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Heartland
It is Spring 2002 in the Black Country, with local elections looming. A mosque is being built on the site where iconic steelworks once dominated the town. "The Tipton Three" are in Guantanamo where the whites-only British National Party expect to win new seats on the council. Rob, once a professional soccer player like his famous father, is now a tracksuited teaching assistant, and a schoolboy whom he is teaching to read is stabbed in a gang attack. Within this cauldron, two local soccer teams, split along racial lines, play a Sunday league decider, billed by the press as "a match to spark race war." While England plays Argentina for the World Cup, the characters gather?Rob, Glenn, Jim, Tom, and Stacey behind the bar?to see what hope and solidarity they still share.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 25, 2015
I've long wondered why so little adult fiction is written in the world of football, as a kid I (and some of my other literary friends) revelled in the exploits of cup winning goalkeepers and superstar strikers from the likes of Rob Childs but somehow, much like cinematic offerings, the sport hasn't seemed to have lent itself easily to adult literature - hooliganism aside. After a combined hunt for articles and lists on the subject we had a place to start that wasn't the obvious Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby or Barry Hines' Kestral for a Knave, but it turns out whilst there may not have been many there have been some quality literary offerings around the world of football. Anthony Cartwright's Heartland is one of the recent ones.
Using football as a device for examining social structures in a similar yet less confronting and enjoyable way as David Storey's This Sporting Life did with Rugby League Cartwright turns his eye to the heart of England in the aftermath of 9/11 and the "fear of the other" that became greatly enhanced in the minds of the everyman, the kind of lunacy that is still pushing unsavoury types from the BNP in to positions of potential power. Read sporadically whilst revising for exams, including the wake of another shocking terrorist attack on white westerners that got a lot of media attention, the subject matter of Heartland was suddenly increasingly relevant as lunatics were allowed to froth hatred in the public arena towards people of a different colour and religion out of fear of their otherness and it be condoned by otherwise sane individuals. This is just one of the things that Cartwright got absolutely right.
The other highly successful aspect is his writing about the sport, the act of playing football, whether the artful nature of the professional or the passionate attempts of the amateur, the exquisite agony of watching your football team and the way in which people interact with great meaning over what can be, has been, will be, referred to as just a load of poofters chasing a ball around some grass. This stuff is brilliant, and setting it in 2002 not only brought back so many memories from my own life but impressively managed to accurately capture and recall the zeitgeist of the time. And not just the hilarity that comes from remembering all of the times we dreamed that England could win the World Cup with a team that included such luminaries as Danny Mills, Trevor Sinclair and Emile Heskey either.
If it was just a story about football and politics and social problems, if it was whole heartedly dedicated to capturing the kitchen sink realism aspects of the time and place Heartland would be a great book but unfortunately, at least for me, Cartwright chooses to pad his story out with minor characters backstories and whole sections of point of view material from characters that you never hear from afterwards that don't really seem to add anything to the portrait of his small town life except word count. You're left with the impression that he has been trying to create something that a TV producer would like to turn in to a tense drama by giving them multiple dramatic minor story arcs and several characters for famous actors to do a days work on.
All in all though, an impressive start to this exploration of a minor literary field.
Using football as a device for examining social structures in a similar yet less confronting and enjoyable way as David Storey's This Sporting Life did with Rugby League Cartwright turns his eye to the heart of England in the aftermath of 9/11 and the "fear of the other" that became greatly enhanced in the minds of the everyman, the kind of lunacy that is still pushing unsavoury types from the BNP in to positions of potential power. Read sporadically whilst revising for exams, including the wake of another shocking terrorist attack on white westerners that got a lot of media attention, the subject matter of Heartland was suddenly increasingly relevant as lunatics were allowed to froth hatred in the public arena towards people of a different colour and religion out of fear of their otherness and it be condoned by otherwise sane individuals. This is just one of the things that Cartwright got absolutely right.
The other highly successful aspect is his writing about the sport, the act of playing football, whether the artful nature of the professional or the passionate attempts of the amateur, the exquisite agony of watching your football team and the way in which people interact with great meaning over what can be, has been, will be, referred to as just a load of poofters chasing a ball around some grass. This stuff is brilliant, and setting it in 2002 not only brought back so many memories from my own life but impressively managed to accurately capture and recall the zeitgeist of the time. And not just the hilarity that comes from remembering all of the times we dreamed that England could win the World Cup with a team that included such luminaries as Danny Mills, Trevor Sinclair and Emile Heskey either.
If it was just a story about football and politics and social problems, if it was whole heartedly dedicated to capturing the kitchen sink realism aspects of the time and place Heartland would be a great book but unfortunately, at least for me, Cartwright chooses to pad his story out with minor characters backstories and whole sections of point of view material from characters that you never hear from afterwards that don't really seem to add anything to the portrait of his small town life except word count. You're left with the impression that he has been trying to create something that a TV producer would like to turn in to a tense drama by giving them multiple dramatic minor story arcs and several characters for famous actors to do a days work on.
