There’s Only One Danny Garvey by David F Ross

 

Danny Garvey is a former football prodigy who’s fallen on hard times. He’s a man who failed to live up to his early promise because of injury and things in his past dragging him down. Now he’s teaching junior football for no hope teams. One day Higgy, a man who was, and is, in unrequited love with Danny’s mother, turns up and asks him to return to his hometown of Barshaw to coach the junior team there. Danny is reluctant; he’s estranged from both his mother who’s dying, and his brother, Raymond, who currently languishes in prison. And there are dark secrets in his past which might awaken. Reluctantly he agrees to Higgy’s request. While things go well for a while, it isn’t long before the cracks show and the secrets from the past claw their way to the surface.

This is a book with a real heart. It’s a brilliant book and one which is brilliantly told, so much so I loved it. Which is a surprise. Why?

Well, this is a book about football, and set in the world of junior football. It’s not all about football, there’s a lot which isn’t football related, there’s a lot which deals with Danny’s relationship with his family and the dark secrets in the town, but there’s a lot relating to football.

Ok, warning here, I’m about to annoy some people.

I hate football. Really, I do, I hate it. I hate the game; I hate the fans; I hate the players; I hate the commentary and how everyone goes nuts about what is, in fact, a silly little game. I hate the societal pressure to like it, how when if England are doing well in the World Cup, if you’re not cheering them on people think there’s something wrong with you (while this book is set in Scotland, I imagine it’s the same for people like me with the Scottish team north of the border, too).

The point is, this is a book I probably shouldn’t have enjoyed. But I did. And the reason is, as I say, it’s written with a real heart. The reader can’t help but be pulled in to Danny’s story. Yes, you’re drawn in to all the stuff about his family and the dark secrets in the town of Barshaw, but you even begin to care about the football. I became invested in Danny’s team, and wanted them to rise through the league and achieve success, and believe me, it takes a skilled writer to make me show any interest in a football team.

I won’t give away spoilers, but this is a bitter-sweet tragedy of a novel which will stay with you. There are some books where when you close the page you can’t help but think of the characters and how they might fare after the story has ended. This is one of those books.

A poignant tale which is well told, this is highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars