Inside the Liverpool Literary Festival: Chasing Salah with Simon Hughes

One of the Liverpool Literary Festival’s greatest strengths is the diversity of topics and books featured. When this year’s line-up was announced, I was delighted to discover that expert football journalist Simon Hughes would be delivering a talk on his latest book, Chasing Salah.

I’ve admired Hughes for many years after I was introduced to his writing by my Dad. He is one of the leading voices currently writing about Liverpool Football Club, so I was not going to miss my chance to hear him speak. Hughes discussed his new book, Chasing Salah, with Professor Liz Crolley.

‘Chasing Salah’ is an unofficial biography of the Liverpool great, which paints a rich and complex picture of Salah beyond the pitch. In the modern day, it’s easy to think that we know footballers inside out. Post-match interviews and social media put players closer to us than ever before. But Hughes demonstrates that there are more layers to this story.

The book does not contain an interview with Mo Salah himself, which some readers might think reduces the validity of the book. Hughes explained that if Salah was involved in the book, then he would not have been able to write such a thorough account. By leaving Salah’s words out of the book, we can learn significantly more about his life. This doesn’t mean the book is an expose or there to ‘catch Salah out’. It does mean certain periods of his life (like his contract negotiations) can be scrutinised.

One of the most interesting bits of the talk for me personally was exploring the idea of Salah as a cultural figure in Egypt. Hughes experience visiting Egypt shined through as he explained that our Western view of Salah doesn’t truly represent reality. While Salah is a hugely popular figure, some have been unhappy at the lack of AFCON wins during his time with the national team. He is also an outlier due to not playing in the Egyptian league.

Overall, Hughes delivered a compelling and informative talk. I learnt a great deal about a figure I thought I knew well. I would thoroughly recommend his books, and seeking out his book talks in the future.

To read the rest of our coverage of the Liverpool Literary Festival, please click here:

https://www.liverpoolguildstudentmedia.co.uk/category/on-campus