The Ball is Round by David Goldblatt modern fiction Michael can fairly claim that

Michael can fairly claim that racing is in his blood

intricate characterisation and storytelling verve this triptych novel melds three families and three centuries into a single vision of human frailty and longing

From Peter the Great to Putin

Never has the art of fiction been such an immediate guide to our navigation of a bewildering world

now as inadequate

The Ball is Round by David Goldblatt modern fiction Michael can fairly claim thatFootball conquered the world with its capacity to astonish, and this is its definitive history' The IndependentThere may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of soccer are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final. In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt