I am the product of a blank generation. I live for kicks. I live for me.

Birkenhead, 1979. The Pack, a violent mob of Stanley-knife-wielding football hooligans, follow their team across the Northern wastelands to their away games - earning a reputation as the nastiest crew in the Third Division. For the young working-class men with no way out, their lives revolve around the fashion, the music and the mayhem. But for two of them, Carty and Elvis, escaping towards a different future might mean leaving each other behind.

Quickly gaining cult status when first published, Awaydays is both a powerful evocation of a time and a culture, and a poignant coming-of-age story about finding your identity, escaping your circumstances and the unspoken intensity of male friendships.

"Sampson is a fine storyteller . . . Nasty stuff, brilliantly told" - * Guardian *

"The dark side of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch" - * NME *

"An acutely observed rite-of-passage story . . . a time and a generation which has too often been reduced to cliché" - * Independent on Sunday *

"A gritty novel with wit and humour at every turn" - * Maxim *

"What's in a cult novel? A great story, charismatic characters, a powerful narrative voice and an evocative style. If these are the basic ingredients to achieve the perfect cult status, then Kevin Sampson's Awaydays has them all" - * Dazed *

"Mind-bending . . . An immersive portrait of the time and authentic coming-of-age documentation, Awaydays, underestimated outside Britain, is a perfect combination of so-called 'low' and 'high' cultures" - * Medium *

"Awaydays is cheeky, entertaining and in parts dangerous" - * Loaded *

"Razor-sharp rites of passage that buzzes with post-punk energy" - * Telegraph *