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Godwin
The odyssey of two brothers crossing the world in search of an African soccer prodigy who might change their fortunes.
Mark Wolfe, a brilliant if self-thwarting technical writer, lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Sushila, and their toddler daughter. His half-brother Geoff, born and raised in the UK, is a desperate young soccer agent. He pulls Mark across the ocean into a scheme to track down an elusive prospect known only as “Godwin”—an African teenager Geoff believes could be the next Messi.
Narrated in turn by Mark and his work colleague Lakesha Williams, the novel is both a tale of family and migration and an international adventure story that implicates the brothers in the beauty and ugliness of soccer, the perils and promises of international business, and the dark history of transatlantic money-making.
As only he can do, Joseph O'Neill investigates the legacy of colonialism in the context of family love, global capitalism, and the dreaming individual.
Mark Wolfe, a brilliant if self-thwarting technical writer, lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Sushila, and their toddler daughter. His half-brother Geoff, born and raised in the UK, is a desperate young soccer agent. He pulls Mark across the ocean into a scheme to track down an elusive prospect known only as “Godwin”—an African teenager Geoff believes could be the next Messi.
Narrated in turn by Mark and his work colleague Lakesha Williams, the novel is both a tale of family and migration and an international adventure story that implicates the brothers in the beauty and ugliness of soccer, the perils and promises of international business, and the dark history of transatlantic money-making.
As only he can do, Joseph O'Neill investigates the legacy of colonialism in the context of family love, global capitalism, and the dreaming individual.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2024
263 people are currently reading
8588 people want to read
About the author
Joseph O'Neill
33 books238 followersJoseph^O'Neill
There is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Joseph O'Neill was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1964 and grew up in Mozambique, South Africa, Iran, Turkey, and Holland. His previous works include the novels This is the Life and The Breezes, and the non-fiction book Blood-Dark Track, a family history centered on the mysterious imprisonment of both his grandfathers during World War II, which was an NYT Notable Book. He writes regularly for The Atlantic. He lives with his family in New York City."
There is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Joseph O'Neill was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1964 and grew up in Mozambique, South Africa, Iran, Turkey, and Holland. His previous works include the novels This is the Life and The Breezes, and the non-fiction book Blood-Dark Track, a family history centered on the mysterious imprisonment of both his grandfathers during World War II, which was an NYT Notable Book. He writes regularly for The Atlantic. He lives with his family in New York City."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
June 4, 2024
“Netherland” may not have revived cricket in the United States, but it sparked a craze for Joseph O’Neill. His third novel, about a Dutchman who becomes a cricket enthusiast in New York, earned comparisons to “The Great Gatsby” and won the PEN/Faulkner Award. There was a time when every book club in America seemed to be talking about “that cricket book,” though readers quickly discovered it was actually a story about longing and loneliness in the wake of 9/11.
O’Neill is back on the field again with a new novel called “Godwin.” But the sport this time is soccer — “football,” for fans across the pond. As before, while your eye follows the ball, the real action plays out among the forces shaping the global economy, the flow of immigrants and the nature of work.
Nobody else’s fiction tears up the ground quite like O’Neill’s profoundly introspective novels. But I worry that they’re essentially review proof. They can sound, in summary, either too static to be interesting, like “The Dog,” or too convoluted to be intelligible, like this new one. And yet in their careful braiding of anxiety and aspiration, his stories are marvels of narrative magic and stylistic panache.
“Godwin” plays out along two separate tracks that remain mysteriously askew until the very end. The book begins as an arch office satire set in Pittsburgh. An African American woman named Lakesha is an irresistibly odd narrator — so intentional about establishing a community and yet so utterly alone. She’s the co-leader of a co-op for technical writers. “A collective like the Group is attractive to someone who wants to stay self-employed but doesn’t want the risk, hassle, and isolation associated with being a sole trader or freelancer,” Lakesha explains. Naturally, the story that develops is one of risk, hassle and isolation.
O’Neill has such a well-tuned ear for the comedy of office politics, particularly as gassed up by left-wing ideals. “We were not ideological,” Lakesha claims, but she admits that the members of the Group “had our own ideas about what constitutes value.” The business that Lakesha has co-founded sports “a strongly horizontal ethos.” In the weirdly modulated voice of an HR cultist, she declares, “We....
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
O’Neill is back on the field again with a new novel called “Godwin.” But the sport this time is soccer — “football,” for fans across the pond. As before, while your eye follows the ball, the real action plays out among the forces shaping the global economy, the flow of immigrants and the nature of work.
Nobody else’s fiction tears up the ground quite like O’Neill’s profoundly introspective novels. But I worry that they’re essentially review proof. They can sound, in summary, either too static to be interesting, like “The Dog,” or too convoluted to be intelligible, like this new one. And yet in their careful braiding of anxiety and aspiration, his stories are marvels of narrative magic and stylistic panache.
“Godwin” plays out along two separate tracks that remain mysteriously askew until the very end. The book begins as an arch office satire set in Pittsburgh. An African American woman named Lakesha is an irresistibly odd narrator — so intentional about establishing a community and yet so utterly alone. She’s the co-leader of a co-op for technical writers. “A collective like the Group is attractive to someone who wants to stay self-employed but doesn’t want the risk, hassle, and isolation associated with being a sole trader or freelancer,” Lakesha explains. Naturally, the story that develops is one of risk, hassle and isolation.
O’Neill has such a well-tuned ear for the comedy of office politics, particularly as gassed up by left-wing ideals. “We were not ideological,” Lakesha claims, but she admits that the members of the Group “had our own ideas about what constitutes value.” The business that Lakesha has co-founded sports “a strongly horizontal ethos.” In the weirdly modulated voice of an HR cultist, she declares, “We....
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
May 29, 2024
I am a little perplexed by this book. I have not read anything by Joseph O'Neill before but the premise of two brothers going to Benin to find the next Eusebio intrigued me, mainly because I assumed they'd encounter huge problems.
What this book is, however, is a strange mixture of two stories that seem completely separate until the very end.
Mark Wolfe is a grant writer for a cooperative and Lakesha is his boss. Wolfe's family circumstances are complicated in that his mother virtually abandoned him to the sole care of his father and then had another family which produced Geoff.
