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Review
"A terrific book, for all sorts of reasons... This is a fizzy, funny, fantastical first novel."
--Robert MacFarlane
"An audacious and surprising tale of football, friendship and family feuds...An enormously enjoyable, adept and, above all, confident debut."
--The Guardian
'an audacious first novel...funny, readable and articulate'
--Independent on Sunday
--Robert MacFarlane
"An audacious and surprising tale of football, friendship and family feuds...An enormously enjoyable, adept and, above all, confident debut."
--The Guardian
'an audacious first novel...funny, readable and articulate'
--Independent on Sunday
Review
‘Reminiscent in places of Iain Bank’s The Crow Road and Jonathan Coe’s What a Carve Up!, Hudson’s intricately plotted comedy works best at its broadest, satirising soccer’s greed’ - Financial Times, Adrian Turpin
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Robert Hudson plays for the same cricket team in London as did Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland, before he left to live in New York. So it will be fascinating to compare their development as novelists. Hudson's is certainly the more interesting debut.
The Kilburn Social Club crackles with ideas and energy. Unusual story lines abound and you never quite know what's coming next when you turn the page. It may be a football novel but it's much more than a novel simply about football: the talking football has received most attention but, as the other reviews here show, the cast of characters and twisting plot can lead you in all sorts of strange directions.
In some ways it's a mazy dribble of a book, often going for long, entertaining runs across the pitch that peter out in slight anti climax near the corner flag. And there are several occasions when Hudson makes it into the box only for his final pass to perhaps let him down. But his first touch is often brilliant - and very funny - challenging you to keep up with him.
More than anything I thought the book needed a veteran midfield general to put his foot on the ball, slow the game down and sort out tactics. At times there is almost too much going on and some of the main characters might benefit from a little more colour and consideration. The result would be a less maverick book but one genuinely capable of winning literary prizes.
But there again, is that what you want from a debut novel? I'd much rather pay my money for something as entertaining and occasionally wayward as this than for a conventional story written to a long-standing, predictable formula. I suggest you buy it, laugh, and make up your own mind.
The Kilburn Social Club crackles with ideas and energy. Unusual story lines abound and you never quite know what's coming next when you turn the page. It may be a football novel but it's much more than a novel simply about football: the talking football has received most attention but, as the other reviews here show, the cast of characters and twisting plot can lead you in all sorts of strange directions.
In some ways it's a mazy dribble of a book, often going for long, entertaining runs across the pitch that peter out in slight anti climax near the corner flag. And there are several occasions when Hudson makes it into the box only for his final pass to perhaps let him down. But his first touch is often brilliant - and very funny - challenging you to keep up with him.
More than anything I thought the book needed a veteran midfield general to put his foot on the ball, slow the game down and sort out tactics. At times there is almost too much going on and some of the main characters might benefit from a little more colour and consideration. The result would be a less maverick book but one genuinely capable of winning literary prizes.
But there again, is that what you want from a debut novel? I'd much rather pay my money for something as entertaining and occasionally wayward as this than for a conventional story written to a long-standing, predictable formula. I suggest you buy it, laugh, and make up your own mind.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After a decade of self help book over dosing, I have spent the last 10 years dedicating home study to flicking through text books in an attempt to expand my general intellectual conversation at dinner parties. I very rarely read a novel or get a chance to, in fact one of the last authors I enjoyed was Robert Rankin (Brentford trilogy etc). This Robert had my attention captured as well! I do not own a television and am not privy to series, but if I did I would imagine comparing the book to "The footballers wives" perhaps, (ignorant guess). Indeed The KIlburn Social Club could easily become a TV series, written in a quick chapters, easy to digest, skipping episodes, it amazed me that I could actually hold so many personalities in my head at once. Interestingly the way i found myself empathising with certain characters at the beginning to completely change my opinion, finding myself cringing for them toward the end. So many social, cultural and class backgrounds, with a variety of persona, I would assume that there would be a character to relate to for every reader. The sphericity of life, I look forward to that after dinner conversation some day.
I have given a generous 5 stars because I was delighted to not be disappointed in my choice of a holiday book and was thoroughly impressed that a novel about football, could also keep the female reader satiated with a touch of, romance, emotional turmoil and all the other things that feed the soul.
Well done amazing achievement for a first book, I am assuming another one is being masterfully worked on? I have recommended this read to my nearest and dearest.
I have given a generous 5 stars because I was delighted to not be disappointed in my choice of a holiday book and was thoroughly impressed that a novel about football, could also keep the female reader satiated with a touch of, romance, emotional turmoil and all the other things that feed the soul.
Well done amazing achievement for a first book, I am assuming another one is being masterfully worked on? I have recommended this read to my nearest and dearest.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The premise of 'The Kilburn Social Club' as described in the blurb and by other reviews I read in the media, are somewhat misleading. 'Kilburn Social Club' are a fictitious, top-flight football team, that upholds a socialist ethos. The book is pitched as 'can a bastion of Marxist ideology, withstand the rapaciousness of the modern game?' but in reality the political angle of the team's existence is paid only lip service. This I found a little disappointing, but in any case 'TKSC' is an interesting and worthwhile read.