All in all though, an impressive start to this exploration of a minor literary field.
November 4, 2010
going to the launch on May 7th. Loved his first novel 'The Afterglow'.
Tremendous. Review to follow (tomorrow).
Tomorrow:
I give a lot of five star reviews. That's mainly because I seek out the best, plus you tend to forget the mediocre books you've read. Five stars are awarded if the book fulfills what I see as its brief, if the writer seems to succeed and takes you with them. Plus the books have to worm into me somehow, affect me when I look up, differently, from the page and later as I'm about my business. I'm with the writer always. Of course sometimes I don't succumb - I have my blindspots (eg the Davids Mitchell & Peace), sometimes I probably swoon too easily - I have my irrational loves (eg Henry Green & James Hanley).
Anthony Cartwright may be becoming one of the latter lot. His first novel 'The Afterglow' concerned the problems of encroaching unemployment in a community devastated by the closure of a steel processing factory. It was considered, true, a tricky but involving book that won your heart. Similarly this one. I'm not sure everyone will love it. It is as dense as his first, denser, moving between about ten points of view in a similar Black Country community and involves a lot of football. Many of the characters are watching the England v Argentina match in the 2002 World Cup, the one where Beckham scores a penalty to take England through; also a match is recalled between Cinderheath Sunday and Cinderheath Muslim Community team. This latter is the focus of much anti-Muslim feeling (the BNP - British National Party - see it as an oportunity to re-assert national values, and use it for electioneering purposes). Remember the time -2002 - only 9 months after 9/11, and that three of the Guantanamo internees were from here (the Tipton three - recently released). In the novel Adnan is missing and there is speculation he is one of the bombers. Into this mix of football and terrorism and local politics is thrown the story of the main character, an ex professional footballer with a famous dad and a crush on a teacher where he is a teaching assistant. A very rich and potent brew that could go terribly wrong if badly handled. Cartwright does it perfectly, with poise and compassion and skill.
I may be biased because
a) I love football and the writing makes you feel you are watching the England match on the big screen in the pub, and also on the pitch with the players in the Sunday League game, e.g.
Zubair had hit the pass, stood like a golfer having hit a tee shot he liked, perfectly still and watching it, and the ball that Rob thought he was going to head, deep down wanted to take on his chest and step away with and show his contempt for this game he'd somehow ended up involved in, was suddenly on him and he'd taken a step towards it to head it, but it was floating, floating, and was going to drop over him and instead of jumping Rob had to turn, which he couldn't do, not any more with his disintegrating knees, and scramble after it, and the ball was dropping over his head.
(that also gives you a flavour of how much the author can pack into one sentence).
b) It uses the Black Country idiom (Black Country btw refers to its past as a mining community, nothing to do with the high proportion of black and Asian immigrants who have settled there), which living in Birmingham just down the road is second nature to me and I understand perfectly this:
Yow ay gonna have a goo, am yer?
(you're not going to pick a fight are you?)
c) I don't really know the author but have met him twice at launches and had a quick chat and he is the most unassuming and pleasant fellow who obviously writes from the heart. He understands community and family and the limitations of their bonds and responsibilities and can put them in a wider, political context. But mainly he's a skilled writer who involves you in his webs of feeling and character.
Tremendous. Review to follow (tomorrow).
Tomorrow:
I give a lot of five star reviews. That's mainly because I seek out the best, plus you tend to forget the mediocre books you've read. Five stars are awarded if the book fulfills what I see as its brief, if the writer seems to succeed and takes you with them. Plus the books have to worm into me somehow, affect me when I look up, differently, from the page and later as I'm about my business. I'm with the writer always. Of course sometimes I don't succumb - I have my blindspots (eg the Davids Mitchell & Peace), sometimes I probably swoon too easily - I have my irrational loves (eg Henry Green & James Hanley).
Anthony Cartwright may be becoming one of the latter lot. His first novel 'The Afterglow' concerned the problems of encroaching unemployment in a community devastated by the closure of a steel processing factory. It was considered, true, a tricky but involving book that won your heart. Similarly this one. I'm not sure everyone will love it. It is as dense as his first, denser, moving between about ten points of view in a similar Black Country community and involves a lot of football. Many of the characters are watching the England v Argentina match in the 2002 World Cup, the one where Beckham scores a penalty to take England through; also a match is recalled between Cinderheath Sunday and Cinderheath Muslim Community team. This latter is the focus of much anti-Muslim feeling (the BNP - British National Party - see it as an oportunity to re-assert national values, and use it for electioneering purposes). Remember the time -2002 - only 9 months after 9/11, and that three of the Guantanamo internees were from here (the Tipton three - recently released). In the novel Adnan is missing and there is speculation he is one of the bombers. Into this mix of football and terrorism and local politics is thrown the story of the main character, an ex professional footballer with a famous dad and a crush on a teacher where he is a teaching assistant. A very rich and potent brew that could go terribly wrong if badly handled. Cartwright does it perfectly, with poise and compassion and skill.
