Author: Christopher William Kinsey

Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father

Stephen King has inspired many a writer to pick up a pen (or keyboard) and emulate his style. So it’s only fair his son, Joe Hill, is afforded a concession for attempting this. What is also understandable is Hill’s desire to tell an old fashioned horror tale, the type that are no longer attempted. But can the son recapture the former glory of a style often deemed dated?

The quick and simple answer is: yes, he certainly can. A glance at the plot summary makes Heart-Shaped Box sound like it shouldn’t work. And it really shouldn’t. Nowadays most authors or filmmakers opt for some psychological element to build the probability or tension. The idea of a ghost haunting a protagonist should sound too simple.

This should be a nailed on fact when the appearance of the ghost is because said protagonist, aging rock star, Judas Coyne, buys a “haunted” suit from an auction website. And there is little build-up to the spirit making himself known to Judas. This quick reveal means the reader just has to accept it. There’s never a hint Judas could be going crazy. The ghost exists. Accept it, and accept his interaction with the living world is prevalent pretty fast.

Such is the pace of purchase to dilemma, after a third of the book you begin to wonder just how Hill will manage to fill the remaining pages. The ghost, who is revealed as Craddock McDermott, the deceased father of Jude’s former live-in lover who killed herself, appears relentless and unstoppable.

It’s only Coyne’s two German Shepherds (cutely named Angus and Bon in honour of the AC/DC legends) that give him some rest bite from the ghostly attacks.

During this quick start the main characters are coloured in fast. Coyne is the rocker with an unhealthy obsession with the occult and things that are distasteful (his ex-wife left him after coming across a snuff video he owns). But he doesn’t necessarily believe in the dark matters he delves into, it just accompanies a persona he portrays.

His women are young and last no longer than a year. He names them from the state they originated and that’s about as far as he goes into their actual lives.

It’s with current girlfriend, Georgia, who he mounts an escape with which forms into a plan for freedom. It’s in this phase the past and current events intertwine and the true nature of McDermott is revealed while Judas is made to face real, personal demons.

We also learn more about Georgia, the young goth who refuses to be just another conquest Coyne will discard, showing loyalty equal to Angus and Bon’s. She appears unafraid and beyond her years. It enables an alternative take on a love story to develop as they suffer through the incidents that follow.

This female connection also links Coyne’s emotions to the dead daughter that Craddock seeks vengeance for. She was always Florida, the girl that asked too many questions and suffered from bouts of severe depression. His journey to rediscover her is what moves the tale along.

The novel is too gripping to slip into the parody it had the potential to be and Hill doesn’t take too many liberties with the paranormal to get himself out of tight spots. Even when it’s obvious where the story is heading, it’s still a real page turner – surely the sign of a good story.

The comparisons with his father will be an annoyance to Hill (hence his choice of surname) but rather than ignore them and make an elephant in the room, it’s best to address them head-on. Heart-Shaped Box proves he deserves to be judged by his own high standards.

If King was still writing classic horror it may have taken this feel, but one suspects the baton has been passed from one generation to the next, and Hill’s interpretation has shown the old master a few tricks.

And it works so well because he remembered his father’s rule to make the genre work…

How to Sweep up the Premier League Tactical Problem

How to Sweep up the Premier League Tactical Problem

It may be regarded as the most competitive top flight European league, but the Premier League has been going backwards tactically for some time now. This is evident by the declining performances, year after year, by English sides in the Champions League. It seems top sides here have suffered from acquiescence regarding their place in the pecking order. But there could be a way to stop them from faltering further.

On a weekly basis we see goals conceded that, while making the Premier League exciting and unpredictable, are a tactician’s nightmare. Some of the errors border on the schoolboy variety; others highlight how the pace of the English game makes defending a thankless task.

The solution could come from – quite ironically – an old European favourite: the sweeper system.

