Helen Garner is a bit of a national hero in her native Australia. A novelist, a journalist, and a diarist, she has shared a lot of herself with her readers.

In The Season, Garner spends a season with her grandson, Amby, as he and his young teammates play Aussie rules football. She spends dark evenings in the park watching them train, gets involved with the adult-driven drama, but above all, gets to watch her grandson become a man right before her eyes.

The Season moved me to tears on many occasions. Garner’s love for grandson, his team, and AFL in general is just wonderful. She waxes lyrical about the beauty of this pretty brutal sport, and the moments of humanity it creates. She meets so many people on this journey, and she embraces them all. There is no judgement here, only love. Well, except maybe a little side-eye to a particularly violent mother. As Garner gets more emotionally invested in Amby’s team, so does the reader. I really did race through the final chapter as the team reached the grand finals.

I have no interest in sports, let alone an Australia-specific sport, but this is one of my favorites books of the year. Garner is such a gorgeous writer, and the affection with which she writes about her family and beloved team is infectious. It made me think of my grandma, who was my biggest supporter. I like to think she would have got on with Garner.

Helen Garner is one of my favorite authors her fiction and non fiction never fails to entertain me.The Season is a really special story a lovely story of her relationship with her grandson really special and her learning to be a fan of the sport of footsie as she drives him to practices and watches him develop as an athlete and young man.#netgalley #the season