Happy Pub Day: Philipp Winkler's Hooligan Hits the Shelves

Happy Pub Day! For those readers who do not work in books might not be completely aware what "pub day" means. Essentially, it's like a book's birthday – not when the book was printed, but the date on which a particular book is officially published and available to the public. Of course, these days it's possible to pre-order books, but unless you have special connections, you can't get a copy before that.

Even though this is, by official counts, the fifth book-length work of fiction I have translated and will now see the light of day, I have never felt as invested in the success of a book before. The first pub day (Anatomy of a Night) roughly coincided with the birth of my son, so I was understandably distracted. The second was initially “only” an eBook, the third a crime novel, the last was a big name (Bernhard Schlink), but I wasn’t really a fan of the book.

But Hooligan is special. It’s a hard-knock tale of a young working-class guy who makes a series of bad decisions. There’s accidental deaths, multiple suicides, brawls, tons of cursing, and also a bit of soccer/football. I’ve often said that ideally translators are able to find some sort of connection to the text to be able to translate it best. In this case, having grown up in a provincial hole-in-the-wall, I was able to identify with the protagonist. Sure, my life took some different turns and my sport of choice was basketball (go Jayhawks), but Heiko’s story really moved me.

I’m really proud to have translated Philipp Winkler’s debut novel (I’m sure there will be more to come) and really hope that the book finds readers in English.
So happy birthday, Hooligan!