Before we go on, it needs to be pointed out, my personal level of football coaching begins on Championship Manager (the version before CM’93) and ends with Football Manager 2016. As a player, my greatest contribution was the post-match karaoke for the Sunday team I represented.

However, I did take England to two World Cup final victories and scored a screamer when hungover once (and just once, making me the least prolific striker in history). But you don’t have to be an all-time great to have valid observations. Indeed, the majority of top managers were, at best, average players.

The call for Premier League teams to adopt a sweeper system isn’t borne from some romantic notion. I’m not expecting John Stones to be the next Franco Baresi, although, it’s not too difficult to imagine. It comes from common sense.

The reasons that made European teams evolve away from the sweeper system are no longer valid in this country. Some factors apply across the board, including the Champions League.

Take the inability to apply a successful offside trap when employing a sweeper. When was the last time you saw an English side lockout Bayern Munich or Real Madrid because of their quick-thinking high defensive line?

Moreover, the offside trap requires linesman to never make a mistake. Okay, perhaps they can be afforded a few. And in days gone by the odd error would have been taken on the chin. But nowadays we have an overcomplicated offside rule. A defender can play a perfect “trap” and be caught out by the second or third phase of play. He can lose to the official’s interpretation.

A sweeper removes this area of potential ambiguity. He just clears up and prevents shock counters and breakaways.

Another argument against could be the modern defensive midfielder already does the role of sweeper but in a more advantageous position on the field.

To a certain degree, this is clearly true in some cases. The current Barcelona team never look like they need a sweeper. And Pep Guardiola’s conversion of Philipp Lahm to the defensive midfield role shows how versatile and effective it can be.

Under Guardiola, Lahm performed a similar role to the one Busquets had in Pep’s Barça side. Sometimes they slotted back, making a line of three centre backs, with the option for one to sweep. But it wasn’t an in-game reversion. The role of sweeper is too complex for players to cameo in the position. These instances were an example of a team responding to pressure and adapting for short bursts.

But aside from the very top sides, the role elsewhere is either performed by charlatans or capable players stuck in teams that don’t know how to support it. Take Manchester City, it can’t be argued they have the talent to play the modern defensive midfield role. They also have demonstrated how deadly it can be at times. But sides from Bournemouth to Middlesbrough to Juventus, have all shown how easy it is to bypass their midfield.

When that happens, you don’t have a sweeper sat in front of the defence – you have nothing but empty space protecting two centre backs.

This lack of cover combined with today’s blistering pace means even the best defenders will be made to look stupid. Eliaquim Mangala would have had an entirely different season if he’d have been given better protection in front of him. With a sweeper behind, he’d have excelled.

A sweeper would make teams more solid in the Premier League, the question then becomes: How would they fare in Europe.

This is harder to answer, mainly because it reduces some of the advantages English sides take into a game. The play goes slower still, the intelligence of the midfield to receive passes from a ball-playing sweeper needs to increase, and the best forwards in the world can try and camp out on your defensive line.

But the current weak imitation of how to play their style is sending Premier League teams backwards.

Perhaps a perceived disadvantage of the system would help English sides in Europe. The sweeper is seen as a waste of a defensive player when so many modern sides play with only one striker. This is an illusion at best.

A 4-3-2-1 soon becomes an out-and-out 4-3-3 when a good side is in possession.

The extra insurance at the back can deal with the morphing forward line.

Many will believe it’s outdated or impossible to try the system now. They’ll say defensive midfielders shore up a team. But ask yourself: when was the last time you saw a player properly anchor a side during a Premier League match?

Marcel Desailly? Nigel de Jong, at a stretch.

The sweeper system is a solution that keeps getting ignored. Someone needs to try it. Failure to do so ensures the European dominance stays with the German/Spanish power share and the domestic game will continue to suffer tactical devolution.

Help over Hatred

Help over Hatred

Kathryn Stockett’s debut 2009 novel, The Help, was well received at the time and went on to win several notable literary awards. It has since been adapted for the screen, bringing the source material into further focus. During these times of social segregation, it seems more fitting than ever to review the message it tries to send.

