Taking a quick break from football talk on the blog, here are some short reviews of the three books I’ve finished since last the last time we did this.
A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers
A Closed and Common Orbit is the follow up book to one of my favorite books of the year The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. However, if you’re expecting this to be another 400 page adventure in space, traveling to strange new worlds, seeking out new life, and new civilizations aboard the Wayfarer you’re in for a bit of a surprise.
Instead of the continuing voyages of the starship Wayfarer Chambers splits the novel into two stories, one about the backstory of colorful character Pepper who was introduced toward the end of TLWTASAP and the other picks up the story about the Wayfarer’s artificial intelligence, Lovelace, after the end of The Long Way.
Chambers continues to explore many themes from The Long Way such as gender fluidity and inter-species romance while adding some new topics for her to explore such as the way that consumer culture discards both things and the people needed to build and re-build them. Much of Pepper’s life was spent on a planet where one people lived in wealth and safety, consuming things and then discarding them. Pepper lived in the discard pile – a filthy, dangerous, wasteland – and was forced to scrap for a literal living.
I enjoyed this novel just as much as the first. Chambers’ writing is clear and evocative and her characters have a real likeability. I was eager to get to read this book every night.
The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman
Avie and I have a nightly reading habit: one night, I read to him; the other night, he reads to me. We try to do a chapter a night, just before bed. He’s 13 now so it’s not quite as fun for him as it was when he was little but it’s one of those things that I sort of insist on as a dad. This month we read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and here’s my review: look, it’s Neil Gaiman, it’s a tween book, and if you have a pre-teen in your house, they might like it, between eye-rolls.
Personally, I find his writing style to be a bit difficult to follow. It takes a lot of concentration and reading out loud often required me to stop, back up, and re-read many sections. But in spite of his sort of dense and almost impenetrable voice, Gaiman always brings a creative angle to old myths.
Here he spins the tale of an orphaned child raised by ghosts in a graveyard. The boy gets into a number of (mis) adventures and Gaiman uses this as a platter on which to serve up an entirely new cosmology of ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and witches.
It’s good fun and if you’re patient and read it with a dictionary you might even learn a new word, like Baronet.
An Ethnography of English Football Fans: Cans, Cops, and Carnivals – Geoff Pearson
Unless you took upper level Anthropology in college, the chances are pretty slim that you’ve read an ethnography. The classic ethnography is one where an Anthropologist lives in a culture (in the old days this was always an “unknown” culture) for many years, taking notes, and then writing about how that culture works (their myths, structures, and so on) in fairly scientific, dry, detail. There’s usually a section on methodology and almost always a section on the theories (basically details of their reading list) they used to come to their conclusions. After that section is when we usually get to the experiential description which is then followed by a conclusion. The conclusions section is often rapid fire summation of the (usually) hundreds of observations and how they support the theory.
Cans, Cops, and Carnivals continues in the old Ethnographic tradition and I’ll be honest that if I wasn’t intensely interested in the topic, I probably would have put this book down. In fact, I’ve had this book checked out from the library for six years* and I’ve picked it up and put it back down more times than I care to admit.
But after the events of Euro 2020 in London, with the scenes of fans openly doing coke and stuffing flares in their ass, I thought “maybe I should plow through the methodology section and see what ole Geoff has to say about why these England fans so crazy.” I’m glad that I did and only wish I’d read this book in 2008.
We all know that American sports fans and English sports fans are very different but sometimes the depth of that difference is misunderstood. For example, American fans go to the game to see the game. Whereas English fans, with their cultural history of carnival, go to the game for the entire experience and plan their entire week (sometimes) around getting that sort of carnival atmosphere going. In fact, going to a match and not even having tickets (especially for big away games) is a regular occurance. They are going for the “atmos” and as Pearson points out “the craic” (fun).
The USA sports fans have analogous events such as widespread tailgating before College Football games and gathering at pubs before soccer matches but from my experiences (at Wembley and away days to Munich and Liverpool) the British expression is often louder, more communal, and more destructive. As well as more colorful, fun, and (frankly) wild. As Pearson points out, the point of the carnival is transgression of social norms (within the confines of the rules of the carnival).
What we were seeing at Euro 2020 was carnival on a national scale. So, what looked to me like rioting (which we get here in the States when our teams win) before a game (which would be weird as hell in the States) was actually just “good craic”. Euro 2020 was a carnival in London. The intent was to break social norms.
Another thing I look back on with horror are my experiences as an away fan. Pearson explains in detail why the attitude toward “tourists” is so antagonistic. Just the simple fact that I was getting a ticket meant that I was taking a seat, an experience, away from another fan who might have spent years building up enough credits with the club to get that same seat. Here in the States, scalping isn’t just expected it’s applauded in many cases. But in a fan culture where going to the matches with your friends is the point, a foreigner buying a ticket from a tout for several times the face value is a massive power imbalance. It’s no wonder at least one other supporter told me he wanted to punch my face in, just meeting me.
