A Season With Verona

For some people football is just a game, for Tim Parks it is much more important than that. As an immigrant to Verona, his sense of belonging is inextricably linked to his vehement support for his local team. Even after living in Italy for 20 years, and after writing the bestsellers Italian Neighbours and An Italian Education, Parks strongly identifies his struggle to fit into the local community with the struggles of his adopted football club, Hellas Verona, a team who have to fight a constant battle to maintain their position in Serie A. For many years Parks has been a regular at the Bentegodi stadium, but for the 2000-2001 season he decided that for the first time he would go to every away match too. And that he would write a book about his experiences. The result is not just a travel book, but one that examines the way Italians in general, and Veronese in particular, relate to football, and is jam-packed with hilarious anecdotes and bizarre incidents witnessed by Parks during his year of football fanaticism. Verona might be a much smaller, and less wealthy, club than Juventus, Inter Milan, or Lazio, but their supporters are just as passionate about their team and none more so than Parks. As he journeys around the country Parks encounters the 'brigate' - infamous hardcore fans, uncooperative policemen and hostile opposition terraces. His match descriptions veer from joyous triumph to the depths of despair as Verona fight, amongst persistent rumours of match fixing, to avoid relegation to the despised Serie B. Even non-football fans cannot help but be attracted by the infectious enthusiasm with which he writes about those myopic referees, incompetent players, staunch comrades and incredible goals common to football matches the world over. (Kirkus UK)