A Fan's Notes

Frederick Exley recounts his life as the son of a hero-worshipped high school athlete who is doomed to be a spectator not only of sports, but of life. From irresponsible drifter, to dreamer of impossible dreams, to drunkard, to frequent patient at an insane asylum, Exley carried baggage from his childhood through much of his adult life, never feeling he could escape the dark cloud of expectation that hung over him. When Frank Gifford, former New York Giants backfield star, is injured, Exley is jolted into painful realizations about his life, and a confession.

• Misfit:: The Strange Life of Frederick Exley
• Hard Rain Falling (New York Review Books Classics)
• Pages from a Cold Island (Vintage contemporaries)
• Naked Lunch
• Sleepless Nights (New York Review Books Classics)
• Memories of a Catholic Girlhood
• The Counterlife
• Light Years
• America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation
• Junky: The Definitive Text of "Junk"