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Book Description
Believe in the Sign is about a damp corner of England where nothing much
but everything happens. It is a 'sort of a memoir' of a normal, average boy
who would have grown up happily average and normal but for a dark and
perverse passion: the seductive lure of masochistic devotion to a no-hope,
near-derelict football club.
But it isn't all joyously uplifting. Swimming through the murk is a swarm
of snapshots that bring growing up in the 1970s and 1980s into startling
focus. Mad kids and sad kids and good kids from broken homes; teenage
wrecking parties; pub brawls; long existential marches along the motorway
banking; the baiting of Elton John and a club chairman caught playing 'away
from home.'
Then Death bumps into Life. A girl is abducted and the town becomes a cave,
the light sucked out. Meanwhile in the sunny shine outside, the future is
afoot: cotton mills close down and supermarkets invade; school-leavers
evolve into YOP-fodder and everyone's mum is holding Tupperware parties to
get the down-payment on a colour telly.
Variously serious and funny, steely-eyed and tender, Hodkinson plumbs the
depths but isn't afraid of the shallows. Dip a toe.
but everything happens. It is a 'sort of a memoir' of a normal, average boy
who would have grown up happily average and normal but for a dark and
perverse passion: the seductive lure of masochistic devotion to a no-hope,
near-derelict football club.
But it isn't all joyously uplifting. Swimming through the murk is a swarm
of snapshots that bring growing up in the 1970s and 1980s into startling
focus. Mad kids and sad kids and good kids from broken homes; teenage
wrecking parties; pub brawls; long existential marches along the motorway
banking; the baiting of Elton John and a club chairman caught playing 'away
from home.'
Then Death bumps into Life. A girl is abducted and the town becomes a cave,
the light sucked out. Meanwhile in the sunny shine outside, the future is
afoot: cotton mills close down and supermarkets invade; school-leavers
evolve into YOP-fodder and everyone's mum is holding Tupperware parties to
get the down-payment on a colour telly.
Variously serious and funny, steely-eyed and tender, Hodkinson plumbs the
depths but isn't afraid of the shallows. Dip a toe.
About the Author
Mark Hodkinson, a regular contributor to The Times for the past
decade, has already had three successful football books published, each of
them universally well-received by critics who lauded his writing for its
heart and humour.Each book was based on a year-in-the-life of a football
club where, commissioned originally by The Times, he filed a weekly feature
on of the goings on at Barnsley (Life at the Top); Manchester City (Blue
Moon) and Rochdale (Life Sentence). He is still a regular contributor to
The Times but has also written for 4-4-2, When Saturday Comes, the Mail on
Sunday and The Mirror.
decade, has already had three successful football books published, each of
them universally well-received by critics who lauded his writing for its
heart and humour.Each book was based on a year-in-the-life of a football
club where, commissioned originally by The Times, he filed a weekly feature
on of the goings on at Barnsley (Life at the Top); Manchester City (Blue
Moon) and Rochdale (Life Sentence). He is still a regular contributor to
The Times but has also written for 4-4-2, When Saturday Comes, the Mail on
Sunday and The Mirror.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rochdale?!,
By Captain Haddock (The North West) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Believe in the Sign (Paperback)
With Believe in the Sign, Mark Hodkinson transports the reader back to a familiar part of growing up. His vivid descriptions strike a chord with anyone that grew up in the 70's and remembers the peer pressure and frustrations of teenage.
Though not a football fan, I shared his epiphany. Through the ensuing pages, I was dragged to Spotland. I would be taken time and again to feel the frustrations of 'The Dale's' poor performance but still, with each new chapter, hoping of better things. In the end, I was with him, standing behind the Sandy Lane goal shouting loudly 'Daaaaaaayyyyyaaaal' A great read!
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine book deserving of a wider audience,
By
This review is from: Believe in the Sign (Paperback)
Believe in the Sign is Mark Hodkinson's memoir about growing up a Rochdale fan during the 1970s. This is a period when his club were arguably the worst in English football. With gates lingering around the 1000 mark, hooliganism omnipresent and the football dire, one wonders why anyone would bother.
Hodkinson doesn't really offer any explanations, but the book is better for it. Similar books have been used to unfold a complicated father-son relationship, but in this offering the father remains an elusive figure, whose name and occupation are not even told. Instead it is a straightforward memoir of growing up in an ailing mill town with its rubbish football team an omnipresent in his life. The writing is good, indeed the opening passages are very finely written. It reminded me of a literary version of a Shane Meadows film, bleak but with humour, highlighting the drudgery and futility of life in a northern sink town. Some parts made me laugh out loud, in particular the absurd counter culture newspaper, Rochdale Alternative Press, which now seems a work of parody. One area that the book falls short is a lack of cultural and political context given to these times. But this is a minor gripe and this is a fine, enjoyable book, boldly sailing against the wind of the turgid offerings many publishers put in front of football fans. Hodkinson is an experienced freelance journalist who runs Pomona Books, which published this work. But this is no vanity project: they are a tiny press that publish intelligent, necessary works of a high quality. I ordered my copy from their website and they sent me a free CD from their sister record label, with which I was also impressed. Give them a try; they need and deserve wider support.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bringing back memories,
By
This review is from: Believe in the Sign (Paperback)
For those of us that grew up in Rochdale and support Rochdale AFC this should be a compulsory read. It's well written, from the heart. Brought back some forgotten memories and I learnt some things about the club I'd never known. It'll be one book I read again.
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