‘The Season is marked by [Helen Garner’s] unsparing eye for detail and that superpower of detachment—a narrator who sees everything yet who is also deeply involved in the story, with emotional flourishes that rise when she watches her grandson.’

‘Startling in its candour and compelling in its nakedness…A marvellous paean to the glories of youth just shy of the treacheries of manhood.’

‘One of Australia’s greatest living writers.’

‘A deeply talented and intelligent writer…In this book performed in a minor key, Garner the grandmother is on song, displaying the very qualities she exalts in athletes: candour, discipline, vigilance and valour.’

‘Garner’s real subject is the broader terrain of grace, loyalty, grit and what it means to be masculine today…It’s classic Garner actually: taut, observant prose, sprinkled with wry “nanna jokes” and descriptions that bring the scenes to life.’

‘[Garner’s] observational skills and her ability to drill down into character and place, make this not only an excellent memoir but also an examination of nascent masculinity, ageing, and the place of sport in contemporary life.’

‘Garner comes at football with a naive perspective and a poet’s eye for detail. She’s just opened the door to this new world and voraciously eats it up: the courage of the young players, the language of its commentators, the commitment of its supporters. Her insights into the game were illuminating and, for me, cast it in a new light. I must admit that I have done the reverse to Garner: after being a football fanatic, I had fallen out of football’s thrall in recent times. After reading this book, I watched my first full game in years. The Season will be appreciated by football fans, of course, but it contains multitudes. Just like the game itself.’

‘Over one footy season, Garner observes her youngest grandson’s U16 team at training and games, but of course, brings her vivid attention to masculinity, family, weather, ageing, our bodies, and much more.’

‘This is a book about sport. AFL. But this isn’t a polemic about football culture. This is, as Garner says, a nanna’s book about footy. Garner never says anything concrete. She dances around the roles of ritual in sport, and how it takes on a religious quality to those who follow it. Tracking her relationship with her youngest grandson over the season, she gives the utmost respect to the boys in the team and their constantly changing relationships with each other; they are the only characters (people?) with names in the entire book. The Season was a beautiful mix of sports and emotions, and while I didn’t learn a whole lot about the rules of AFL, I’m now obsessed with the relationship between Garner and her grandchildren.’

‘Is there anything more thrilling than reading Helen Garner on everyday things such as haircuts, the Melbourne skyline, ageing, AFL tactics, friendship and half-time oranges? A book for all seasons—not just the footy one!’