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Eleven Seasons

3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 · rating details · 70 ratings · 22 reviews

Some guys are good at school and telling jokes or they have the latest stuff. Others are cricketers and basketball players: they can do things with the ball that make their classmates talk about them when they're not around. His thing is football. He becomes the centre of whichever team he plays for: he becomes the advantage.

Melbourne, 1985. Jason Dalton sits on his bed an...more

Paperback, 280 pages

Published April 27th 2012 by Allen & Unwin (first published 2012)

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Nov 11, 2012 Eirene Hogan rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of a boy growing up in Melbourne in the late 80s, living in Hawthorn and barracking for the mighty Hawks during their magnificent reign of that period.

But it tells more than just the story of football in a boy’s life as a fan. Football also plays a key role in the boy’s personal development, in his ambitions and hopes for his future. But at the same time the story shows what can be a down side of football; of how a town’s blind admiration for a footy player can hide the bad beh...more This is the story of a boy growing up in Melbourne in the late 80s, living in Hawthorn and barracking for the mighty Hawks during their magnificent reign of that period.

But it tells more than just the story of football in a boy’s life as a fan. Football also plays a key role in the boy’s personal development, in his ambitions and hopes for his future. But at the same time the story shows what can be a down side of football; of how a town’s blind admiration for a footy player can hide the bad behaviour on that individual’s part.

It also talks about the effects of social shame, of how a person’s ambitions can be ruined by social shame.

Jason Dalton is a boy living in a poor house with his mum. His father is not on the scene. Jason pines for the father he doesn't have. He turns to football to find a direction in his life and while there finds a mentor who fills -- just a little -- the hole his missing father has created in his life.

The story examines the effect of poverty, of single parenting, of the pressures and hardships for both Jason and his mother. I won’t give away the punchline -- and there are a couple in the story -- but the novel examines very well the pressures and stresses on a youth’s life when faced with economic hardship and a dysfunctional family.

I have only one disappointment with the book, and that is the brief way in which the death of his mother’s parents is treated. It is as if the author didn’t want the parents there, so simply dismissed them with, “my mother’s parents died before I was born.’ It is treated very lightly and yet it would have been devastating for the young girl and added enormously to her problems, and would be another empty hole in the boy’s life. Because it doesn’t feature I feel it unbalances the novel a little.

But apart from that it is a very good read, well worth it. It is a great examination of the life of one of these disengaged “drop out” youths and the reasons behind and causes of their problems.
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Sep 11, 2012 Le koala Lit rated it 4 of 5 stars

Je lis Eleven Seasons de Paul Carter qui a récemment reçu le Prix Vogel qui récompense une fois par an des manuscrits non-publiés de jeunes auteurs (moins de 35 ans).

Le roman se compose de 2 parties à quelques années d’intervalle.

1985-1989
Jason D… a 13 ans au début du roman. Il est passionné de « footy » (australian rules), vit une vie normale d’adolescent avec sa mère célibataire. Il ne fait pas parti de la bande cool du collège, il ne parle pas aux filles, il collectionne les cartes de ses jou...more Je lis Eleven Seasons de Paul Carter qui a récemment reçu le Prix Vogel qui récompense une fois par an des manuscrits non-publiés de jeunes auteurs (moins de 35 ans).

Le roman se compose de 2 parties à quelques années d’intervalle.

1985-1989
Jason D… a 13 ans au début du roman. Il est passionné de « footy » (australian rules), vit une vie normale d’adolescent avec sa mère célibataire. Il ne fait pas parti de la bande cool du collège, il ne parle pas aux filles, il collectionne les cartes de ses joueurs préférés de l’équipe d’hawthorn, et imagine a travers eux son père. Sa mère a du mal à joindre les 2 bouts. Elle travaille comme infirmière plus de 60 heures par semaine, et compte beaucoup sur son fils. Après plusieurs tentatives, il réussit à la convaincre de le laisser jouer au footy (trop dangereux). Il y excelle mais néglige ces études. Sa mère est trop souvent absente. Il dérive et rencontre d’autres jeunes qui sont «cools ». Ils fument, boivent et l’entrainent de plus en plus loin.

Il tombe fou amoureux aussi, de Daphné.

En 1989, il est le meilleur joueur de l’équipe des Falcons et se voit offrir une place pour un stage intensif avec l’équipe pro d’Hawthorn.

