GQ described this book as "tears-rolling-down-your-face funny" which I'd call a bit of a stretch, but it was still a good read. I'm not a big reader of autobiographies, never mind ones which are woven around the life and times of a football team, but this definitely had its moments. The episodic nature of the book, especially with flashes looking back and forward, left it a little disjointed. Sometimes a theme would run through several sections in a row, other times they were just little sociological observations and not much related to the rest of the narrative.

The other thing that made the book odd is that it follows football through a period when I wasn't interested in it at all. I didn't get even a hint of the bug until Euro 1996, and it's only in the last 4 years or so of going out with Mike that I've begun to pay much attention to the ups and downs of the premier league. So the fortunes of a first division team back when that still meant the top division are a little odd. And the picture of Arsenal as unsuccessful and unloved seems odd to me, when they recently had some very good years, and when Manchester United seems to be the team everyone loves to hate.

Even so the obsession of the true football fan isn't something I come close to really understanding even now, and it's interesting to see someone trying to paint a picture of that, and I think he succeeds well. I can't quite fit this rather negative view of himself with the author of books like High Fidelity and A Long Way Down. He paints a picture of one for whom human interaction is somehow not as important as usual, when they're books of great humanity, and he certainly shows no hint that he might become at some point such a successful author. Perhaps he didn't yet know that yes, he *was* born with the talent to be a professional, as rare as that is. ( )

Yes, it is true. Nick Hornby let someone else take his girlfriend to the hospital at an Arsenal game. For all Americans who think that their fandom is passionate (except Tampa Bay fans) try this book out. It is a comic, heartfelt love sotry between a man and his team. We always die in midseason. It earns 4 stars for enjoyability, but maybe 3 stars for the non-football fan. ( )

An original memoir, written entirely around various football (soccer) games. Well-written, completely engaging, and only slightly too focused on football for a non-fan, Fever Pitch takes you down the road with Mr. Hornby from youth to adulthood. When I picked this book up to read it, I thought it was a novel. He held my attention so well, I devoured it in a matter of days, reading only in brief glimpses. Great for commuting or reading in snippets, as it's divvied up into brief chapters matching the games he's chosen to write about here. Well balanced, plotted, and easily read, with plenty of chances to recognize your own obsession as he describes his own. ( )

A humorous, self-effacing memoir of the novelist's almost lifelong obsession with the English football club Arsenal. A bit dated now because it ends in 1992, but provides insight to the rabid fandom that has been the cause of both pride and tragedy. ( )

Hornby writes a memoir of his life through the prism of his fandom of the Arsenal football club. Each entry starts with a particular football match but spins out from there to include details of Hornby's life, family, career, and how the fate of his team reflects the ebb and flow of his life. It's a great personal analysis of fandom, sports obsession, and group identity. If you've seen either of the films supposedly based on this book keep in mind that this is a memoir not a novel and there is no "love triangle" element in which a man is caught between the sport and a woman.

Even though this book has been adapted into two different movies that make it out as a love triangle among man, woman, and the sport he's obsessed with, this book is not a novel. It's a memoir about soccer in the same way that Rocky is about boxing or Jaws is about a shark. Hornby uses memories of his beloved Gunners matches as a launching point to tell stories of his life, his obsession, and worldview. He also examines English culture and sporting life as it changes over the course of his life. A funny and insightful memoirs, this book is NOT just for sports' fans. ( )