Lakesha also has a fractured family with deceased mother and a sister who brought her up but with whom she rarely interacts.
Wolfe's brother calls him for help to find a soccer genius called Godwin who is somewhere in Africa. So Wolfe, at his wife's insistence, heads to the UK where he meets with Geoff to help him out.
Does this sound very disjointed? That's because it is. The story continues to be equally strange with people dropping in and out of the action whilst we also discover Lakesha having workplace problems.
I didn't find any of the characters sympathetic or even vaguely likeable. I'm afraid this book gave me a headache trying to work out where it was going or what it was supposed to be about (apart from football having way too much money). I'm still not clear what I've read so I'm assuming it's far too literary or political for me to grasp.
Thankyou to Netgalley and 4th Estate/William Collins for the advance review copy.
What this book is, however, is a strange mixture of two stories that seem completely separate until the very end.
Mark Wolfe is a grant writer for a cooperative and Lakesha is his boss. Wolfe's family circumstances are complicated in that his mother virtually abandoned him to the sole care of his father and then had another family which produced Geoff.
Lakesha also has a fractured family with deceased mother and a sister who brought her up but with whom she rarely interacts.
Wolfe's brother calls him for help to find a soccer genius called Godwin who is somewhere in Africa. So Wolfe, at his wife's insistence, heads to the UK where he meets with Geoff to help him out.
Does this sound very disjointed? That's because it is. The story continues to be equally strange with people dropping in and out of the action whilst we also discover Lakesha having workplace problems.
I didn't find any of the characters sympathetic or even vaguely likeable. I'm afraid this book gave me a headache trying to work out where it was going or what it was supposed to be about (apart from football having way too much money). I'm still not clear what I've read so I'm assuming it's far too literary or political for me to grasp.
Thankyou to Netgalley and 4th Estate/William Collins for the advance review copy.
March 11, 2024
Any Joseph O’Neill fan who has read his award-winning Netherland will know two things about this author. First, he is a knowledgeable and insightful sportswriter (cricket in his former book, soccer in this book). Second, his books aren’t really about sports. They’re about characters who display a particular brand of naiveté and brio as they pursue the capitalist dream while holding on to the dream of a fulfilling life.
In Godwin, the story hinges on Mark Wolfe, a slowly unraveling Pittsburgh grant writer, and his half-brother Geoff, who is particularly fond of using terms like “bruv” or “fam” when addressing him. Geoff, a shady soccer talent scout, seems to have come across a young African soccer prodigy named Godwin with superstar potential. But Geoff can’t personally pursue him because of a bad leg injury. He summons Mark to help out.
As Mark says a little later, “The main difference between a calamity and an adventure is that in the latter case, the protagonist makes it home in one piece and lives to tell the tale.” So here we have an international adventure story that includes an unscrupulous French soccer scout, two edgy brothers, and the poisonous power of unbridled capitalism.
The reader will learn a lot about the newly-created competition for African soccer players who possess the strength and explosiveness to stand out in soccer and the unprincipled scouts who pursue them at any cost and the corruption that ensues. O’Neill raises questions about the value of football (soccer is called the American football). From a diversion and pastime it has now become a calculation, a lie, a manipulation.
Their story is interspersed with narrations by Mark’s work colleague, Lakesha Williams, who launched The Group, a technical-writing co-operative, attractive to employees like Mark who want to stay independent without taking a financial risk. These two stories will eventually connect. It’s a story of the corruption of colonialism and international money-making and the counterbalance of human connection and stability, held together by an arousing tale of the search for Godwin. I owe a big thanks to Pantheon, who enabled me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
In Godwin, the story hinges on Mark Wolfe, a slowly unraveling Pittsburgh grant writer, and his half-brother Geoff, who is particularly fond of using terms like “bruv” or “fam” when addressing him. Geoff, a shady soccer talent scout, seems to have come across a young African soccer prodigy named Godwin with superstar potential. But Geoff can’t personally pursue him because of a bad leg injury. He summons Mark to help out.
As Mark says a little later, “The main difference between a calamity and an adventure is that in the latter case, the protagonist makes it home in one piece and lives to tell the tale.” So here we have an international adventure story that includes an unscrupulous French soccer scout, two edgy brothers, and the poisonous power of unbridled capitalism.
The reader will learn a lot about the newly-created competition for African soccer players who possess the strength and explosiveness to stand out in soccer and the unprincipled scouts who pursue them at any cost and the corruption that ensues. O’Neill raises questions about the value of football (soccer is called the American football). From a diversion and pastime it has now become a calculation, a lie, a manipulation.
Their story is interspersed with narrations by Mark’s work colleague, Lakesha Williams, who launched The Group, a technical-writing co-operative, attractive to employees like Mark who want to stay independent without taking a financial risk. These two stories will eventually connect. It’s a story of the corruption of colonialism and international money-making and the counterbalance of human connection and stability, held together by an arousing tale of the search for Godwin. I owe a big thanks to Pantheon, who enabled me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2024
Curiously unsatisfying, although the last 5 percent somewhat redeemed the preceding 95 percent.
September 1, 2024
The majority of this book reads like it was written by an insufferable man who no one wants to listen to but thinks he has a lot of important things to say. Utter chaos, like the episode of SpongeBob, where he forgets his name and all hell breaks loose. A reminder to never compromise on the quality of a book for a topic of personal interest.
July 13, 2024
3.75 stars
Twin plot threads run through this novel, told by alternating narrators: Lakesha tells the story of the technical and medical writers’ cooperative that she helped found and continues to (try to) guide as it morphs into a unbelievably toxic workplace highjacked by an ambitious, manipulative jerk. The other thread centres on Mark Wolfe, one of the writers of the cooperative who leaves to join his very untrustworthy half-brother in a quest to find Godwin, an elusive young African soccer phenom, and bring him to the West, with millions in agent’s fees at stake. The trick is finding him, as all they’ve got to go on is a brief video compilation filmed “somewhere in Africa.”
So it’s ostensibly a sports story, but it touches on so much more, including racism and post-colonialism, and the drive for money and power. There is a lot to think about here and large lashings of somewhat bitter humour, both in the half-brothers’ relationship and in the toxic workplace. I kept finding myself jarred by how disparate the two plotlines seemed; though elements of each dimly mirrored the other, they stubbornly stayed so unrelated, until the two stories satisfyingly meshed at the very end.
