The Football Factory - Softcover

King, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1629631167 ISBN 13: 9781629631165

Publisher: PM Press, 2015

Synopsis

“Only a phenomenally talented and empathetic writer working from within his own culture can achieve the power and authenticity this book pulses with. Buy, steal, or borrow a copy now, because in a short time anyone who hasn't read it won't be worth talking to.”  —Irvine Welsh, author, Trainspotting
 
The Football Factory is driven by its two main characters—late-20s warehouseman Tommy Johnson and retired ex-soldier Bill Farrell. Tommy is angry at his situation in life and those running the country. Outside of work, he is a lively, outspoken character, living for his time with a gang of football hooligans, the excitement of their fights and the comradeship he finds with his friends. He is a violent man, at the same time moral and intelligent. Bill, meanwhile, is a former World War II hero who helped liberate a concentration camp and married a survivor. He is a strong, principled character who sees the self-serving political and media classes for what they are. Tommy and Bill have shared feelings, but express their views in different ways. Born at another time, they could have been the other. As the book unfolds both come to their own crossroads and have important decisions to make. The Football Factory is a book about modern-day pariahs, people reduced to the level of statistics by years of hypocritical, self-serving party politics. It is about those who are insulted, marginalized, and unseen. Graphic and disturbing, and at times very funny, The Football Factory is a rush of literary adrenalin. This edition includes a new introduction by the author.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

A raw, powerful first novel, The Football Factory centres on Tom Johnson, a reasoned 'Chelsea hooligan' who represents a disaffected society operating by brutal rules. We are shown the realities of life - social degradation, unemployment, racism, casual violence, excessive drink and bad sex - and, perhaps more importantly, how they fall into a political context of surveillance, media manipulation and division. Graphic and disturving, occasionally very funny, and deeply affecting throughout, The Football Factory is a vertiginous rush of adrenaline - the most authentic book yet onthe so-called English Disease.

About the Author:

John King is the author of seven novels, including England Away, Headhunters, The Prison House, Skinheads, and White Trash. He currently publishes and edits Verbal, a fiction-based publication.

About this edition

• Publisher: PM Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1629631167
• ISBN 13: 9781629631165
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288