1991-1995
Nous retrouvons Jason. Toujours perdu, il est de retour à Melbourne. Il habite chez Barnaby et s’attache de son chien maltraité. Il déménage chez Erin, s’entiche de Zoé et pense toujours à son amour de lycée, Daphné. Il se sent différent de ces co-équipiers du footy. Puis un jour, un évènement lui sert d’électrochoc. Il part retrouver son père à Echuca, et connaitre enfin son histoire.

Je vous laisse découvrir la fin de ce roman d’apprentissage.

Dans ce roman tout tourne autour du sport national, le footy. Ne connaissant pas les règles et n’ayant jamais assisté à un match, j’étais d’abord septique. Finalement, je me suis laissée happer par le style simple de l’auteur. Le footy n’est qu’en périphérie du récit (les longues descriptions de match et d’entrainement m’ont laisse de marbre), l’histoire pourrait se passer à Toulouse, Chicago ou Berlin. Les sentiments de Jason sont ceux de tous les ados qui se sentent incompris, il est égoïste et révolté.
A vous de voir !

Publié en mai 2012 chez Allen & Unwin, AUD$29.99
Parution en France: Indisponible en France pour le moment(less)

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Jun 27, 2012 Steve lovell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rohan Wilson’s ‘The Roving Party’, the 2011 Vogel Award winner for best new talent on the Australian writing scene, set the bar high. It was an exemplary delve into Tasmania’s dark past. Despite the excellence of his predecessor though, this year’s successful candidate more than measures up. We can rest assured that with the quality of this nation’s younger generation of authors our literary heritage is in competent hands.
Carter’s ‘Eleven Seasons’ is a compulsive read, again taking us back in ti...more
Rohan Wilson’s ‘The Roving Party’, the 2011 Vogel Award winner for best new talent on the Australian writing scene, set the bar high. It was an exemplary delve into Tasmania’s dark past. Despite the excellence of his predecessor though, this year’s successful candidate more than measures up. We can rest assured that with the quality of this nation’s younger generation of authors our literary heritage is in competent hands.
Carter’s ‘Eleven Seasons’ is a compulsive read, again taking us back in time but into a more recent past, still bleak in places, but possessing more optimism than in the case of ‘The Roving Party’. It explores, as well, the recesses of the human mind, but his time without the violence, but one that is troubled nonetheless. The book’s young hero, born of struggletown in inner suburban Melbourne, receives setback after setback, but picks up, dusts off and continues his journey. He sees Aussie Rules footy as a means of escaping the treadmill into a shining future and he has the talent, if not so much the maturity, to do so. Like this reader the character is devoted to the Hawthorn Hawks and the pages are peppered with the names of brown and gold heroes of the glory years back in the eighties and early nineties. It turns out the author himself is a Collingwood supporter, so why not have our protagonist barracking for the Maggies? Perhaps it may have made the novel too autobiographical?
Nothing that happens in the book is greatly earth-shattering as we are led through Jason (Dalts) Dalton’s young life from school days to early adulthood. There is a mystery concerning his father to contemplate and resolve, and relationships with girls/women to negotiate. Firstly there’s oddball Daphne from his school days, an accommodating prostitute, an older woman in Zoe and alternative uni student Erin. All have a positive influence, but not so some of the likely lads from his footy clubs who lead him astray with their misogyny towards women. The father-figure, Arnie, is a fine creation on the part of the author. We do know though from the get go that he will have to come to terms with the nature of his conception,and that takes him on a journey in several senses of the word as he attempts to cure the ache in his soul. This could have bought the novel undone with a too cheesy or explosive conclusion, but Carter handles it all with delicacy.
This is a gentle, well-wrought story of redemption, the power of a mother’s love and the influence of sport, both for good and negative. It is a cautionary tale of where decisions made can lead to the end of dreams. I do remember the footy the period reasonably well and I am not sure the terms ‘corridor’ or ‘tagger’ were in use then, but that aside, Carter captures the tone and tenor of our indigenous game well, and of course I loved the references to the great Hawthorn players of the time.
I was very sad to leave the life of Dalts – I very much wanted the story to continue on up to the present day – maybe there is a sequel???????? Whether this awaits or not I’ll follow the career of Paul D Carter with interest, although perhaps not with quite as much fervour as I do my beloved Hawks.
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May 25, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher

The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award is awarded for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five. The winner receives up to $20,000 in prize money and is published by Allen & Unwin. This years winner, Paul D Carter, is a high school teacher who admits it took him almost 9 years to write Eleven Seasons.