Twin plot threads run through this novel, told by alternating narrators: Lakesha tells the story of the technical and medical writers’ cooperative that she helped found and continues to (try to) guide as it morphs into a unbelievably toxic workplace highjacked by an ambitious, manipulative jerk. The other thread centres on Mark Wolfe, one of the writers of the cooperative who leaves to join his very untrustworthy half-brother in a quest to find Godwin, an elusive young African soccer phenom, and bring him to the West, with millions in agent’s fees at stake. The trick is finding him, as all they’ve got to go on is a brief video compilation filmed “somewhere in Africa.”
So it’s ostensibly a sports story, but it touches on so much more, including racism and post-colonialism, and the drive for money and power. There is a lot to think about here and large lashings of somewhat bitter humour, both in the half-brothers’ relationship and in the toxic workplace. I kept finding myself jarred by how disparate the two plotlines seemed; though elements of each dimly mirrored the other, they stubbornly stayed so unrelated, until the two stories satisfyingly meshed at the very end.
July 9, 2024
Mark = 3 stars
Lakesha = 5 stars
Total = 4 stars
I would definitely read a whole novel written in the voice of Lakesha.
Lakesha = 5 stars
Total = 4 stars
I would definitely read a whole novel written in the voice of Lakesha.
December 18, 2023
I’m happy to be the first to rate this book on Goodreads. I enjoyed it, as it is well-written and covers a fascinating topic, international football. All that is known of Godwin is that he is an African child who excels at soccer. A grainy video of him playing indicates that he has the potential to be as good as Messi and will almost certainly be a big payoff for whoever discovers him. Geoff, a hapless soccer agent living in England, brings his brother, Mark, into the fray when he comes into possession of the video. Mark, a technical writer married and living in the US with his wife and toddler daughter, sees the potential for excitement in his rather boring life and enlists in the pursuit of Godwin.
This story is told from two POVs – Mark’s and co-worker Lakesha Williams’. It is more than just a tale of international soccer, but soccer is the most interesting part. I got caught up in the drama of finding Godwin and was thoroughly surprised with the twists and turns his story took. The other story line, about Mark and Lakesha’s business dealings, added background to the overall story, but fell well short of the soccer content in terms of interest, at least to me. I haven’t read the author’s previous book, Netherland; this was my first experience with him. I thought he did a terrific job of drawing out the intrigue of Godwin and the ups and downs of his story and I’ll certainly look out for more by him in the future. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon and Vintage for access to this e-ARC.
This story is told from two POVs – Mark’s and co-worker Lakesha Williams’. It is more than just a tale of international soccer, but soccer is the most interesting part. I got caught up in the drama of finding Godwin and was thoroughly surprised with the twists and turns his story took. The other story line, about Mark and Lakesha’s business dealings, added background to the overall story, but fell well short of the soccer content in terms of interest, at least to me. I haven’t read the author’s previous book, Netherland; this was my first experience with him. I thought he did a terrific job of drawing out the intrigue of Godwin and the ups and downs of his story and I’ll certainly look out for more by him in the future. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon and Vintage for access to this e-ARC.
January 30, 2024
Godwin is an African kid seen playing soccer in a wobbly video that has football coaches desperate to find him, because the talent they see is blowing their heads off. But where is he? Who is he? How to we get to him first?
There are two narrators to "Godwin." The first you. meet is Lakesha, who manages a coop of technical writers, each weird in their own way. Lakesha runs a tight ship .The first crack in the bow comes when one of her writers, Mark Wolfe, acts out and she places him on leave. This leaves Wolfe open to what's to come.
Wolfe is a pretty unmoored guy who only functions if he follows his wife's guidance. Once he goes to England to help out his feckless football agent brother without her common sense . . . oh, boy.
Wolfe stumbles around Africa, and Lakesha is trying to keep rebellious technical writers (visualize that!) employed and stable. Her sense of honesty, fairness, and equity are all challenged. At the same time, Wolfe is banging around Africa with questionable sorts looking for this kid who may or may not be a genius, or even exist. Believe it or not, these two story lines are going to meet. Really.
Although Lakesha (and Cutie) were my favorite characters, there's no way that workplace problems can compete with a barely-hinged guy stumbling around the African bush. "Godwin" comes to a satisfying end, and I was impressed with Joseph O'Neill's ability to tie it all up. I haven't read anything else by him, but I will.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
There are two narrators to "Godwin." The first you. meet is Lakesha, who manages a coop of technical writers, each weird in their own way. Lakesha runs a tight ship .The first crack in the bow comes when one of her writers, Mark Wolfe, acts out and she places him on leave. This leaves Wolfe open to what's to come.
Wolfe is a pretty unmoored guy who only functions if he follows his wife's guidance. Once he goes to England to help out his feckless football agent brother without her common sense . . . oh, boy.
Wolfe stumbles around Africa, and Lakesha is trying to keep rebellious technical writers (visualize that!) employed and stable. Her sense of honesty, fairness, and equity are all challenged. At the same time, Wolfe is banging around Africa with questionable sorts looking for this kid who may or may not be a genius, or even exist. Believe it or not, these two story lines are going to meet. Really.
Although Lakesha (and Cutie) were my favorite characters, there's no way that workplace problems can compete with a barely-hinged guy stumbling around the African bush. "Godwin" comes to a satisfying end, and I was impressed with Joseph O'Neill's ability to tie it all up. I haven't read anything else by him, but I will.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
August 26, 2024
in the nicest way possible this is a great book for the annoying polisci major you knew in undergrad. Lots of interesting commentary on rationality, international relations, neocolonialism, etc all told through a dual elder millennial POV. There was a quirky narrative choice made here wherein O’Neill conveys a bulk of the plot (essentially the plot of the book we were sold in the summary) through secondhand recollection. I didnt get the impression that this choice was cowardice or anxiety (ahem vulture) but satire. Virtually every character here sucks and makes absurd choices, but this specific narration allows you to see absurdity through AND about the narrator simultaneously. Essentially we know that he knows that we know. It’s hard to know exactly what the takeaway here is though. Broadly we can say that humans are not infallible regardless of their ideologically pure intentions and by consequence neither are the systems they participate in. But this is also very specially aimed at the post colonial Global North and how the neoliberal political economies influence decision making. So it’s not just any system, it’s this system specifically at this specific moment (2015). I think zadie smith has cursed O’Neill to be constantly dubbed by reviewers as “anxious” which is fair but also not a dunk? He seems about as appropriately anxious as any person who spends too much time tweeting about modern politics.
