Awaydays [Import] [Paperback]

Kevin Sampson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2009

Awaydays has been made into a major film which is due for release in 2009.

It’s 1979 and in Birkenhead, smack and Maggie Thatcher are still less of an issue than Lois jeans and Adidas Forest Hills training shoes. For Paul Carty, 19, and his mystical, Joy Division-loving mate, Elvis, life revolves around The Pack, a mob of violent Tranmere Rovers supporters. Carty and Elvis travel the Northern wastelands, always by train, causing mayhem in the “woollyback” strongholds of Halifax, Crewe and Chesterfield. For most of the mob, The Pack is their reason for living.

But Elvis, who loves Ezra Pound, and Carty, still getting over the death of his mother, are starting to get bored of it all. The question is: will The Pack let them go? And can they get by without each other?

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An excellent debut novel . . . nasty stuff, brilliantly told.”
— Guardian

About the Author

Kevin Sampson is the author of Awaydays, Powder, Outlaws, Freshers, and Stars are Stars. He lives in Liverpool.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Vintage Books (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099539624
• ISBN-13: 978-0099539629
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,164,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Period Teen Angst Novel, January 1, 2003

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Awaydays (Paperback)

Sampson manages several things at once in this slim novel, set in the suburbs of Liverpool over the course of the final six weeks of 1979. The story follows Paul, a middle-class late teen with a government job who lives at home with his decent father and younger sister. His self-identity is wrapped up in his affiliation with a crew of hooligans who support an awful third-division club. His struggle to ingratiate himself with the group, while questioning his own motives and desires is a mirror of every teen's desire to belong to some kind of group. When not describing the prelude to and execution of battles with other club supporters, Paul is perpetually chasing after girls with his best mate Elvis. His friendship with the perpetually crazy and sad Elvis is another running theme, as is his family life, as the family struggles to remain connected after the death of his mother. Some of the slang and period references (especially the fashion) are beyond even British pop-culture aficionados like me, but the story holds together on its own. Not as impressive as John King's trilogy (The Football Factory, Headhunters, England Away), but still a good portrait of a youth trying to come to terms with himself and his future in the midst of a weird little subculture.