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Amazon.co.uk Review
The first page of this excellent debut novel shows a map of Birkenhead featuring the Tranmere Rovers football ground, the train line to Wrexham and an arrow pointing to Chester. Not exactly the definition of chic? Well in 1979, it wasn't far off. Awaydays is about "The Pack", a gang of Tranmere Rovers Hooligans who terrorise those northern towns unfortunate enough to have a third division football team. But Awaydays is also about the implications of Margaret Thatcher's first government, the music of Joy Division and the Only Ones, youth unemployment, the explosion of heroin use, the rise of the casual street movement and what young people do when the world gets tough. The protagonist is caught between two worlds. Called Carty by the lads in the Pack and Paul by his family, he has nine O- Levels and acknowledges a tendency to "lay the accent on a bit thick when I'm with the pack, but I modulate it for all sorts of situations. I can go very posh indeed". When his worlds inevitably collide Carty is forced to making a life-changing decision. Should he stay or should he go? Take an Awayday and find out.
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'A dark and disturbing tale. Not for the prudish or faint of heart but entertaining for anyone else' --www.bookbag.co.uk
--This text refers to an alternate
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You'll never take the cowsheds!,
This review is from: Awaydays (Paperback)
Nostalgia played a huge part in my enjoyment of this book - I grew up less than half a mile from Tranmere's ground, and whilst the main character was 19 in 1979, I was 16.They say everyone's first novel is at least partly autobiographical, which possibly puts the bold Mr. Sampson in the Cowsheds (Prenton Park's home end at the time)at the same time as me. Memories aside, the story is highly enjoyable, and offers a cutting and accurate insight into late seventies, lower division football hooliganism. Sampson has an excellent ear for colloquial speech, and is able to put it on paper fluently (skills later developed to the max in 'Outlaws' and 'Clubland'. I laughed out loud at Paul Carty's outburst after his quickie in Vale Park ('Arr, hey! State of me kecks!'). Unashamedly macho, great fun.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nasty Stuff, Brilliantly told.,
By
This review is from: Awaydays (Paperback)
The review title is shamelessly lifted from the front cover of this superbly well observed piece, one sadly never replicated by Sampson in his latter works.
Birkenhead in 1979 was just as he describes, the post-punk lethargy and the beginnings of the Heroin influx which led to the Wirrals' Capital Town being re-named euphemistically "Smack City". The internicine wars between the WEBB (Woodchurch Estate Boot Boys") the Noctorum and Ford estate equivalents all set aside when Tranmere played away. Sampson pulls off a rare trick in this,his first,novel, that of being able to evoke a real sense of the young Paul Cartys need to belong to "The pack" whilst simulaneously wanting to be his own man.Cartys journey is a metaphor for many young mens transition from boy to man only his route is a tad more extreme. Sampson has also translated his Love for the period very well and the references to the Liverpool underground scene via probe Records and Erics take this reader almost literally back in time. The Violence he describes is almost Gonzo, but I'll forgive him this because the context is correct, you see Sampson takes you to a point where these smartly dressed and stylish lads..well, you want them to win against their unfashionably dressed opponents with, well, style. For fans of 80's youth culture this is a must have, for students of modern post industrial history this is a must have and for those who just love a fast moving gory youth piece, this is a must have.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book for the Wirral,
By
This review is from: Awaydays (Paperback)
Yes there'a a million and one books writen by clumsy band-wagon jumpers glorifying 70s hooliganism they probably weren't involved in, but this is not one. Speaking from personal experience, the subtleties of Wirral boroughs and casual couture are absolutely spot on, betraying the author's encyclopaedic knowledge. With a fluent tone throughout, this is a short but fascinating book by a great young author.
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