The Guardian
·Jul 2026
Underdogs by Louise Powell review – a powerful debut with plenty of northern soul
Louise Powell’s debut novel Underdogs follows ten-year-old George Wheatley and his grieving father, Reg, as they become involved in greyhound racing in Easington Colliery, a former mining community in east Durham. The review praises Powell’s vivid depiction of track culture, working-class life and northern vernacular, while highlighting the novel’s darker treatment of poverty, gambling and the breeding and disposal of greyhounds. Set in 1998 amid the closure of County Durham’s pits and promises of regeneration, the novel portrays a community marked by economic decline, family loyalty and premature death. The review concludes that Underdogs demonstrates the importance of bringing overlooked northern working-class stories into contemporary fiction.