July 27, 2024
4.5 stars, rounded down
I picked this one thanks to a glowing review I came across on Goodreads, and it did not disappoint. It was a contrast from the melancholic immigrant novel that was Cinema Love. How had I not read a Joseph O Neill before? He's a fantastic writer, very worldly - a quality I admire that is fast vanishing in this era of autofiction, and the intensity of his prose commands your absolute attention.
The novel begins describing a union of technical writers and the way it works, a rather mundane subject, but not in O'Neill's prose. These chapters are narrated from Lakesha's point of view and bordered on corporate satire. She is one of the co-founders of this collective, and she finds herself in a difficult path once the other co-founder departs in pursuit of a well-paying corporate job. Lakesha is very idealistic when it comes to managing the collective - very arduous, hard-working and abiding by the rules. The job of a co-founder involves many additional responsibilities for little pay, but she's happy to undertake those for the collective. I found Lakesha to be very unemotional and almost too perfect - she grew up in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Milwaukee (which we learn is one of the worst cities to be black in), had a traumatic childhood that she barely survived, and it is hinted that she may have been abused by a professor who helped her get out of Milwaukee and led her on a path to stability. The tragedy of her past bubbles under her battle-hardened psyche, and I found her sections drenched in the coldness of her pragmatism and her unsentimental disposition. Her chapters lack the interiority and indulgence afforded to the other protagonist, Wolfe, whom we meet in the first chapter as the guy involved in a scuffle.
Wolfe wallows in a seething mixture of failure, indignation, self-condemnation, and resignation. He had a promising youth in academia which he squandered by making a series of poor choices, and he fancies himself above the job of technical writing, an insult to his superior intellect and potential. O'Neill's prose comes electrifyingly alive when it enters the consciousness of Wolfe, and he deftly weaves a stunning web interweaving the history of African countries, the world of football, Wolfe's yearning for long overdue glory and the bitter history of his unreliable family. His sensible wife Sushila is from Sri Lanka, and I enjoyed the brave touch of her racist father. Wolfe is as unsentimental as Lakesha, but there are more emotions in these chapters as he rants on about how he ought to enjoy the life of a Male Genius. Lakesha in contrast seems to have mastered the art of controlling her emotions, which is understandable given her past.
Wolfe takes a break from his regular work to help out his brother in the UK who makes the unusual request of tracing an African football prodigy based on a single grainy video. His passions are ignited by this exciting project, and the potential for glory keeps him going. This roller coaster journey involves a French football coach Lefebvre and it is full of unexpected twists and turns. Every chapter builds up momentum and dramatic intensity as it goes on and ends in cliffhangers of sorts. I was especially engrossed in the workplace drama that threatened Lakesha's job (may Edil rot in hell lol) and I was so furious on her behalf.
I am the last person in the world who is likely to read a football novel, and it is to O'Neill's credit that not only did I make it through the novel but I was totally unbothered by the subject. There's a lot of football history and strategy discussed here with copious name dropping but it does not get in the way at all, and we learn many fascinating facts. I was utterly perplexed to learn about the histories of Mauritania and Benin, and it was very difficult to get through some pages knowing that the described events actually transpired in the past.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Once Lefebvre reappears in the novel, the story of Godwin could have ended in so many possible ways, but the gut punch involving Wolfe's mother was totally unexpected. His decision to quit the collective on the morning of the investigation was very much in character for him, as was the shocking mid-sentence revelation of his eventual fate. But I did not care for the way his story mingled with Lakesha's, and I was very disappointed and mad at the ridiculous ending that made no sense. Lakesha loses her sense of purpose because she was ousted from the collective that she worked so hard for (I liked her realization about the futility of working hard for ungrateful people), so she randomly decides to adopt a teenager - W T F? Enormous, illogical misstep that kinda ruined everything. Also not sure what we're supposed to make of the foreboding conclusions about African refugees being the end of Europe and Lakesha working for the Hillary Clinton campaign. This novel treats the world as a brutal, merciless, exploitative hell with no reprieve and these could be an extension of that, but it wasn't tied up satisfyingly.
SPOILERS END
I tried but am not doing justice to how gripping and brilliant this novel was. How it marries two good novels in one. How expansive and idiosyncratic it is. How full of knowledge and wisdom and sarcasm and ambition. How it tries to be unbiased while tackling larger themes. How it tries to forgo the stock pessimism of literary novels for a frank acknowledgement of neutral brutality. But, you get the idea. Now I'm off to explore the writer's back catalog. Ciao.
I picked this one thanks to a glowing review I came across on Goodreads, and it did not disappoint. It was a contrast from the melancholic immigrant novel that was Cinema Love. How had I not read a Joseph O Neill before? He's a fantastic writer, very worldly - a quality I admire that is fast vanishing in this era of autofiction, and the intensity of his prose commands your absolute attention.
The novel begins describing a union of technical writers and the way it works, a rather mundane subject, but not in O'Neill's prose. These chapters are narrated from Lakesha's point of view and bordered on corporate satire. She is one of the co-founders of this collective, and she finds herself in a difficult path once the other co-founder departs in pursuit of a well-paying corporate job. Lakesha is very idealistic when it comes to managing the collective - very arduous, hard-working and abiding by the rules. The job of a co-founder involves many additional responsibilities for little pay, but she's happy to undertake those for the collective. I found Lakesha to be very unemotional and almost too perfect - she grew up in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Milwaukee (which we learn is one of the worst cities to be black in), had a traumatic childhood that she barely survived, and it is hinted that she may have been abused by a professor who helped her get out of Milwaukee and led her on a path to stability. The tragedy of her past bubbles under her battle-hardened psyche, and I found her sections drenched in the coldness of her pragmatism and her unsentimental disposition. Her chapters lack the interiority and indulgence afforded to the other protagonist, Wolfe, whom we meet in the first chapter as the guy involved in a scuffle.
