A famous account of growing up to be a fanatical football supporter. Told through a series of match reports, FEVER PITCH has enjoyed enormous critical and commercial success since it was first published in 1992. It has helped to create a new kind ofsports writing, and established Hornby as one of the finest writers of his generation.
Fever Pitch
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Fever Pitch is both an autobiography and a footballing bible rolled into one. Nick Hornby pinpoints 1968 as his formative year--the year he turned 11, the year his parents separated, and the year his father first took him to watch Arsenal play. The author quickly moved "way beyond fandom" into an extreme obsession that has dominated his life, loves, and relationships. His father had initially hoped that Saturday afternoon matches would draw the two closer together, but instead Hornby became completely besotted with the game at the expense of any conversation: "Football may have provided us with a new medium through which we could communicate, but that was not to say that we used it, or what we chose to say was necessarily positive." Girlfriends also played second fiddle to one ball and 11 men. He fantasises that even if a girlfriend "went into labour at an impossible moment" he would not be able to help out until after the final whistle. Fever Pitch is not a typical memoir--there are no chapters, just a series of match reports falling into three time frames (childhood, young adulthood, manhood). While watching the May 2, 1972, Reading v Arsenal match, it became embarrassingly obvious to the then 15-year-old that his white, suburban, middle-class roots made him a wimp with no sense of identity: "Yorkshire men, Lancastrians, Scots, the Irish, blacks, the rich, the poor, even Americans and Australians have something they can sit in pubs and bars and weep about." But a boy from Maidenhead could only dream of coming from a place with "its own tube station and West Indian community and terrible, insoluble social problems." Fever Pitch reveals the very special intricacies of British football, which readers new to the game will find astonishing, and which Hornby presents with remarkable humour and honesty--the "unique" chants sung at matches, the cold rain- soaked terraces, giant cans of warm beer, the trains known as football specials carrying fans to and from matches in prison-like conditions, bottles smashing on the tracks, thousands of police officers waiting in anticipation for the cargo of hooligans. The sport and one team in particular have crept into every aspect of Hornby's life--making him see the world through Arsenal-tinted spectacles. --Naomi Gesinger
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Funny, wise and true (Roddy Doyle )
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First Sentence
I fell in love with football as I was later to fall in love with women: suddenly, inexplicably, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain or disruption it would bring with it. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I fell in love with football as I was later to fall in love with women: suddenly, inexplicably, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain or disruption it would bring with it. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. O. Worth
Format:Paperback
I received this book from a friend as a birthday present, who chose it because of its subject knowing I was a big football fan. Perhaps this was a rather misguided choice, though, as although Fever Pitch is based around Hornby's childhood (and early manhood) experiences of football, it is so much more than a run-of-the-mill football book. Its beautifully crafted life experience stories are, admittedly, set around key Arsenal matches in the 1980s, but if this were to put of non-football fans it would truly be a shame. Unlike many authors, especially in this genre, Hornby has a gift of true communication - throughout the book one gets the feeling of being with him as he searches for the purpose of his life, and the position of his hobby-come-obsession within that.
Although for non-football fans the match descriptions may seem dull and unappealing, they make up only a small percentage of the book and are included in such a way as to be intrinsic to the storyline rather than as an added extra to appeal to the terraces. It is in crafting this into his personal life that Hornby achieves his real success, and creates what many believe to be the best football book ever.
But don't forget, this book isn't just about Arsenal, or even football, but about how a young Londoner grows up, and learns to live his own life. A heart-warming tale, not to be overlooked.
Although for non-football fans the match descriptions may seem dull and unappealing, they make up only a small percentage of the book and are included in such a way as to be intrinsic to the storyline rather than as an added extra to appeal to the terraces. It is in crafting this into his personal life that Hornby achieves his real success, and creates what many believe to be the best football book ever.
But don't forget, this book isn't just about Arsenal, or even football, but about how a young Londoner grows up, and learns to live his own life. A heart-warming tale, not to be overlooked.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Owl Tamer
Format:Paperback
I am NOT a football fan and I loved this book. I've read it a couple of times. It's entertaining, interesting and well written. I'm glad Nick Hornby is willing to share his analysis of his obsession(s) as well as expose his male foibles :-)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
...but already I find myself nodding, chuckling or smiling in agreement and acknowledgment at a lot of the experiences Hornby writes about.
I won't deny I'm pretty obsessed with football, but frankly this book would go down well with anyone who lives/has lived/wants to live in Britain, because there's a lot of people living here who are secretly, and sometimes not so secretly, exactly like this!
I think it would also go down well with any long suffering wives of season ticket holders as a delve into the mindset of their other halves!
A damn good, generally light hearted piece of work by Hornby that it's very easy to begin to relate to, and then before you know it you're sucked in and you've ploughed halfway through the book before you know what's happening - for me, that's the sign of a good book - absorbing, and one the reader can relate to. Don't think about it, buy it!
I won't deny I'm pretty obsessed with football, but frankly this book would go down well with anyone who lives/has lived/wants to live in Britain, because there's a lot of people living here who are secretly, and sometimes not so secretly, exactly like this!
I think it would also go down well with any long suffering wives of season ticket holders as a delve into the mindset of their other halves!
A damn good, generally light hearted piece of work by Hornby that it's very easy to begin to relate to, and then before you know it you're sucked in and you've ploughed halfway through the book before you know what's happening - for me, that's the sign of a good book - absorbing, and one the reader can relate to. Don't think about it, buy it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic
really good a modern classic, really evocative and very genuine loved it. coulnt put it down till I had finished it even after having read it before years ago!
Published 23 days ago by kindleaddict
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love the book
Best book about football ever. Not sure my girlfriend appreciates it in the same way that I do. But good value all the same
Published 3 months ago by MartyN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why we are the way we are
This is a book for sports fans , not just football fans . If you love a sports fan and don't understand their passion this book will shed some light. Read more
Published 3 months ago by susan ann crawford
4.0 out of 5 stars
ARSENAL FOR EVER
Past reference to the famous club -OK. A birthday present so not sure if it went down well or not
Published 5 months ago by D. Stallard
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reasonable read.
Enjoyed High Fidelity and thought i'd give this one a try. I certainly enjoyed it, but you'd have to be an Arsenal fan to get the most from this one.
Published 8 months ago by cornutus
2.0 out of 5 stars
The "traditional" football book, showing its age
I tried to like it. I really did. However, it just didn't come to me. I tried the sample and thought okay, I'll give this a go, but really wish I hadn't now. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ian Frampton
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic of the genre
This was the first football fan narrative, and remains one of the best - if not the best. Nick Hornby takes us through his life as an Arsenal supporter from his first games in the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sport Nut
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not Like the Film
Having read all Hornby's other books I finally got round to reading this. I was greatly disappointed as the book is nothing like the film script. Read more
Published 13 months ago by AndrewH
3.0 out of 5 stars
Incomprehensible to a Non-Fanatic
First, I enjoyed this book. Well written and easy to read.
Enough has been said about its content so I'll skip that. Read more
Enough has been said about its content so I'll skip that. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Probus888
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great present
This was a great present for an Arsenal mad friend, bought in conjunction with the film. Really good buy, very happy.
Published 14 months ago by Gasky93
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