Richo

It is stated at the very beginning, the first chapter in fact, that this is not a normal football book. Journalist Martin Flanagan got that right, probably just as well, because his subject was not a normal footballer. Over 282 games and 17 seasons Matthew ‘Richo’ Richardson alternately amused, amazed and annoyed supporters, coaches, players and commentators. Quite often he did all 3 in the one game.

Martin Flanagan doesn’t just talk about the man they called ‘Richo’, that’s because the book is not just about him. It’s got all his facts and figures, it describes some of the games, it talks about the great moments of his career, but there’s so much more in this book.

‘Richo’ is a celebration of the game and the people around it. There are stories about Matthew Richardson’s life, the history of his family and some of the people who have been with him on his incredible journey, but then there are stories that Flanagan just seemed to dig up. Little bits of history, musing on the state of the game then and now. Stories about the club that ‘Richo’ gave his life to; the Richmond football club, stories about players from other clubs, those clubs themselves and from outside of the AFL itself.

I think what makes ‘Richo’ work is that it’s a book about someone who loves the game, by someone who loves the game, although they come from separate worlds. Matthew Richardson was a player, one of the greats and Martin Flanagan was never able to play the game at the top level, but has devoted his life to writing about it. I was pleased when I found out that Martin Flanagan was the journalist who was going to write ‘Richo’s’ story. I’ve always enjoyed Flanagan’s everyman way of looking at the game and writing about it. Martin Flanagan is not like many of his contemporaries who are ex-players or objective journalists, he’s a storyteller and this is a great story.

Unseen Academicals

Unseen Academicals is Terry Pratchett’s most recent book, and the 37th in the extremely successful Discworld series.

You used to be able to rely on Sir Terry (he was knighted in 2009 for services to literature) for at least 2 books a year, but age and illness (he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease in 2007) have affected his once prolific output. Unseen Academicals is the first Discworld book since 2007’s Making Money.

The Discworld books can be hit and miss, Unseen Academicals is, to my way of thinking, a hit. The loose story concerns the efforts of the Wizards of Ankh Morpork’s Unseen University to play Discworld’s version of football against a team comprised of more accomplished footballers from Ankh Morpork’s poorer and less genteel neighbourhoods.

I saw one blogger say that he hadn’t gotten around to reading this, and wasn’t particularly interested, because it was about football and he didn’t much like football. That attitude can be put to rest by a quote from Pratchett himself on the back of the book: The thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football. Being an avid follower of Australian Rules and a somewhat fanatical supporter of my team I can agree with that statement. Only 10% of any widely followed sport is about the game itself.

This particular installment deals with class, food, cosmetics, fashion, friendship, religion and occasionally football. That’s the thing about the Discworld books, they tend to hold modern society up to a looking glass and score goals with their criticism. I’ve often thought the key to their success is that you have fantasy tropes living in their typical medieval society, but they think like 21st century people and try to solve medieval situations with 21st century logic.

The series is episodic, the reader does not have to have read any of the other 36 books to enjoy this one, although it will improve the experience if there is some knowledge of the recurring characters. Pratchett has developed a large supporting cast over the past 26 years.

Unseen Academicals reunites readers with the characters of: Mustrum Ridcully (Arch Chancellor of UU), his much put upon assistant Ponder Stibbons, the Librarian (who happens to be my personal favourite character), the inept wizard Rincewind (he started the whole series back in 1983 with The Colour of Magic) and Ankh Morpork’s unnerving and menacing ruler, former assassin Havelock Vetinari. There are also cameos from other fan favourites: Death, the Luggage, Sam Vimes and Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler. The bulk of the story follows the new characters of: mysterious young candle dribbler Mr Nutt, his best friend, the streetwise Trev Likely, the very sensible and responsible Glenda Sugarbean, who runs the Unseen University’s Night Kitchen (wizards keep unusual hours and are most likely to want a pie or a sugary treat along with a good cup of tea in the middle of the night), Glenda’s friend and object of Trev’s affections, the beautiful, but somewhat vacuous; Juliet.

As a story it hangs together remarkably well, while simply meandering along collecting the author’s thoughts on a myriad of subjects and articulated in only the way he can. I have to confess to being less than impressed by Making Money, and that was over 2 years ago. Unseen Academicals was a welcome return to form from the recently knighted author.

Welcome back Terry, you have been missed!