Eleven Seasons is essentially a coming of age story, Jason Dalton is thirteen years old in 1985 when the book opens, and since this book is set in Melbourne, it is VFL (...more
The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award is awarded for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five. The winner receives up to $20,000 in prize money and is published by Allen & Unwin. This years winner, Paul D Carter, is a high school teacher who admits it took him almost 9 years to write Eleven Seasons.

Eleven Seasons is essentially a coming of age story, Jason Dalton is thirteen years old in 1985 when the book opens, and since this book is set in Melbourne, it is VFL (now known as the AFL), that is his obsession. Jason lives with his mother, a hardworking nurse who is largely absent from his life, in a tiny shabby flat finding solace in music, television and his beloved football team, Hawthorn. As he navigates the trials of adolescence - friendships, girls, drugs and alcohol, Jason dreams of becoming a professional football player and nurtures his talent for the sport with single minded dedication. His mother's lack of support cuts deeply though and on the day of his biggest success, his mother reveals a shocking secret that blows his world apart.
The Australian male obsession with sports, football of one type or another in particular, is well known and Carter draws heavily on this in Eleven Seasons. This is not only a book about the love of the game, even if it seems like it at times, but also a means for Carter to explore masculinity and male identity. Football seems to offer Jason the things he lacks - male role models, a sense of belonging and the potential of success. When that dissolves, Jason is left floundering, and must piece together an identity from his shattered hopes. Carter's characterisation of Jason is crafted with surprising subtlety. It's not easy to balance a masculine swagger with male vulnerabilities but the author does so and Jason feels familiar and authentic.
I like how casually Carter portrayed Jason's relationships with his mates, he captures the uniqueness of the male bond which seems to rely more heavily on external shared factors and proximity than female relationships do. Arnie is a quietly heroic character, a mentor to Jason both on and off the field. I love that Arnie welcomes Jason on his return, as if Jason hadn't simply disappeared for a few years without a word.
I'm not terribly keen on the few female characters in Eleven Seasons, they tend to be either victims or emotionally negligent, or both. Jason's mother in particular is an odd character and her relationship with Jason is complex. I felt more pity than sympathy for her though and didn't think her likeable.

I have to admit I didn't find Eleven Seasons a compelling read, not being a football fan I was more than a little dismissive, but on reflection I discovered that Jason had gotten under my skin. This is a uniquely Australian novel of surprising depth and a deserving winner of the Vogel.(less)

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May 07, 2012 Carly Cornish rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-aussie-ya

Eleven Seasons is a gritty, realistic story of a young man trying to figure out who he is.
Carter portrays the Australian footy culture brilliantly. His narrative and descriptions rekindled my own memories of standing huddled in the cold, wearing a thick parka, watching my brothers' matches.
The strongest point of this book was the character development. As a female, I never really connect with male protagonists, but I felt so much for the main character, Jason. I got what he was feeling.
Althou...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

See my full review here:
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The aspect of this book that appealed to me most was the setting – Melbourne in the eighties and early nineties (despite the blurb above, it’s not about Brisbane). More specifically, Eleven Seasons is set in the suburbs where I grew up – references to Victoria Park in Hawthorn, Burnley train station, the Fun Factory in South Yarra and a crumby student flat opposite the cemetery in Carlton could have all been scenes lifted from my l...more

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May 13, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Disappointing read. Carter's writing is plodding and didn't engage me. The dialogue felt contrived, as though it's how an adult thinks teenagers speak rather than how they do. Of course there's no science to it, but you know when the author gets these things right, and I don't think Carter does. The relationship between the main character and his mum - pivotal to the story - also doesn't ring true. For example, early in the book one of the issues is the mum never comes to watch him play football...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Merilyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Don't know who the target audience was for this one. Lots of in depth references to Aussie Rules, but the storyline would appeal more to women. I got the feeling that the author was trying to engage young males by including the football details, I just don't think that's going to work - like performing a ballet about football, doesn't make me think too many blokes would be rushing off to see it!
If you were to skim read through the footie references, you will find an interesting story of a couple...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

