French novelist Mauvignier’s second book is a study of the effects of the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster – when English football hooligans caused the deaths of 39 people in Brussels – on four groups of characters: a Belgian couple; two newly-wed Italians; a pair of French chancers; and a trio of scallies, one reluctant, over from Liverpool. Mauvignier’s breathless internal monologue (superbly translated) switches from character to character, expertly capturing the mood of the crowd as giddy excitement turns to fear and confusion when a section of Liverpool supporters charge the fans on the terrace alongside them, forcing them to flee back against a wall that collapsed, horrifically and fatally.
After showing his adeptness at portaying the changeable mood of the monstrous construct that is the football crowd, Mauvignier then zooms in to look at the impact on individuals, notably Geoff Andrewson, the self-loathing Liverpool fan who still maintains a façade of guilt-ridden innocence, and the grief-stricken Italian supporter, Tana, each used to reflect the prevailing emotions of the communities involved. Mauvignier is more or less out on his own here: football hooliganism, like football in general, is a subject that has never been adequately covered by serious writers, who prefer to leave the topic to self-glorifying ‘true crime’ knuckleheads or dry-mouthed academics. This intelligent, moving, frantic, measured novel shows how much mileage there is to be found amid the horror, thoughtlessness and inhumanity.
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