Is this the weirdest, most beautiful cricket book ever written?
Christian Ryan’s Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun weaves idiosyncratically through the stories of 11 men and women whose lives were defined, if briefly, by cricket.
Christian Ryan is a writer with a deep love for cricket. His latest book, Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun, is a unique and captivating exploration of the lives of 11 individuals whose lives intersected with the sport. The book defies conventional structure, weaving together stories of varying lengths and focusing on different aspects of the lives of these individuals.
The players range from Australian spinner John Watkins, to Trinidadian Shervan Pragg, who was killed in a road accident at the age of 20, to English cricketer Frank Parr, who preferred to play jazz trombone. The book also features women cricketers such as Trinidadian batter Jane Joseph and Donna Carmino. Ryan's writing style is unique, with conversations and stories jumping around the book, sometimes seemingly randomly, but always skillfully integrated into the narrative.
The passages are vivid and immersive, painting portraits of the individuals in such a way that they seem almost real. The book is a testament to the power of cricket to capture the essence of life, the human experience of failure and triumph, and the beauty of the game beyond the field.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