Wolfe wallows in a seething mixture of failure, indignation, self-condemnation, and resignation. He had a promising youth in academia which he squandered by making a series of poor choices, and he fancies himself above the job of technical writing, an insult to his superior intellect and potential. O'Neill's prose comes electrifyingly alive when it enters the consciousness of Wolfe, and he deftly weaves a stunning web interweaving the history of African countries, the world of football, Wolfe's yearning for long overdue glory and the bitter history of his unreliable family. His sensible wife Sushila is from Sri Lanka, and I enjoyed the brave touch of her racist father. Wolfe is as unsentimental as Lakesha, but there are more emotions in these chapters as he rants on about how he ought to enjoy the life of a Male Genius. Lakesha in contrast seems to have mastered the art of controlling her emotions, which is understandable given her past.
Wolfe takes a break from his regular work to help out his brother in the UK who makes the unusual request of tracing an African football prodigy based on a single grainy video. His passions are ignited by this exciting project, and the potential for glory keeps him going. This roller coaster journey involves a French football coach Lefebvre and it is full of unexpected twists and turns. Every chapter builds up momentum and dramatic intensity as it goes on and ends in cliffhangers of sorts. I was especially engrossed in the workplace drama that threatened Lakesha's job (may Edil rot in hell lol) and I was so furious on her behalf.
I am the last person in the world who is likely to read a football novel, and it is to O'Neill's credit that not only did I make it through the novel but I was totally unbothered by the subject. There's a lot of football history and strategy discussed here with copious name dropping but it does not get in the way at all, and we learn many fascinating facts. I was utterly perplexed to learn about the histories of Mauritania and Benin, and it was very difficult to get through some pages knowing that the described events actually transpired in the past.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Once Lefebvre reappears in the novel, the story of Godwin could have ended in so many possible ways, but the gut punch involving Wolfe's mother was totally unexpected. His decision to quit the collective on the morning of the investigation was very much in character for him, as was the shocking mid-sentence revelation of his eventual fate. But I did not care for the way his story mingled with Lakesha's, and I was very disappointed and mad at the ridiculous ending that made no sense. Lakesha loses her sense of purpose because she was ousted from the collective that she worked so hard for (I liked her realization about the futility of working hard for ungrateful people), so she randomly decides to adopt a teenager - W T F? Enormous, illogical misstep that kinda ruined everything. Also not sure what we're supposed to make of the foreboding conclusions about African refugees being the end of Europe and Lakesha working for the Hillary Clinton campaign. This novel treats the world as a brutal, merciless, exploitative hell with no reprieve and these could be an extension of that, but it wasn't tied up satisfyingly.
SPOILERS END
I tried but am not doing justice to how gripping and brilliant this novel was. How it marries two good novels in one. How expansive and idiosyncratic it is. How full of knowledge and wisdom and sarcasm and ambition. How it tries to be unbiased while tackling larger themes. How it tries to forgo the stock pessimism of literary novels for a frank acknowledgement of neutral brutality. But, you get the idea. Now I'm off to explore the writer's back catalog. Ciao.
January 28, 2025
Lakesha Williams is the co-founder of a technical-writing cooperative for science and medical writers in Pittsburgh. Mark Wolfe is one of the technical writers working at the cooperative. The book opens with Lakesha discussing a recent incident and human resource complaint involving Mark’s altercation with one of the building’s employees. This leads to Mark taking a leave of absence to journey to England, at his wife’s urging, to meet his half-brother Geoffrey, a soccer agent of dubious proficiency. Mark is estranged from his (and Geoffrey’s) mother. Mark’s storyline follows a sequence of events leading to the search for a soccer prodigy (the titular Godwin) located “somewhere in Africa” and the involvement of a rival (more professional) soccer agent, Jean-Luc Lefebvre. Lakesha’s related story follows the increasingly caustic office politics at the cooperative, and the lack of appreciation for its founder. The two storylines eventually converge in unexpected ways.
It is a combination of workplace and family drama. The novel is structured in alternating chapters from the first-person perspectives of Lakesha and Mark. The writing is strong. Lakesha and Mark are given distinctive voices, and Geoffrey is a memorable supporting character. I felt immediately drawn to both storylines and was riveted during the first three-quarters. Unfortunately, the ending did not live up to the promise of the beginning and middle sections. Part of the reason is a very long segment of storytelling related by Jean-Luc toward the end, which is a bit too much of a good thing. The novel addresses the themes of the ongoing capitalistic exploitation of Africa, trust, greed, and power. I do not think you need an interest in soccer to appreciate it, since it is not really about sports. I enjoyed it very much overall and plan to read more of Joseph O’Neill’s works.
It is a combination of workplace and family drama. The novel is structured in alternating chapters from the first-person perspectives of Lakesha and Mark. The writing is strong. Lakesha and Mark are given distinctive voices, and Geoffrey is a memorable supporting character. I felt immediately drawn to both storylines and was riveted during the first three-quarters. Unfortunately, the ending did not live up to the promise of the beginning and middle sections. Part of the reason is a very long segment of storytelling related by Jean-Luc toward the end, which is a bit too much of a good thing. The novel addresses the themes of the ongoing capitalistic exploitation of Africa, trust, greed, and power. I do not think you need an interest in soccer to appreciate it, since it is not really about sports. I enjoyed it very much overall and plan to read more of Joseph O’Neill’s works.
March 28, 2025
I would give it a 3.5. It is a book about finding a soccer player in Africa who has extraordinary skill. For me, the novel dragged, but I am probably not the intended audience, but enjoyed reading it for my bookclub.
March 28, 2025
Much of the center of Godwin is a book of people telling other people’s stories. Initially, however, a very different tone is set: the novel takes off with a grab-them-in-the-first-10-minutes boom, quickly unrolling tons of easy to latch onto characters and plot setups. Fine.
The switch in narrative voices was seamless the first time around. The novel passes the ball back and forth between Lakesha, a confident, intelligent leader of a group of tech writers, and one of the group’s freelancers, Mark, her precise opposite. Lakesha’s life appears to be in order, if somewhat lacking in close companionship, while Mark’s life is confusion, brimming over with the sound of his incredibly wordy, circular thinking patterns. Still, at first he’s often amusing, if ridiculous, and lucky enough to have built a something of a real life. He has an incredibly patient, loving wife, a healthy child (whom I don’t recall speaking once throughout the book), a devoted pet dog, a nice house. The problem is him. This becomes true in more ways than one as we move along.
