Quirky and heartwarming, Alain Gillot's The Penalty Area introduces an eccentric soccer coach who finds unexpected happiness in the oddest places. Vincent Barteau retired from playing professionally after an injury, settling instead for coaching as a way to stay in the game. Coaching children was never the plan, but this job pays well enough. He is a loner, frustrated with the mediocre talent he has to work with. When his estranged sister shows up to deposit her 13-year-old son with him, Vincent is understandably annoyed--until he puts his nephew Léonard on the field and everything changes.
Léonard is a chess prodigy and all-around odd boy. He dislikes soccer for being "too simplistic." It is only in deciphering plays, percentages and tactics that his exceptional intellect is engaged. Caring for Léonard exposes Vincent to new people and scenarios; the man dislikes change as much as the boy does, but in the new world that opens before them, possibilities abound. Léonard discovers soccer. Vincent discovers family and hope.
The Penalty Area handles material that could easily overindulge in sentiment, but Vincent's awkward, exasperated approach to life and human flaws admits no foolishness. Howard Curtis translates from the French in occasionally stiff prose, which nonetheless suits the equally stiff narrator. Vincent's voice offers the novel a disarming vulnerability; Léonard and Vincent's exploration of new challenges feels fresh and endearing, even humorous. No love of sport is required to feel the genuine emotion pulsing from this story about making connections. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjuliaDiscover: When a grumpy soccer coach takes in his 13-year-old nephew, they're both forced to grow, on and off the field.
