This knocks Hornby's socks off. (A Fan's Notes: A Fictional Memoir - Frederick Exley)

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Product:	A Fan's Notes: A Fictional Memoir - Frederick Exley
Date:	13.12.02 (361 review reads)
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I don't like football, well actually it's more than that, I absolutely detest it, not the game in itself,which is, in my opinion dull, but the supporters, their desparate need to fit in, to find a family of similars. Now before I get a barrige of hate mail,I accept that not every supporter is like that- it's a minority, but for me that's the image that pervails. So why am I making all this clear? Because I am going to say that I found a book, about a football (albeit American Football) fan fascinating and moving. I still have no time for football, neither do a feel a need to read 'lad lit'- but this is excellent writing that far surpasses the likes of Nick Hornby etal who generally write for this market. I tried to read Hornby and failed. Couldn't do it. Thought it was badly written twaddle.

So why did I read this?, a friend mentioned it as a male version of Sylvia Plath. Then presented me with a copy. Which I put off reading. Finally started it a week ago and fairly flew through it.

So what's it about. Your typical American male?- no it is much more complex than that. It starts with the main character in a bar, drukenly cheering on his team- the giants, mimicking the runs by charging up and down the bar and making slurred comments about the team, he lives for that moment, and the rest of his life is sidelined until the football weekend. As a schoolteacher in a small town, he cannot be seen in such a state by the children so has to cary out his weekend activities elsewhere.

The book jumps back and forward in time chronicling a life in an out of public and private mental institiuations, with therapy, shock treatment and insulin therapy used as an attempt
to cure- Exley is different from the norm in thought and has no desire for the normalities of
life such as a steady job, family and membership of the local golf club, early on he muses, what will these people do after the goal of the membership of
the most exclusive club is attained? A good point is made early on- some will always be different and the sooner you realise that the better, many spend years of misery trying to conform.

We then move on to the non football activities, he is frustrated in work, a teaching faculty who ensure everybody passes, no real friends and a wife who is understandably about to leave him.

This is where I took interest, it's not just about a thug, but an intelligent man who sees beyond the facade of country clubs membership and social leeching, he takes solace in a team and fires his emotions at that.

As the book progresses we have more of Exley's background, there are slight references to his mental health at the earlier stages of the book, but as we delve into his past, we see that he has been hospitalised for mental disorder, including insulin and electric shock treatment. He has been depressed and manic, perhaps even borderline schizophrenic at times,the book then moves into the past, exploring his movements through the various jobs and cities, and frequent breaks for recuperation. We get a different picture from the man in the earlier book, more arrogant, womanising and failing in personal relationships. There is a somewhat obsessive relationship with a younger woman called 'Bunny', which results in his impotence, and for me marks a deep change in the character. He seems to have an idealistic view of her, and only really realises her humanity when he takes a trip to see her family, this is the beginning of their end. He also has a problem with her level of sexual experience, it at least equals his and he is intimidated and upset at her normalness, her proof of being an average person instead of this pure being that he has envisaged.

I have no need to go through every instance in the book but will highlight some of the more poignant ones. I actually felt great empathy with the character, some of issues in the book can affe
ct us all, but some are more infuriated than others by certain happenings. For example, he has a short lived job in PR for a missiles company, one of his workmates writes a script for a sales conference, this is to encourage the sales staff- and at one point inserts jingle, 'that's the way the missille works- pop goes the world'. Crass by any level, but loved and promoted by the senior management. He is incredulous of this and the resulting mania leads him further down the path to mental health. The jingle is tastless, but he is the only one that see that- and I must say on a personal note- I see things like that every day at work and am constantly querying- and unfortunately getting nowhere. The path of least resistance seems, for many to be the easiest way, and is frustrating for many others.

He continues in a self destructive way for the remainder of the book.There are too many poignant incidents to discuss any in particular, but it also explores the nature of his few friendships, his subsequent marriage and his production of children, it's a sad tale, in a way it's about someone who is too intelligent for, and disinterested in, the trappings of our society. Alas he cannot deal with being different and is destructive as a result. He realises quite late on that his fate is always to be a fan, never a contender or artist, but that like most he will only sit on the sidelines.

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