"A compelling story of a lost young man desperate to find his place . . . Hooligan has a brooding power and enough surprises to keep readers on their toes."— Booklist
"One of the most intense reading experiences of the fall. A book like a punch in the gut . . . Setting foot in terrain where other rules and other values apply, that is what this uncompromising novel is about."— Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"Philipp Winkler has written perhaps the greatest German fairy tale that can be written today."— Die Welt
"People are always saying there are far too few novels about the reality of German life. Here is one."— Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
"The language is poetic. It's raw and craggy, full of dirt and broken glass and rust."— Hannoversche Allegemeine Zeitung
"An extraordinary literary work about failure." — Die Stern
"A novel as great as it is terrifying."— Neue Presse
"The truly impressive thing is how vividly Philipp Winkler has designed the drama of Heiko Kolbe. . . . Hooligan is a really good book."— Taz
"With Hooligan , Philipp Winkler has shot a flare right in the middle of the other side's block of fans. . . . Ultimately, it is mostly a story about growing the hell up."— Der Spiegel
" Hooligan is a stunning hit and this year’s debut novel that resonates the most."— Frankfurter Neue Presse
"One of the most remarkable and readable novels of the year."—n-tv.de
"This is a poetic language. It is raw and jagged, full of dirt and shards and rust."— Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
"What Philipp Winkler addresses in this story should grip all of us."— BR Puls
"In this book they love, hate, booze and brawl, bellow […] a brilliant young author."—NDR Kultur
"Philipp Winkler is the literary discovery of the season."— Hamburger Abendblatt
"A well-constructed work that is simultaneously brutal and sensitive, comedic and sad, strange and familiar."— Schwäbische Zeitung
"Most of all, Winkler’s novel impresses with its authenticity."—DeutschlandRadio Kultur
"Hard like a brawl, but calculated to the very last."— Frankfurter Allgemeine
"A hard, gripping novel."— Die Zeit Online
"As if someone had strongly reinforced the true . . . core with eyeliner made of blood and filth."— Süddeutsche Zeitung
"This novel is high-tempo."—WDR2
"[A] novel that promises no less than to encounter another person unconditionally."— Berliner Zeitung
“Hooligans are dead, long live hooligans!”—Die Welt Kompakt
"It’s not every day that a debut novel unleashes such excitement in the literary world before its release."—BR2
“You should be thankful to Philipp Winkler.”—11 Freunde
Gifted narrator Mikael Naramore captures the sense of brotherhood, the assortment of accents reflecting lower-class economic backgrounds, and the sad desperation in Winkler’s exploration of multiple lost generations of young men whose only bond is their tribal support of their favorite soccer teams. Naramore’s performance dissects the character Heiko and the other members of his gang with both love, sympathy, and microscopic detail of lives filled with seething anxiety as they search for rival gangs. The violence is swift, bloody, and hard to listen to, but Naramore’s steady pace and understated tone guide the listener through this nightmare world where disagreements begin with a fist to the nose and end with shattered bones, cracked teeth, and broken dreams. R.O. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
