The Damned Utd: A Novel - Softcover

Peace, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1612193706 ISBN 13: 9781612193700

Publisher: Melville House, 2014

Synopsis

“Probably the best novel ever written about sport.” —The Times (UK)

He was a real-life, working-class hero known as the “British Muhammad Ali”—because he had a big mouth and wasn’t afraid to use it.

But Brian Clough wasn’t a boxer, he was a soccer coach, known for taking backwater teams and making them into champions. In towns where people had little else, the hard-drinking and scrappy Clough was a hero. He was especially beloved for telling it like it was on behalf of small-town teams everywhere—calling out the stars who played dirty, rival coaches he suspected of bribing referees, and the league that let them get away with it.

And then one day Clough was offered a job coaching the big-city team he’d called the dirtiest—the perennial powerhouse Leeds United.

The Damned Utd tells the story of the legendary Clough’s tumultuous forty-four days trying to turn around a corrupt institution without being corrupted himself—the players who wouldn’t play, the management that looked the other way, the wife and friends who stood by him as he fought to do the right thing.

The inspiring story behind the movie of the same name, The Damned Utd has been called by The Times of London, “The best novel ever written about sport.”

About this title

About the Author:

David Peace – named in 2003 as one of Granta’s Best of Young Novelists – is the acclaimed author of the Red Riding Quartet (1974, 1977, 1980, and 1983), which was adapted into a BBC television series that was released theatrically in the United States, and is currently being adapted into a major motion picture directed by Ridley Scott. Peace is also the author of the highly praised Tokyo Trilogy, which so far includes Tokyo Year Zero and Occupied City. His book GB84 was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and The Damned Utd was called “probably the best novel ever written about sport” by The Times (UK). His newest book, Red or Dead, was shortlisted for the UK’s prestigious Goldsmith’s Prize.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* What happens when a soccer coach—or football manager, as they’re called in England—takes over a team he despises? In anticipation of Peace’s forthcoming Red or Dead, a novel about the legendary Bill Shankly’s 15 years (1959–74) in charge of Liverpool, the publisher offers a first U.S. edition of this 2006 novel, which makes a perfect bookend with its fictionalized account of counterpart Brian Clough’s turbulent 44-day tenure at Leeds United in 1974. The tale is told in parallel story lines: in the present, Clough arrives at Leeds and takes charge of the team. In the past, Clough manages Derby County, a small team in a lower division, to the absolute heights of success, only to be undermined by his own outsize personality. We learn about his utter hatred for Leeds and their manager, Don Revie; his disgust at the unsportsmanlike antics of the players; his suspicion that some of their victories are bought and paid for. He replaces Revie, but the players won’t play for him, and the season gets off to a nightmarish start. Worse, he’s missing his right-hand man, Peter Taylor, a savvy scout whose absence feels more like an amputation. In a stream-of-consciousness, first-person narration, Peace builds tension and characterization brilliantly, imparting an epic feel to what was ultimately a brief, failed experiment. Clough would find success again with another team and continues to be regarded as one of the greatest managers—and most entertaining personalities—in the English game. (He died in 2004.) The book ruffled some feathers but was a deserved hit, and it was adapted into a fine film, The Damned United, starring Michael Sheen. --Keir Graff

About this edition

• Publisher: Melville House
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1612193706
• ISBN 13: 9781612193700
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400