Awaydays - (Canons) by Kevin Sampson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A powerful portrait of a time and culture, of late 70s to early 80s and football hooligan gangs, of working-class lives and men left abandoned by Thatcher's Britain

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?

Review Quotes

"Avoids the tiresome pitfalls of hard man posturing, focusing instead on that great working-class bromance of following your team away"--IRVINE WELSH

"Razor-sharp rites of passage that buzzes with post-punk energy"-- "TELEGRAPH"

"Mind-bending . . . An immersive portrait of the time and authentic coming-of-age documentation, Awaydays, underestimated outside Britain, is a perfect combination of so-called 'low' and 'high' cultures"-- "Medium"

"What's in a cult novel? A great story, charismatic characters, a powerful narrative voice and an evocative style. If these are the basic ingredients to achieve the perfect cult status, then Kevin Sampson's Awaydays has them all"-- "Dazed"

"Awaydays is cheeky, entertaining and in parts dangerous"-- "Loaded"

"A gritty novel with wit and humour at every turn"-- "Maxim"

"An acutely observed rite-of-passage story . . . a time and a generation which has too often been reduced to clich�"-- "Independent on Sunday"

"Sampson is a fine storyteller . . . Nasty stuff, brilliantly told"-- "Guardian"

"The dark side of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch"-- "NME"

About the Author

Kevin Sampson is a British novelist and screenwriter, best known for his novels Awaydays (1998), Powder (1999) and Stars Are Stars (2006). He began his career in the music industry by writing gig reviews for NME in the 80s and has written for i-D, Arena, Sounds, Time Out and the Observer. He was part of Produce Records, who had a string of Top 40 hits in the 90s including The Farm's 'Groovy Train' and 'All Together Now'. His screenwriting credits include Anne (ITV, 2022), The Hunt for Raoul Moat (2023) and the film adaption of Awaydays (2009).

@ksampsonwrite