I’m a fan of the football journalist Jonathan Wilson and have read and enjoyed a few of his non-fiction football books, so was very intrigued that he’d written a novel. Purchased directly from his Blizzard magazine shop, it also ticked my box of supporting independent authors.
Streltsov is a fictional account of the true life story of Eduard Streltsov, a Soviet footballer who played in the 1950s and 60s. This is a similar wheelhouse to many of Wilson’s previous books which cover football history; but the inspired-by-a-true-story style is new. Each chapter is based on a season, with the narrator Vanya being a minor employee of Torpedo Moscow, the club where Streltsov emerges. Vanya is a fan and close observer of Streltsov and so offers his unique inside view.
The facts of the story are quite remarkable; a young star who bursts onto the scene but at the height of his powers is imprisoned for sexual assault. The book is told as the memories and reflections of an elderly Vanya looking back on those years, with all the uncertainty and conflicted emotion that distance creates.
I enjoyed the book but it’s shortness does mask that Wilson is perhaps a better non-fiction writer; the format is very football result and stats heavy, which is meant to reflect the narrator’s character but perhaps gives a view into the inner workings of the author’s mind.
