num_pages: 123
description: Growing up in Belgium soccer was Jean-Philippe Touissants life a passion not shared by his bookish family. Now an acclaimed novelist essayist and filmmaker he reflects upon his lifelong love for the game with an intellectuals keen mind and a sports fans heart. What he ponders has a lifetime of soccer fandom taught him about life and the passage of time itself. Soccer takes readers on an idiosyncratic journey that delves deep into the authors childhood memories but also transports us to World Cup matches in Japan Germany South Africa and Brazil. Along the way it kicks around such provocative questions as: How does soccer fandom both support and transcend nationalism? How are our memories of soccer matches both collective and distinctly personal? And how can a game this beautiful and this ephemeral be adequately captured in words? Part travelogue part memoir and part philosophical essay Soccer is entirely unique a thrilling departure from the usual clichs of sports writing. Even readers with little knowledge of the game will be enthralled by Touissants profound musings and lyrical prose.
language: French
title: Football
publisher: Les Éditions de Minuit