The Season

Peta's Review 

Two of my great passions are reading and AFL footy (I know a discombobulating pairing for many people to understand). And so, my excitement spilled over when I heard that one of my favourite writers, Helen Garner, was writing a book on her immersion in AFL footy! The book, The Season, is part memoir, part coming-of-age story. Realising her youngest grandson, 16-year-old Amby, is on the cusp of manhood, Garner decides to accompany Amby to his weekly football training sessions and to game day each Sunday. Garner is no stranger to AFL football. A longtime supporter of the Western Bulldogs, she says her passion for the game peaked during the pandemic. Throughout the long period of lockdowns in Melbourne, football kept her alive. She began to see the game as “a kind of poetry, an ancient common language between strangers, a set of shared hopes… .” Amby has played football since he was 5-years-old, and so Garner realised that being involved and interested in his football training and playing was the perfect way to be near him, and hopefully get to know him better before it was too late. To form an unbreakable bond. Amby is more than happy for his Nanna Garner to be on the sideline, a silent observer for a season.

For those who might disregard Garner’s new book, not at all interested in boot meets leather, I assure you, The Season is so much more than a detailed account of Aussie rules. In his review in The Weekend Australian, Peter Craven writes that, rather it is an honest exploration of a grandmother and her love of her grandson. A memento mori, it also is a self-exploration by Garner of herself, as she realises the precariousness of her advancing years and the gradual, frustrating decline of her body. Garner poignantly writes, that The Season is “a little life-hymn.” It is a record of a special time she and Amby spend together, before she writes “he turns into a man and I die.”

The Season is beautifully written. It is vintage Garner – sharply observed, raw, full of warm humour and distinctive Garner wit. Even if you know nothing about football, we all know about the special bond between grandparents and their grandchildren, and the importance of team-spirit and how good it feels to reach a goal. A great Christmas gift for young and not-so-young alike.

Publisher's Review 

Garner's first new work in a decade is a tender portrayal of the relationship between grandmother and grandson, and of that moment on the cusp of adulthood when a boy is both child and man.

It's footy season in Melbourne, and Helen Garner is following her grandson's under-16s team. She not only goes to every game (give or take), but to every training session too, shivering on the sidelines at dusk, fascinated by the spectacle.

She's a passionate Western Bulldogs fan (with an imperfect grasp of the rules) who loves the epic theatre of AFL football. But her devotion to the under-16s offers her something else. This is her chance to connect with her youngest grandchild, to be close to him before he rushes headlong into manhood. To witness his triumphs and defeats, to fear for his safety in battle, to gasp and to cheer for his team as it fights for a place in the finals.

With her sharp eye, her generous wit and her warm humour, Garner documents this pivotal moment, both as part of the story and as silent witness. The Season is an unexpected and exuberant book- a celebration of the nobility, grace and grit of team spirit, a reflection on the nature of masculinity, and a tribute to the game's power to thrill us.

PRAISE:

'One of Australia's foremost authors, admired by writers as different as Raymond Carver and Elizabeth Jolley.' - Independent

'Not long ago I read Helen Garner for the first time and was so stunned that I wanted to run around the block; how strange, how wonderful, that a book can still make me feel that way.' - Rumaan Alam

'There are very few writers that I admire more than Helen Garner.' - David Nicholls

'A voice of great honesty and energy.' - Anne Enright

'Over one footy season, Garner observes her youngest grandson's U16 team at training and games, but of course, brings her vivid attention to masculinity, family, weather, ageing, our bodies, and much more.' - Matilda Bookshop

'Is there anything more thrilling than reading Helen Garner on everyday things such as haircuts, the Melbourne skyline, ageing, AFL tactics, friendship and half-time oranges? A book for all seasons-not just the footy one!' - Gleaner