Set and written in 1960, the sport is Rugby League and the life (or a couple of years of it) is that of second row forward, Arthur Machin.
The novel opens on Christmas Eve in the middle of a match, just as Arthur takes a shoulder to the jaw and comes to with a couple of teeth missing. That is more inconvenient than anything as there is a party due that night at Chairman’s fancy mansion. But strings are pulled, and a dentist found; after all Arthur Machin is one of the stars of the team.
Events on the field then take a back seat for the rest of the book, which concentrates on Arthur’s back story – his recruitment to the club - and his relationships with his teammates, his landlady, and the club owners and committee men. Arthur narrates throughout in his northern no-nonsense working class style.
The book provides an interesting snapshot of
its time and place, though its relevance to the modern world is limited. It
does deliver an insight into the dawn of the age of celebrity as Arthur, a big
fish in a small pond, is tolerated, feted, and provided with favours; so long
as he performs on the pitch.
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