Mark may be the most self conscious character in recent literature. The mental gymnastics required for him to switch his mode of address in emails from “Dear so-and-so” to “Hello” takes many paragraphs. Email, at least, he permits himself. The phone is an absolute no. “The general history of the telephone call, it can safely be said, is a grim one. Who can begin to measure, or even grasp, the volume of the calamities produced by the sound transmission system?”
It’s not surprising that Lakesha has to suggest Mark take some time away from the office, he’s clearly almost impossible company. The wheels going round in his head frequently do so out loud. He’s at loose ends, when - Bam! - Black Sheep brother across the pond pops up and summons him into adventure. Ah, one thinks, a little hackneyed, but now the real story begins.
The first bits wif his English bruvver (Geoff has adopted a cockney accent) are clever, still in keeping with the tone of the novel to that point. The sports agent bro is wildly irritating, Mark’s eyerolls almost visible on the page, as Geoff stage whispers his Great Plan: to have Mark locate and reel in Godwin, an unknown African soccer player of exceptional skill, a scheme reeking of desperation and a colonial mindset. It’s gonna make us bof ritch, Mark is promised. Mark is not so sure. Soon enough, big trouble in the land of bruvverly luv.
It goes on much, much too long, and the primary plot shift hinges on a premise that I could not believe for one moment. The detail obsessed Mark we’ve spent all this endless talk getting to know suddenly makes an ill advised decision that makes something less than zero sense. When he started listing the endless myriad of inoculations needed within 24 hours to travel forward, I gave up on taking this novel seriously. It’s just silly. And the switch of his treatment of Geoff? Even with past recounted grievances, nope.
What follows then is odd, increasingly so. The book shifts into something else, something increasingly ponderous and slow. New characters arrive, each with endless stories of past experiences to relay, all of them passed on to us through Mark. There’s plenty of good English football history slipped in, if that’s your thing, but the stories themselves never feel essential. One shaggy dog tale leads to the next in Godwin, until you’re running circles with the dogs all clamped on to each other’s tails.
I was relieved each time we returned to Lakesha, but even this character got stuck with recounting another character’s family history. This felt like the opposite of everything laid out about her previously, clunky instead of graceful. Back at work, things begin to go awry in Latesha’s well constructed life, a story line that wasn’t entirely dull, but clearly signaled a set up to re-introduce Mark in some unexpected way down the line.
Wouldst that he had stayed away. The remaining portions of Godwin allotted to Mark are wildly tedious. Will he set out seeking Godwin - who turns out to be almost a Macguffin, anyway - or will he return home? If he goes home, will he stay there? What will happen with his newfound, exceptionally long winded French travel companion?
Ultimately, while a lot of Godwin was well written, particularly in its first half, I found this a frustrating read. The back and forth between narrator voices was not the problem. The zig-zagging in tone, immediacy and purpose left me grounded, instead of flying back and forth between characters and setting.
Finally, as in truly final-ly, the mini ‘surprise’ ending. Perhaps if I hadn’t been a fool and read so many reviews that mentioned it as delicious, I wouldn’t be so sour, but really. Oof.
The switch in narrative voices was seamless the first time around. The novel passes the ball back and forth between Lakesha, a confident, intelligent leader of a group of tech writers, and one of the group’s freelancers, Mark, her precise opposite. Lakesha’s life appears to be in order, if somewhat lacking in close companionship, while Mark’s life is confusion, brimming over with the sound of his incredibly wordy, circular thinking patterns. Still, at first he’s often amusing, if ridiculous, and lucky enough to have built a something of a real life. He has an incredibly patient, loving wife, a healthy child (whom I don’t recall speaking once throughout the book), a devoted pet dog, a nice house. The problem is him. This becomes true in more ways than one as we move along.
Mark may be the most self conscious character in recent literature. The mental gymnastics required for him to switch his mode of address in emails from “Dear so-and-so” to “Hello” takes many paragraphs. Email, at least, he permits himself. The phone is an absolute no. “The general history of the telephone call, it can safely be said, is a grim one. Who can begin to measure, or even grasp, the volume of the calamities produced by the sound transmission system?”
It’s not surprising that Lakesha has to suggest Mark take some time away from the office, he’s clearly almost impossible company. The wheels going round in his head frequently do so out loud. He’s at loose ends, when - Bam! - Black Sheep brother across the pond pops up and summons him into adventure. Ah, one thinks, a little hackneyed, but now the real story begins.
The first bits wif his English bruvver (Geoff has adopted a cockney accent) are clever, still in keeping with the tone of the novel to that point. The sports agent bro is wildly irritating, Mark’s eyerolls almost visible on the page, as Geoff stage whispers his Great Plan: to have Mark locate and reel in Godwin, an unknown African soccer player of exceptional skill, a scheme reeking of desperation and a colonial mindset. It’s gonna make us bof ritch, Mark is promised. Mark is not so sure. Soon enough, big trouble in the land of bruvverly luv.
It goes on much, much too long, and the primary plot shift hinges on a premise that I could not believe for one moment. The detail obsessed Mark we’ve spent all this endless talk getting to know suddenly makes an ill advised decision that makes something less than zero sense. When he started listing the endless myriad of inoculations needed within 24 hours to travel forward, I gave up on taking this novel seriously. It’s just silly. And the switch of his treatment of Geoff? Even with past recounted grievances, nope.
What follows then is odd, increasingly so. The book shifts into something else, something increasingly ponderous and slow. New characters arrive, each with endless stories of past experiences to relay, all of them passed on to us through Mark. There’s plenty of good English football history slipped in, if that’s your thing, but the stories themselves never feel essential. One shaggy dog tale leads to the next in Godwin, until you’re running circles with the dogs all clamped on to each other’s tails.
I was relieved each time we returned to Lakesha, but even this character got stuck with recounting another character’s family history. This felt like the opposite of everything laid out about her previously, clunky instead of graceful. Back at work, things begin to go awry in Latesha’s well constructed life, a story line that wasn’t entirely dull, but clearly signaled a set up to re-introduce Mark in some unexpected way down the line.