I may be biased because
a) I love football and the writing makes you feel you are watching the England match on the big screen in the pub, and also on the pitch with the players in the Sunday League game, e.g.
Zubair had hit the pass, stood like a golfer having hit a tee shot he liked, perfectly still and watching it, and the ball that Rob thought he was going to head, deep down wanted to take on his chest and step away with and show his contempt for this game he'd somehow ended up involved in, was suddenly on him and he'd taken a step towards it to head it, but it was floating, floating, and was going to drop over him and instead of jumping Rob had to turn, which he couldn't do, not any more with his disintegrating knees, and scramble after it, and the ball was dropping over his head.
(that also gives you a flavour of how much the author can pack into one sentence).
b) It uses the Black Country idiom (Black Country btw refers to its past as a mining community, nothing to do with the high proportion of black and Asian immigrants who have settled there), which living in Birmingham just down the road is second nature to me and I understand perfectly this:
Yow ay gonna have a goo, am yer?
(you're not going to pick a fight are you?)
c) I don't really know the author but have met him twice at launches and had a quick chat and he is the most unassuming and pleasant fellow who obviously writes from the heart. He understands community and family and the limitations of their bonds and responsibilities and can put them in a wider, political context. But mainly he's a skilled writer who involves you in his webs of feeling and character.
June 16, 2010
Anthony Cartwright pulled off a masterpiece here. More of this, please.
"Heartland" contains layer upon layer upon layer of pure literature, photographing post-1990 Britain in a unique and powerful way. A mixture of Joyce and Gadda pulls you into this study on the modern role of football in small communities, how these communities struggle to replace old, fading bonds with new values and aspirations, how people get dragged in situations and how they react to life's inexorable disappointments.
Cartwright doesn't provide moral recipes or an easy way out, and it doesn't try to lecture its characters. Non-white protagonists sound slightly tin at times, they really work better when "seen from the outside", but maybe this is just my background talking, or maybe I've been sucked so much in the white protagonist's world (nice-guy Rob, with his football shirts and his failures) that I struggle to get out.
If you've ever lived in Britain outside London, or you've ever played football in a team, you'll love this book. If you're a middle-class twat, or you think everyone outside M25 should be shot, then you could do worse than reading this.
"Heartland" contains layer upon layer upon layer of pure literature, photographing post-1990 Britain in a unique and powerful way. A mixture of Joyce and Gadda pulls you into this study on the modern role of football in small communities, how these communities struggle to replace old, fading bonds with new values and aspirations, how people get dragged in situations and how they react to life's inexorable disappointments.
Cartwright doesn't provide moral recipes or an easy way out, and it doesn't try to lecture its characters. Non-white protagonists sound slightly tin at times, they really work better when "seen from the outside", but maybe this is just my background talking, or maybe I've been sucked so much in the white protagonist's world (nice-guy Rob, with his football shirts and his failures) that I struggle to get out.
If you've ever lived in Britain outside London, or you've ever played football in a team, you'll love this book. If you're a middle-class twat, or you think everyone outside M25 should be shot, then you could do worse than reading this.
June 26, 2010
A longer version of the following review can be accessed at: Heartland
Dullness is generally to be avoided in fiction, but on occasion, the backdrop and subject matter of a book calls for a low key, unhistrionic approach. Heartland is Anthony Cartwright's second novel and constitutes a major stab at capturing the atmosphere of Noughties Britain. Topics include a General Election, a World Cup, the threat of the British National Party, youth crime, racial tension, radical Islam and communities riven by the shutdown of core industries, but the kitchen sink approach is leavened by the everyday normality of life in the West Midlands, the region's flat vowels reflected in people's need to simply get on.
Cartwright's use of a Black Country patois is only partially successful and doesn't quite have the fizz of other creators of regional dialect such as Irvine Welsh or Ross Raisin. His authorial voice tends also towards the modest side and this, along with the fact that the book is published by the small but estimable Tindal Street Press, based in Birmingham's Custard Factory Complex means he has probably struggled to attract the attention of prize givers, but this will take nothing away from an understated novel in the classic English realist tradition.
