is often surprised to learn that other plays have other sides to themselves. He spends a lot of time thinking about how he appears to other people.
I loved the odd descriptions of social anxiety even in the smallest details, such as when Tom looks up and saves funny videos to show to other players on the coach and makes it look spontaneous, or rehearsing a casual nod, or when Leah realises her glass makes too much noise on the dining table so she tries not to pick it up too often.
Characters are so well developed, no-one is perfect, and personalities are so complex that it's easy to end up quite emotionally invested by the end of the book. I fell in love with Tom straight away.
Sexuality is the main theme but other things are touched on such as injury, mental health, addictions, fidelity, contracts, abuse and fame.
Overall I would say that this is a perfect example of an entire industry constantly smoothing over the underlying culture of toxic masculinity, and everyone should read this, especially football fans.
Some of this made for very uncomfortable reading. The language the main character (Tom) uses when talking about his sexuality is always negative ('unnatural', etc) and the effort that he puts in to fitting in with the rest while also not drawing too much attention to himself shows that he doesn't see himself as normal. He is often surprised to learn that other plays have other sides to themselves. He spends a lot of time thinking about how he appears to other people.
I loved the odd descriptions of social anxiety even in the smallest details, such as when Tom looks up and saves funny videos to show to other players on the coach and makes it look spontaneous, or rehearsing a casual nod, or when Leah realises her glass makes too much noise on the dining table so she tries not to pick it up too often.
Characters are so well developed, no-one is perfect, and personalities are so complex that it's easy to end up quite emotionally invested by the end of the book. I fell in love with Tom straight away.
Sexuality is the main theme but other things are touched on such as injury, mental health, addictions, fidelity, contracts, abuse and fame.
Overall I would say that this is a perfect example of an entire industry constantly smoothing over the underlying culture of toxic masculinity, and everyone should read this, especially football fans.