Wouldst that he had stayed away. The remaining portions of Godwin allotted to Mark are wildly tedious. Will he set out seeking Godwin - who turns out to be almost a Macguffin, anyway - or will he return home? If he goes home, will he stay there? What will happen with his newfound, exceptionally long winded French travel companion?
Ultimately, while a lot of Godwin was well written, particularly in its first half, I found this a frustrating read. The back and forth between narrator voices was not the problem. The zig-zagging in tone, immediacy and purpose left me grounded, instead of flying back and forth between characters and setting.
Finally, as in truly final-ly, the mini ‘surprise’ ending. Perhaps if I hadn’t been a fool and read so many reviews that mentioned it as delicious, I wouldn’t be so sour, but really. Oof.
July 23, 2024
I totally used this as a crutch during a week of very real, but also very made-up stress. I think I’ve already recommended it to four different people (largely due to the soccer/football content), which is a lot of people because nobody reads. There was one conversation that must’ve lasted 75 pages, and it was nice to read through it all in one sitting and feel the same fatigue that the characters did. I also appreciated that the style was a lot more people-centered than descriptors of the environment. Maybe I just don’t have an imagination or am too lazy, but I often don’t care enough to put together a vivid mental image of the scene in a Hemingway novel, for example.
February 17, 2025
This was such a strange book. It was billed as this exploration of global soccer and the hunt for an African prodigy. But here's my breakdown on the book:
- 10% searching for an African soccer prodigy
- 10% reading a dude use British slang like "bruv", "blud", "fam", etc.
- 37% about a totally unrelated office politics situation for technical writers (I'm not making this up)
- 37% reading an old French dude reciting the history of soccer tragedies, African history, or other dry topics
- 6% trying to bring this all to a conclusion over 20 pages.
- One ending line that's an 11-year old's version of a clever ending
This book should have been two short stories. Instead I found myself skimming long paragraphs and racing to the end. Boo. Boooooo. BOOOOOO.
- 10% searching for an African soccer prodigy
- 10% reading a dude use British slang like "bruv", "blud", "fam", etc.
- 37% about a totally unrelated office politics situation for technical writers (I'm not making this up)
- 37% reading an old French dude reciting the history of soccer tragedies, African history, or other dry topics
- 6% trying to bring this all to a conclusion over 20 pages.
- One ending line that's an 11-year old's version of a clever ending
This book should have been two short stories. Instead I found myself skimming long paragraphs and racing to the end. Boo. Boooooo. BOOOOOO.
September 24, 2024
Blazed through this, and what a great book to blaze through it is. More than anything, I want to talk to someone else or listen to O'Neill talk about it. The structure is strange but not confrontational, and the characters are so well-drawn. At times, there is a character telling a story told to them by another character who's telling a story told to them by another character, and that sounds nightmarish and convoluted, but O'Neill has somehow built a Russian nesting doll of narrative across continents and cultures. One of my favorite reads of the year.
June 20, 2024
This ended up going in some directions and having a lot more depth than I expected. It explored the legacy of colonialism, racialized workplace and societal dynamics, white male privilege, and other topics with nuance and some excellent satire and humor. Also appreciated all the soccer at the heart of it, but don't think it's necessary to be a soccer fan in order to enjoy this one.
August 24, 2024
Great fun, especially when you are a football fan.
Mark Wolfe is a Pittsburgh-based technical writer, but his heart is not in it. When he takes a forced leave, he visits his half brother Geoff in England who has become a not very successful football agent for promising talents. Geoff has obtained exclusive access to a shaky video of a young African supertalent called Godwin somewhere on a sandy pitch in West Africa, but it is completely unclear where Godwin is. Geoff enlists his smart brother as help as well as the old fashioned and chatty French scout Jean Luc Lefèvre (my favourite character).
In parallel there is a storyline told by Mark Wolfe's boss, Lakeesha, back in Pittsburgh and full of office politics. I found this less engaging and slightly long, but kept wondering how the two would come together.
O'Neill is a sportswriter and in fact I found the novel at its best when Lefèvre tells clueless Americans old anecdotes about the legendary Van Hanegem or Eusebio.
Mark Wolfe is a Pittsburgh-based technical writer, but his heart is not in it. When he takes a forced leave, he visits his half brother Geoff in England who has become a not very successful football agent for promising talents. Geoff has obtained exclusive access to a shaky video of a young African supertalent called Godwin somewhere on a sandy pitch in West Africa, but it is completely unclear where Godwin is. Geoff enlists his smart brother as help as well as the old fashioned and chatty French scout Jean Luc Lefèvre (my favourite character).
In parallel there is a storyline told by Mark Wolfe's boss, Lakeesha, back in Pittsburgh and full of office politics. I found this less engaging and slightly long, but kept wondering how the two would come together.
O'Neill is a sportswriter and in fact I found the novel at its best when Lefèvre tells clueless Americans old anecdotes about the legendary Van Hanegem or Eusebio.
Read
April 17, 2025DNF--This switched abruptly from being a story about the cutthroat and exploitative business of recruiting young soccer talent to a boring workplace drama. Maybe it comes back together at some point, but I'm not invested enough to find out.
February 20, 2025
This was so weird. Wouldn’t read again but clever
September 11, 2025
God win? More like Satan Loss. This book STINKS
July 14, 2024
I didn’t expect this book to take so long to finish. It’s under 300 pages and I had a weekend with nothing to do. There was a decent chunk where I was solidly invested in the story, but for the most part I found myself struggling. It’s pretentious (not that that’s a bad thing) with a lot of HEAVY commentary on. . . well, almost everything. Capitalism, the sports industry, philosophy, toxic relationships, politics, this book has it all. But maybe it’s too much?
The novel is, for the most part, about Mark and his difficult relationship with his brother, Geoff. The two of them are in search of Godwin, a young soccer player expected to be the next Lionel Messi. Geoff is unreliable, manipulative, and entirely in it for himself. Mark is a complex character, his inner dialogue almost constantly complaining or criticizing. But he’s also a doormat for most of the book, going along with Geoff’s whacky scheme while questioning him but also not really questioning him. I was both frustrated but also fascinated by their relationship.