Dullness is generally to be avoided in fiction, but on occasion, the backdrop and subject matter of a book calls for a low key, unhistrionic approach. Heartland is Anthony Cartwright's second novel and constitutes a major stab at capturing the atmosphere of Noughties Britain. Topics include a General Election, a World Cup, the threat of the British National Party, youth crime, racial tension, radical Islam and communities riven by the shutdown of core industries, but the kitchen sink approach is leavened by the everyday normality of life in the West Midlands, the region's flat vowels reflected in people's need to simply get on.
Cartwright's use of a Black Country patois is only partially successful and doesn't quite have the fizz of other creators of regional dialect such as Irvine Welsh or Ross Raisin. His authorial voice tends also towards the modest side and this, along with the fact that the book is published by the small but estimable Tindal Street Press, based in Birmingham's Custard Factory Complex means he has probably struggled to attract the attention of prize givers, but this will take nothing away from an understated novel in the classic English realist tradition.
July 28, 2011
A cleverly constructed novel that can't be faulted for its ambition - tackling some major themes - but it plods along rather aimlessly and is too heart-on-sleeve worthy to be really convincing: the characters are not drawn very well, too much like cardboard cut-outs. There's a strong sense of place though. I can't see myself seeking out this author's other book(s).
January 8, 2014
Sarò breve: non mi è piaciuto nulla, neppure la copertina.
June 4, 2017
A novel that encompasses football, local politics in an English Midlands town, racial, family and religious divides, education, and love. Set during the 2002 World Cup, 2 football matches (England v Argentina and a local Sunday league final) form the backbone of all these narratives. Very skilfully constructed, with plausible characters, a convincing picture of an English community.
April 1, 2018
7/10. Great dialect work and a well observed and structured novel
November 21, 2016
I am not a massive fan of football, there I confess. I, however, do not think that that matters to enjoy this book. The football game both the game played between the two local teams and the world cup was the perfect metaphor for the underlying theme of the book. It captured the essence of that period of time in post 9/11 Britain outside of London, a city that along with the occupants are treated with the same degree of distaste and disdain that Londoners seem to think of much of the English Midlands.
The Black Country is an area with a strong sense of history and its own language and it was good, for once, to read about places and people that I have lived and worked near and alongside for many years without them being the butt of a joke or associated with industrial decline.
Unfortunately, I do feel that many of the potential readers of this book i.e those readers from London and the home counties will avoid this book due to its setting and that is a shame.
I for one thought it was excellent.
The Black Country is an area with a strong sense of history and its own language and it was good, for once, to read about places and people that I have lived and worked near and alongside for many years without them being the butt of a joke or associated with industrial decline.
Unfortunately, I do feel that many of the potential readers of this book i.e those readers from London and the home counties will avoid this book due to its setting and that is a shame.
I for one thought it was excellent.
April 2, 2014
Delicately considered and skilfully delivered, Heartland is the modern novel in its truest form. Maybe I'm being biased; as a football-mad British Asian, this is very much a story I can relate to. I thought of my own memories of the summer of 2002; 9/11 and how its legacy somehow crept into my world, the uncertainty over the St George flag amid a resurgent far right, that early morning when the entire country rose to watch our worst but most celebrated goal of that World Cup.
But I can take a step back now and say that Heartland is a compelling read of its own merit. In thinking big Cartwright goes deep rather than broad. There is the odd clunky phrase but there are plenty of stunning passages.
But I can take a step back now and say that Heartland is a compelling read of its own merit. In thinking big Cartwright goes deep rather than broad. There is the odd clunky phrase but there are plenty of stunning passages.
December 18, 2015
Right versus left. Fear against multiculturalism. Nationalism and religious faith. Football and politics. Proletarian struggle. This book has all the ingredients to become an instant classic for me. Even though it was sometimes hard to go through the Black country slang I enjoyed every bit of it. I just might have preferred a longer ending to set things in a more straightforward way, but that's probably for the best. The book settled with second best, with a bittersweet ending, where nothing really changes or it's resolved. Life hardly gives you a tidy neat ending, so does this book.
The fact that it was set during Argentina-England it's even better, because Beckham's penalty has one of the most amazing cheers after a score I've ever seen
The fact that it was set during Argentina-England it's even better, because Beckham's penalty has one of the most amazing cheers after a score I've ever seen
January 18, 2015
Heartland comes close to being a very good book. It has strong themes: race, extremism (both religious and nationalist), politics, relationships, and football. It is refreshing to hear under-represented Black Country voices. However, the jettisoning of conventions of punctuation: worst of all being the total absence of speech marks is a massive mistake. It does not make the novel flow better, make it pacy, experimental, or literary – it just makes it pretentious and unnecessarily harder to read. A great shame. Full review at: http://stevek1889.blogspot.co.uk/2014...
March 26, 2014
A good idea for a novel, poorly executed. There were some flourishes of brilliance but the lack of structure and the inability to describe which character's POV in each segment was frustrating.
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