Of course, it’s different if you have friends there and they give you one of their tickets. When that happens, you’re part of the crew. But getting tickets through a tout is as if someone came into your neighborhood, bought up all the houses, and turned them into Air BnBs. Those people renting those houses aren’t your neighbors. They aren’t your friends. And they often don’t show the same respect for your community as the long-term residents. It was just a function of my extreme privilege that I was able to do those things and while I treasure those memories I look back on some of the things I did with great shame. If you were to ask me how to get tickets to a game now, I would tell you to go through the official channels or ask a friend.
The other thing I never quite understood during my time going to Arsenal matches is the relationship that fans have with police. Here in the States, the police forces are frightening at almost all times. Police here can and do kill people, public executions for the smallest crimes which are almost always justified because a cop says he “feels threatened”. Americans, by and large, accept this from our police. In fact, many Americans celebrate this version of extreme policing.
British supporters, however, have a very different relationship with the police. Of course there are incidents of police brutality and overreach by police (Geoff Pearson details them, of course) but a lot of the discourse over policing in the UK is more about making the police more accountable for fans getting out of control rather than blaming the fans for their “rioting”. Pearson provides detailed sociological studies which show that when police learn to accept and expect the “carnival”, the fans tend to react less violently. This happens for a number of reasons but a big part of it is that the fan-groups are self-policing.
For example, when the cops forcefully clear a pub before a match, and then corral the away fans into an escorted walk to the match, this generally sets up a resentful mood among supporters, which often results in more violence. And when police instead stand off and let the carnival mostly happen on its own, when they treat the supporters with respect not cursing them or pushing them with batons, the fans get a bit wild but will generally self-correct and other supporters will often intervene before someone gets out of control.
I experienced this myself in Munich with the Arsenal supporters. Both times we had gathered in the area in front of the Hofbrauhaus for two nights in a row and the second night we were greeted with a police presence. The polizei were armed with HKs and brandished them but they stood on the periphery and just let us goblins smash things and sing songs. And Arsenal fans were smashing things! Several fans had bought cases of bottled beer and when they finished them would smash them on the cobblestone streets. The cops didn’t look particularly perturbed and before kickoff a few of our more vocal fans organized the march to the game. It was full of singing and happy voices (even if we needed to score three goals) and I barely remember the police at all on the long march to the trains and at the game.
This whole section of the book did a lot to explain to me why the police were blamed by so many fans for the violence at Euro 2020. And I think that the USA could really learn some lessons from the way that the UK and other police forces are used.
Overall, this book is what I would consider a must read for all foreign fans. It’s dry, it’s often repetitive (ethnographers repeat things repetitively), but it’s a handbook for understanding English football fan culture and their fans. I’m only mad that I didn’t read it years ago.
*This is possible at my library because we have bottomless renewals as long as no one else requests the book
Tim your write up of the Pearson book reminds me of the days back in my 20s as an undergrad when I used to inhale this stuff, no not the coke, and I was probably wiser and better informed as a result.
It’s absolutely true, British society is liable to slip into “carnival rules” at the slightest excuse, and you could almost say that this semi-permanent state of performative rebellion is one of the definitive aspects of working class culture. It’s a continual redefinition of the limits of our consent to be governed, controlled and policed and I’d forgotten all of that.
The fact that it is performative is important as well, fans are never really as crazy as they look, the really dangerous groups are usually the quiet ones.
Flipping it around, I’d also never really thought about how that might be different in the US, with a different history of race and class, it seems to me over there that public misbehaviour is always a bit more real, the stakes are higher.
I’ve been re-reading Gravity’s Rainbow, it’s an absolute doorstop and a nightmare to read so I kind of hate it, it reminds me of Moby Dick so you would probably hate it. But on the other hand Pynchon seriously knows how to choose good words and put them in the right order, better than anyone else I ever read. Sometimes I’ll read a sentence so good I have to put the book down for a bit while I get my head around it.
I’ve never read Gravity’s Rainbow but for some reason I’ve heard of it. Why is it so familiar? Is this one of those books a lot of people like to shit on or something?
It crops up all the time on those lists of Greatest American Novels, but some people think it’s impossible. Kind of like Ulysses by Joyce.
Gravity’s Rainbow is far worse than Ulysses. More like Finnegan’s Wake. A good writer showing off by being purposely difficult to read.
“English fans, with their cultural history of carnival, go to the game for the entire experience and plan their entire week (sometimes) around getting that sort of carnival atmosphere going”.
This resonated. That is the exact experience of watching cricket in the Caribbean; the only difference being that the well-sauced preferred high-decibel arguments about a game they’d only seen three-fifths of, rather than to break things. For the 5-day games (test cricket) of 25 years ago, you lugged picnic baskets of proper, cooked meals (not merely sandwiches and stuff — food you had to dish and serve), and much liquor and beer. Most stayed within the limits of consumption and behaviour; a few did not. Music, of course, was a must. Traditionalists stayed away from the party stands. I recently ventured into one to look for a friend. It’s a miracle that my hearing is still intact. How on earth do the have conversations? (they do).