The complexities of the sports industry were also interesting as well as a little overwhelming. I know that I know about 2% about sports, and to know that there’s so much politics involved only scratches the surface level of my knowledge.
Ultimately I couldn’t get into the story and the characters because it was so unfocused, probably intentionally, but it just was not my cup of tea. All of the witty, sarcastic, critical commentary got old about halfway in and the story itself never seemed to go too far. I think I’d be more into it if it were a novella.
The novel is, for the most part, about Mark and his difficult relationship with his brother, Geoff. The two of them are in search of Godwin, a young soccer player expected to be the next Lionel Messi. Geoff is unreliable, manipulative, and entirely in it for himself. Mark is a complex character, his inner dialogue almost constantly complaining or criticizing. But he’s also a doormat for most of the book, going along with Geoff’s whacky scheme while questioning him but also not really questioning him. I was both frustrated but also fascinated by their relationship.
The complexities of the sports industry were also interesting as well as a little overwhelming. I know that I know about 2% about sports, and to know that there’s so much politics involved only scratches the surface level of my knowledge.
Ultimately I couldn’t get into the story and the characters because it was so unfocused, probably intentionally, but it just was not my cup of tea. All of the witty, sarcastic, critical commentary got old about halfway in and the story itself never seemed to go too far. I think I’d be more into it if it were a novella.
August 13, 2024
Joseph O'Neill, as in his prior book, Netherland, revisits the world of sport and how its participants and observers' interface around it.
In Godwin, Mark Wolfe, a bright but less than successful writer, responds to his half-brothers call for assistance. Geoff, who grew up in England, is a small time futbol agent whose skills in management are left wanting. He is hoping Mark will use his intelligence in helping to locate a hidden gem: a video of an unknown futbol savant promises to unlock success and riches if he can be located and promoted to the European futbol clubs.
The story follows Mark as he goes to Europe and is introduced to an older French futbol agent. Together they find, Godwin, but now it is Geoff and their mother, who have coopted his services. This complication unveils the long unresolved family issues between half siblings and their less than nurturing mother.
In addition, the story also has sections about the writers' collective to which Mark belongs and explores his marital relationship to a wife who is both supportive and wise.
The action moves quickly with insightful commentaries on colonialism, the disparity between White Europeans who seek and to profit from unbeknownst African players naive to the commercial aspects their talents can warrant.
A fun read which would be enjoyed by those who like novels about writers and also possess an appreciation for the sport of futbol.
In Godwin, Mark Wolfe, a bright but less than successful writer, responds to his half-brothers call for assistance. Geoff, who grew up in England, is a small time futbol agent whose skills in management are left wanting. He is hoping Mark will use his intelligence in helping to locate a hidden gem: a video of an unknown futbol savant promises to unlock success and riches if he can be located and promoted to the European futbol clubs.
The story follows Mark as he goes to Europe and is introduced to an older French futbol agent. Together they find, Godwin, but now it is Geoff and their mother, who have coopted his services. This complication unveils the long unresolved family issues between half siblings and their less than nurturing mother.
In addition, the story also has sections about the writers' collective to which Mark belongs and explores his marital relationship to a wife who is both supportive and wise.
The action moves quickly with insightful commentaries on colonialism, the disparity between White Europeans who seek and to profit from unbeknownst African players naive to the commercial aspects their talents can warrant.
A fun read which would be enjoyed by those who like novels about writers and also possess an appreciation for the sport of futbol.
May 30, 2024
This is a book a little under 300 pages. However it packs a lot in those many pages. On the surface, based on the book blurb, it seemed to be a story about two brothers in a quest to discover the next football prodigy in far away Africa. However it's not just that. In parts, it is a social commentary about colonialism, slavery, displacement, migration and the history and future of Africa. The author has satirically portrayed the cliched western view of poorer nations and their peoples. It's also a trivia-packed essay on football (soccer not American football). This part may totally appeal to football fans. On the side there's a storyline revolving around group-work dynamics and office politics. There is also an underlying current of the complicated nature of family relationships. So as I said, a lot going on here. The prose was simple and engaging enough to keep me reading on. In fact it's even humorous in parts and brought a smile to my lips. This is not a book for everyone and definitely not a rushed read. You have to pick it up when you have the time to savour it and the patience for a slow-burn read. Maybe perfect for book clubs
Thank you NetGalley @netgalley , Knopf Publishing Group @pantheonbooks and Joseph O'Neill for the ARC
Thank you NetGalley @netgalley , Knopf Publishing Group @pantheonbooks and Joseph O'Neill for the ARC
November 18, 2024
5 stars just for the last paragraph. some of the funniest shit in literature ever. post-colonial workplace novel that is somehow both Heart of Darkness and The Office w/o getting vulgarized by its own ambition (or, well, vulgar on its own terms). incredibly aloof until the very last line.
no matter what, in whatever society we live in, decaying or abundant, underwater or on land, someone somewhere, a scholar probably, will probably be writing about Godwin. it's so full it basically bubbles over. insane and unforgiving.
loved it. laughed a ton.
no matter what, in whatever society we live in, decaying or abundant, underwater or on land, someone somewhere, a scholar probably, will probably be writing about Godwin. it's so full it basically bubbles over. insane and unforgiving.
loved it. laughed a ton.
June 30, 2024
I don't know how to describe this book other than it's a book about nothing without the humor of "Seinfeld." Told in alternating first person points of view, the thought patterns of Lakesha and Mark are written so formerly that they don't appear to be real characters. Stories went off on so many tangents it felt like the author wanted to show off his knowledge of various topics that added little to the story arc.
July 13, 2024
Not sure why I persevered. Maybe because the storyline had lots of potential. After the silly ending I found myself regretting even starting. An implausible narrative told from two POV’s who were in many ways incidental to the story and neither of them particularly relatable. That the book was largely well written didn’t hide the fact of it being too smart for its own good, trying too hard to be relevant. A missed opportunity for both writer and reader.
August 13, 2024
Slow and dragging until the end. I hated the chapters from Wolfe’s perspective and wanted more about his wife and Lakesha and Jean-Luc. There was also shockingly little about Godwin, a purported main part of the book.
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