Set in an alternate reality, where Great Britain are World Cup winners, and teams in the Premier League include Cardiff, Hearts and Putney Bridge, the novel's world is recognisable yet very different to our own. This device is both a strength and a weakness. The reader has no preconceptions about the teams in the book, meaning anything can happen without treading on the toes of football history, but it does make it hard for the reader to identify with any of the teams in the novel. The author wants us to want KSC to win, but its difficult to care whether they manage to beat Rojo Madrid or get thrashed by Clapham Rovers.
For the KSC players and back room staff, Hudson has created a host of vivid and interesting characters. The novel is essentially about the battle between Esther and Aisling, two heiress of the KSC owning family. Aisling, being the oldest, inherited the club, but it is Esther who loves football. The struggle between the sisters is an epic Greek Tragedy, that flows one way and then the other several times before the novel's conclusion. Behind these two women, often changing sides, are the players and management team. There are heroes and villains, straight-talkers and oily manipulators, and in some cases exactly who is what is not revealed until the book's climactic ending.
The biggest problem for me with 'KSC' is its length. There are quite a few chapters that could have been cut, without making much difference to the story. Their inclusion makes the novel feel bloated. The opening two hundred pages are pedestrian; lots of football matches and little drama, on or off the field. Then just when the novel seems to be going nowhere, an unexpected (and shocking) moment turns the novel on its head, and off we go in a new direction. It is here that the rather slow opening pays dividends. Hudson used the time to develop his cast, and suddenly you find yourself caring about KSC and its players.
Towards the end, the plot almost descends into farce, and comes close to being too far-fetched, but Hudson just about manages to keep things in check. Despite this, I found the last hundred or so pages utterly compelling, reading late into the night. Which leads me to one final gripe. 'KSC' has an almost perfect ending, with one the best and most enigmatic final lines I have ever read. Sadly there is then an epilogue which ties things off with a neat bow, taking the edge off a wonderful finish. I would love to know whether or not this final chapter was added at an editor's request.
'TKSC' is not a perfect novel, but it is an entertaining, light-hearted examination of football's more absurd excesses. A rich cast of characters and an intriguing plot, which is brought to fruition using an unusual structure in the novel's final section, make this a satisfying read.
Set in an alternate reality, where Great Britain are World Cup winners, and teams in the Premier League include Cardiff, Hearts and Putney Bridge, the novel's world is recognisable yet very different to our own. This device is both a strength and a weakness. The reader has no preconceptions about the teams in the book, meaning anything can happen without treading on the toes of football history, but it does make it hard for the reader to identify with any of the teams in the novel. The author wants us to want KSC to win, but its difficult to care whether they manage to beat Rojo Madrid or get thrashed by Clapham Rovers.
For the KSC players and back room staff, Hudson has created a host of vivid and interesting characters. The novel is essentially about the battle between Esther and Aisling, two heiress of the KSC owning family. Aisling, being the oldest, inherited the club, but it is Esther who loves football. The struggle between the sisters is an epic Greek Tragedy, that flows one way and then the other several times before the novel's conclusion. Behind these two women, often changing sides, are the players and management team. There are heroes and villains, straight-talkers and oily manipulators, and in some cases exactly who is what is not revealed until the book's climactic ending.
The biggest problem for me with 'KSC' is its length. There are quite a few chapters that could have been cut, without making much difference to the story. Their inclusion makes the novel feel bloated. The opening two hundred pages are pedestrian; lots of football matches and little drama, on or off the field. Then just when the novel seems to be going nowhere, an unexpected (and shocking) moment turns the novel on its head, and off we go in a new direction. It is here that the rather slow opening pays dividends. Hudson used the time to develop his cast, and suddenly you find yourself caring about KSC and its players.
Towards the end, the plot almost descends into farce, and comes close to being too far-fetched, but Hudson just about manages to keep things in check. Despite this, I found the last hundred or so pages utterly compelling, reading late into the night. Which leads me to one final gripe. 'KSC' has an almost perfect ending, with one the best and most enigmatic final lines I have ever read. Sadly there is then an epilogue which ties things off with a neat bow, taking the edge off a wonderful finish. I would love to know whether or not this final chapter was added at an editor's request.
'TKSC' is not a perfect novel, but it is an entertaining, light-hearted examination of football's more absurd excesses. A rich cast of characters and an intriguing plot, which is brought to fruition using an unusual structure in the novel's final section, make this a satisfying read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dull, insipid, repetitious
I bought this book based on a review in The Sunday Times, normally a reasonably good for source for reading material. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Cavarodossi
A big-hearted, twinkly-eyed story teller
Is The Kilburn Social Club really a book about football? I think different readers will have different opinions - and actually, I wonder what Hudson would say himself. Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2009 by Sally
Loved it
Hardly ever write reviews but motivated by the brainless 2-star review above. When you get around to reading the book (and you really should), if you can say with a straight face... Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2009 by Hoopla
A story lacking any heritage.......
The Kilburn Social Club (KSC) is a Premier League football team with heritage. Built an run using the money from the Rosslare Group, a conglomerate of questionable origin, the... Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2009 by A. Barlow
Addictive stuff: intelligent and highly readable
This is a really good read, with a truly original story line. The Kilburn Social Club at the centre of the book is as much an intriguing social experiment as a football club. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2009 by Z. Norgate
The Kilburn Social Club
The Kilburn Social Club - Robert Hudson
A book to unite football fans and fiction lovers seems such an obviously winning formula that after reading this novel, it's easy... Read more
A book to unite football fans and fiction lovers seems such an obviously winning formula that after reading this novel, it's easy... Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2009 by Leyla Sanai
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