While I was reading this, I wondered if a non-AFL supporter would get it. On reflection, yes they would. Because it's very much about the young boy's dream to become an elite footballer. Something that I guess young boys (and girls) all over the world aspire to. But it's set in Hawthorn (Melb)so it's easy to visualize the places the young footballer talks about. I suppose you may call it a "coming of age" book, because there is a back story about his mum, and believe me, there is much more to th...more

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May 23, 2012 Amanda Cassidy rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

I was initially very frustrated in the way Christine worked so much and didnt spend any time with Jason, she could see that he was heading for trouble and it didnt really seem that she was intrested enough in Jason to guide him in the right direction. But when the family secret came out it was heart breaking for her but also for Jason, knowning that secret de-railed his world, while the weight seemed to be lifted off Christine's shoulders.
Even though I am not a big football fan, it was in intres...more

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May 05, 2013 Dale Harcombe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.I admit I am a huge AFL (Australian Football for those of you overseas) fan. Though I follow a different team to Jason Dalton, the character in this book who has a passion for the Hawthorn Hawks , there was enough detail included for me to remember watching some of those players talked about on TV. Being a footy tragic I found this emphasis on football made the book highly readable.
Jason is a boy from inner city Melbourne who lives in a rundown place with his mother who i...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was a little disappointed in this book. I found the characters were shallow and unengaging, the story was quite repetitive and so much was left unexplained. I felt there was a lot more to the boy's character which could have been explored - for example, the breakdown in his boyhood friendship, his life on the Gold Coast, dalliances with drugs, his mother's life and relationships, his academic underachievement, his preference for manual work. It seemed to me to be a series of episodes based aro...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Book Bazaar rated it 4 of 5 stars

The main character of this Vogel Award winning novel was a great study of an angry young man. He takes on huge responsibility at home to help his Mum who works shift work as a nurse but as he grows older, school gets harder and his Mum doesn't understand his passion for sport. Despite the sporting passion which isn't my thing, this was an engaging novel that I really enjoyed. Perfect for the audience of books like Scott Monk's "Raw".

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Nov 04, 2012 Kathy Landvogt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Local Melbourne footy action, lots of it (maybe slightly too much?) provides a down to earth context for the young fellow growing up amidst his family's, and indeed society's, particular pathologies. Good stuff, especially for a first novel.

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Dec 30, 2012 Sacha rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book started off slowly for me and I'm not interested in football! Still I persevered and came to care about the central character Jason and where his life would lead him. A good read.

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Oct 06, 2012 Phillip Dalton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant - very engaging and cleverly written. Great use of Melbourne geography to add colour and depth to the story too.

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Mar 25, 2013 Anne Mackelvie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just kept getting better the more I read. Enjoyed the Melbourne setting. Very sad truths revealed about footy culture...

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May 01, 2012 Kait rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read this in basically two sittings. Beautiful, artfully done. Very worthy of the Vogel.

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Jun 20, 2012 Deborah rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good Australian coming-of-age story. I am not interested in AFL, which is a theme of this book, but it didn't deter me from reading.

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Mar 18, 2013 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Teenage boy. Slow paced. Ok

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Feb 09, 2013 Ros rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-group-possibles

What at first seemed as if it was going to be an adolescent sport book, became a thoroughly engrossing single mother/son relationship novel. An extremely accomplished first novel.

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Aug 23, 2012 Brenda Kittelty rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book - on the surface so simple but dig a little deeper to a complex and layered story about a young man's difficult relationship to his damaged mother. It didn't hurt that I'm a Hawthorn tragic from the same generation either - very nostalgic for me as well.

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Jul 18, 2012 Michael Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nails the details of growing up in eighties Melbourne. The Fun Factory even makes an appearance!

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May 02, 2013 Sanjitha Dissanayake rated it 1 of 5 stars

May 01, 2013 Alexandra Grimwade rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Paul D. Carter

Paul D. Carter was born in Melbourne and spent much of his youth going to Collingwood Football matches with his Dad and brother, Marcus. In 2001, Paul completed a Bachelor of Arts with honours from Deakin University and, in 2008 completed a PhD while writing Eleven Seasons. In writing Eleven Seasons, Paul was able to integrate his own experience of growing up in Melbourne in the 1980s with his kee...more

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