Thoughts at the half way point of The Book of Fame

Occasionally you come across a book where the style of the text and presentation is as much of the experience and that is the case here.

As the All Blacks set sail in 1905 on a voyage to arrive in the UK to play 37 games against almost every team you can think of the story starts like a diary. Because rugby teams include a largish number of players it is hard to get to grips with the main characters.

But after a while you realise that knowing the names is enough as this is a study of a group of people that are very tight knit reacting almost as one to the experience of travel, meeting different people and crucially fame.

Above all else the book, of course the title gives it away, is about fame and the impact that being thrust into the limelight has on the All Blacks. As you follow them through their British and Irish tour the fame spreads and you start to wonder what might come in the second half when presumably that fame catches up with them at home.

More soon…