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The Rules of Backyard Cricket

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( 2,460 ratings, 341 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong is a riveting exploration of sibling rivalry and ambition set against the backdrop of Australian cricket. It follows brothers Darren and Wally Keefe, who rise from their humble beginnings playing backyard cricket to becoming professional sportsmen. The book delves into themes of fame, loyalty, and the tumultuous dynamics of brotherhood.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by intertwining tales of family, ambition, and the dark allure of sports. This story delves into the gritty dynamics of two brothers whose lives are shaped by their childhood games and the pressures of professional cricket. It's a compelling mix of drama and suspense, exploring themes of rivalry, loyalty, and the consequences of past choices.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

In this unusual crime thriller, two brothers share a love of cricket and rise to fame but their character differences divide them.

A gripping literary crime novel about Australian masculinity, talent, fame and family, in the vein of Peter Temple's Truth.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

It starts in a suburban backyard with Darren Keefe and his older brother, sons of a fierce and gutsy single mother. The endless glow of summer, the bottomless fury of contest. All the love and hatred in two small bodies poured into the rules of a made-up game.

Darren has two big talents: cricket and trouble. No surprise that he becomes an Australian sporting star of the bad-boy varietyβ€”one of those men who's always got away with things and just keeps getting. Until the day we meet him, middle-aged, in the boot of a car. Gagged, cable-tied, a bullet in his knee. Everything pointing towards a shallow grave.

The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a novel of suspense in the tradition of Peter Temple's Truth. With glorious writing harnessed to a gripping narrative, it observes celebrity, masculinityβ€”humanityβ€”with clear-eyed lyricism and exhilarating narrative drive.

The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong, while classified as 'crime', is a compelling literary novel dissecting toxic sporting culture and its fallout. β€” Paddy O'Reilly, Australian Book Review, 2016 Books of the Year

The Rules of Backyard Cricket got the thumbs up from everyone. β€” Favourite Fiction for 2016, Avenue Bookstore

Blow me down if I didn't hang on every word. β€” Clare Wright, Best Books of 2016, Australian

One of the great novels written about sport...Delicious. It's the top read of the summer. β€” Stuff.co.nz

The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong, while classified as 'crime', is a compelling literary novel dissecting toxic sporting culture and its fallout. β€” Paddy O'Reilly, Best Books of 2016, Australian Book Review

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

In The Rules of Backyard Cricket, Jock Serong delivers a masterfully written narrative that's simultaneously humorous and poignant, seamlessly blending a tale of sibling rivalry with a deep dive into toxic sporting culture. Critics commend its sharp dialogue, expertly plotted storyline, and compelling character portrayal, describing it as a standout piece of Australian crime fiction that skilfully navigates themes of masculinity and humanity. The book's engaging exploration of cricket as a backdrop for drama and introspection has earned it acclaim as a compelling literary work that resonates beyond typical sports novels.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781925355215

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 August 2016

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 414g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Jock Serong lives and works on the far southwest coast of Victoria. Formerly a lawyer, he is now a features writer, and was the editor of Great Ocean Quarterly. His first novel, Quota, won the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel. His most recent novel is The Rules of Backyard Cricket. Jock is married with four children and lives in Port Fairy, Victoria.

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