I’m not smart enough to analyse why our carnival-like experience was different. When the pandemic is over — if it ever is — I highly recommend watching a game of short form cricket (T20) to my American fellow gooners here.
Makes me think of the “carnival” around the storming of the Capitol this year. Dudes in crazy hats, costumes, flags. But also Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and pipe bombs.
Well.. sort of, I guess you could draw parallels. Though, one group is out to just have fun while slightly breaking the rules and the other group was out to, you know, overthrow the elected government and install a megalomaniacal tyrant.
Yeah sorry that’s what I meant in my comment. US public transgressive behaviour as a whole lot more serious
Well that was thoroughly deserved. I don’t know what was worse – our performance, the officiating, our embarrassing time-wasting with 30 mins to go, Nketiah and Auba’s misses or Godfrey’s kung fu. Probably just all of it.
Also did Xhaka’s contract extension state that if he’s not in the injury room then he has to play? And did Pepe sign a secret one saying he’s not allowed to play any more?
My overwhelming urge is to salute Demarai Gray for a magnificent strike. If he could score from THERE, he deserves the goal.
Still, you wish that Tomi had closed him down, instead of doing that Mustafi-like backward shuffle. if the team had watched tapes of Everton, Tomi would show a right-footed, left-side attacker the OUTSIDE. Tomi showed the attacker the side of his favoured foot. Youd be right to tell me that Im a keyboard coach who never kicked a ball competitively, but that’s basic defending. However, Gray still had a lot to do.
Xhaka and Ben White shadow/marked Richarlison without putting in a challenge. Again, back off and not close down. Frustrating when we defend like that.
What a ball from Xhaka to Eddie… what a miss by Eddie with Pickford out of the picture. Still, Everton were the better team, and deserved to win.
There’s talk of us pursuing Calvert-Lewin. Richarlison should be our target. What perseverance.
Bright spot? I thought that MO8 was terrific playing the 10.
Yes – really relieved to see MO8’s performance. His best of the season. Much more tempo. He has taken a few games to round into form. Which leads me to my biggest criticism of Arteta. He played 2 guys who hadn’t been on the pitch in over a month, along with a new striker, and no ESR. That’s how you get a very disjointed performance. Too many rusty players trying to integrate into a side simultaneously. You only do that in extreme situations. Both Tierney and Xhaka could have been subs. No reason to start them. Abysmal coaching. Dreadful lack of attacking and a defensive collapse. Our roster is way better than the performance we had.
I wish it weren’t true, but I think the Kroenkes are staying with Arteta till the end of the season. This is us.
There is so much rich and dense stuff in these reviews, Tim. Im going to try to pick up the Chambers. Sounds like a nicely woven tale.
On the football, I remember watching the Flu-Fla derby at the Maracana about a decade ago (wearing Flamengo shirts like our hosts), and being held back from leaving our section by Rio police until it was safe to do so. That was certainly an eye-opener about footballing passions. Apparently really bad things would have happened to us if we’d come across a crowd of Fluminense die hards.
I have to smile watching Jack Nicholson, Spike Lee and Drake courtside at NBA games.
20 years of living in England never really warmed me to the England national team. The reason is the football diehards. This is great insight into what makes them tick, but it doesnt make me like them any more.
Reading this, I just realised that thinking about mob behaviour has me a bit traumatised right now. I wish we had sports as the arena rather than religio-f*scist politics. Scary as that can be at times, it seems like a far healthier outlet.
On Greg’s point about higher stakes, I wonder if it has anything to do with having been a British colony. Not that I have anything to back that up right now. Just a thought.
Yeah probably part of it, in that we never had to fight for our own independence. We have generally been happy with our tyrants because they were being tyrannical against everybody else on our behalf (you’re welcome).
Britain had its own civil wars, but even in the big one where we executed the king and went without one for a while, they were just factional wars between different sets of elites.
I feel like we have fought *against* plenty of people, but domestically, as a society the English never really fought *for* anything. I’m not sure how accurate that is.
Well, congrats to Everton, they were resilient and Richarlison put the ball in the net twice on the slimmest of offside calls before they finally scored their goals, and what a thump from Gray. They deserved to win, we didn’t do enough.
It’s becoming a theme.
It was a very well-taken goal from Odegaard but even that only came because Tierney beat his man by accident, miscontrolling it with his knee.
What’s frustrating is that we clearly have it in us to play better than that. Our play out from our own third was mostly effortless and fluid, but then we kind of stopped once the ball was in midfield. There were no forward options, maybe one crossfield option and two or three sideways and backwards ones. We needed more forward movement, more runs and braver passes into the spaces.
One example that really bugged me was the midfielder sitting and waiting for possession in between two opposition players. Receive the ball there and you get tackled / have to pass back.
Move beyond them, away from the ball and suddenly with a little through pass you’re in space and you can turn.
Being slightly generous, I think we have set the platform from which we need to go on and play and win matches, and that second part is just not happening.
I’ll just say I had Arsenal to lose 2-1 on my PL prediction game.