Set in 1960s Mississippi, it closely follows the lives of three very different women. The opening section begins with Aibileen Clark. She is maid and cleaner for the Leefolt family, along with caring for their young daughter, Mae Mobley.

Aibileen’s calm, measured voice is a perfect way to introduce the reader to the town of Jackson. We see the love she has for the toddler. This despite previous experience showing her that when the babies grow up, a treasured bond is often cut forever.

Through her eyes we meet the women of the community. They have their own agendas and have no trouble ensuring the clear boundaries between blacks and whites are maintained. The early saga, revolving around Leefolt’s desire to have an outside toilet installed for Aibileen, is how a revulsion regarding archaic attitudes begins to simmer away with the reader.

Throughout, Aibileen remains dignified. She can ignore how the community ostracises, instigated most of the time by the ringleader of the white women, Hilly Holbrook.

Hilly is a readymade villain, almost a little too pantomime at times. She also acts as a link between the two worlds and lifestyles. The second of the protagonists we follow is Eugenia Phelan, or Skeeter as she is nicknamed for the majority of the scenes.

Skeeter is different from the other women in the clique. She misses her own maid that raised her, Constantine. Her unexpected disappearance which occurred months before Skeeter returned from university, drives her forward for answers. At first she views the common opinions surrounding the help with nothing more than indifference. She doesn’t discriminate out of her own nature.

Over time, when pressed and confronted with the separation between blacks and whites, she educates herself on the appalling laws and strives to make a difference. It isn’t an Oskar Schindler journey of realisation. Skeeter always treated people equally, but she started to see how deep the problem was.

Her and Aibileen first communicate in secret to help Skeeter complete a weekly newspaper column about housekeeping tips. Skeeter’s writing ambition, and the advice from a New York editor, make her look for a real story. And she realises the problem in Mississippi is a tale needing to be told.

The final voice to tell the story is Minny. For every piece of Aibileen’s calm, there is a bit of Minny’s passion. A woman whose mouth has gotten her into trouble more times than she cares to remember. Her anger and distrust is well justified and the fire in her belly doesn’t make her any less likable.

Her journey is forming a slow bond with Celia, a housewife who is seen to be too trashy for the usual social scene. This isn’t a natural fit to begin with but Minny has burnt her employment bridges to such a degree she has to persevere.

Of all the members of white society we meet in the story, Celia is the most naïve to the plight of the minorities. She truly can’t understand why Minny has walls surrounding their relationship and doesn’t see her employer as a potential friend.

Minny has a great comedic role to play in parts but her tale reveals a painful, difficult existence. She also offers herself up as a potential sacrifice to keep the group safe.

Which brings us to the main drive of the novel. When Hilly ensures her maid, Yule May, goes to prison for theft, the fellow maids in the town decide to help Aibileen and Skeeter produce a book detailing their experiences. During transformation and revelation, Aibileen is the cement that keeps everything together.

Stockett should be applauded for creating three strong voices to drive the story. Such is her talent, that at the end of each transition you wish you could stay with the woman you’re with, only to beg a few more chapters with the new voice in the cycle.

Switching to and fro is never jarring, sometimes it’s entirely necessary. The lives of these ordinary people are punctuated with historical moments in the civil rights campaign and the actions of JFK. They give a sense of the times and the social disharmony.

The only criticism is they don’t pound the problem home with enough force. There is never – despite hearing of horror stories – a real sense of fear. That isn’t to say they don’t suffer (you will shed a tear reading this book) but the plight of the people isn’t quite given the justice it deserves.

However, any shortfalls are made up with the execution of the main narrative and its moral points. There is no need to divide and separate. All people are equal. A baby is born without prejudice and loves those that are kindest, it sees no colour.

Hatred is taught and should never be allowed to overrule love.