Review: Playing the Pools

Playing the Pools by David M. Sindall
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 38%.

Reggie Kellison is unhappy with his life. In 1960s Liverpool he is in a stale marriage, his job at the Pools firm is monotonous, there's not enough money to feed the family, and he is in lust with a young woman at work. Oh, and his football team is on a massive losing streak.

Then Reggie comes up with a scheme to cheat the Pools with the help of his dodgy brother-in-law, his girlfriend and a whistling hearing aid.

I loved the idea of this but the writer seems to hate all his characters, none of them have any redeeming qualities and the relentless sexism (albeit normal for the early 1960s) is so grim that I gave up reading this several times before I eventually gave up completely. I feel that the reader should definitely have some good will towards the main character, especially in a comedy, but Reggie was just such an unsympathetic character I just really disliked him.

After multiple attempts to read this book I gave up at 38%.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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