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A story of a group of relative strangers banding together to play football is as universal as gravity. Football is common ground amongst a sea of differences - race, culture, religion, you name it. In this instance a small team of men in various stages of their lives are brought together and, throughout the course of the book, become fathers. Each chapter is written by a different member of the team, each telling their own tale of fatherhood.
What first grabbed my attention was the location of this story. It revolves around a local football field in Bangalow, fifteen minutes from my hometown. Growing up I played many away games of football on that field and I must say that it is not the flattest of surfaces; from memory at some stage tractor marks ran down one side of the pitch.
With this in mind, as I read I can formulate a good idea of where Fertile FC played their six-a-side competition. But it doesn't matter, this could be any local competition in any country in the world, and that is a wonderful thing.
I guess one of the drawing cards of One Got Past The Keeper is it's appeal to parents and parents-to-be. Being neither myself it would not normally be something I'd read. Nevertheless I was still intrigued to hear the stories of these teammates. They're not experts on parenthood and nor do they claim to be. Their accounts are from the heart, and I really enjoyed the glimpse into their world.
The six-a-side football that takes place throughout really binds the individual stories together, providing a storyline and timeframe. The same events are repeated from different points of view and time is cleverly measured in 'seasons'.
Perhaps the only stumbling block is that I found this book took about forty pages to get going. For a football fan I wanted to know more about results and the matches when instead it is busy explaining the game to those reading who are less privy to our beautiful game.
After it starts though it's an easy read. I formed a connection with Fertile FC and wanted them to raise the competition trophy, and also raise their perfect family.
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