Based on the quotes, I'd say that pretty much every sportswriter in the USA can write the action better than this novel. Sportswriters delight in metaphor, simile, pun, analogy, and historical allusion. Does the novel contain any of that wordplay? I have only a very casual fan's knowledge of boxing but I'm a basketball expert, so I wonder if this novel is like The Basketball Diaries, a movie that's blasphemous to the sport of basketball and to Jim Carroll's brilliant novel/memoir. Here's one of the terrible basketball scenes. And these are NOT supposed to be bad Catholic 8th graders. These guys are supposed to be the best basketball team in NYC.
"Iggy swings hard and lands several point earning hits" I've never written a book or had an editor, but shouldn't someone have scrapped a sentence like that? Something about it sounds weird.
Great review, Alex! You floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. I was born in 1962 and became a huge Ali fan like many. He was just so charismatic.
You have a love of boxing and of writing and you're honest that both were treated poorly in this book.
I can't resist pointing out that the only name that fits with Bullwinkel is Rocky. (spelled Bullwinkle in the cartoon)
W. C. Heinz’s The Professional—also an interesting boxing book, groundbreaking for sports writing. Love a good boxing narrative and was curious about this more recent book, especially the women boxers angle, but also was a bit puzzled about its acclaim when reading some excerpts from it. Great insights here!
Excellent piece. Thanks. I will look for your work elsewhere.
Booker, shmooker, here's what I always do when considering a book to read (or even buy): go to Amazon. Read the bad reviews first. (Many of the 5-star reviews are written by shills.) Read the free sample. That should tell you everything you need to know.
What an enjoyable review. Allow me to add one more boxing essay to the list from the beginning of this piece: Albert Camus’ “The Minotaur or The Stop in Oran.”
Devastating review. Makes me feel kind of sad, actually. I can't stand seeing or reading about people getting hit in the head, so I was never going to pick up this novel, but I liked thinking that a really raw, primal book about broke teenage girls was out there. Too bad it didn't take them seriously enough. As a female friend of mine who used to box said, "At some point, you're there because you like to take the hit." By all rights, that should be a fascinating starting point for a story.
I also found this book fairly bad, in part for some of the reasons you mention. I'm not a fan of boxing in particular, but, for example, not being a fan of horse racing didn't keep me from loving Kick the Latch. One reason Headshot fell so flat for me was the constant repetition of simple words and phrases, the purposeful non-use of synonyms or alternate phrasings, which combined with the short sentences and surface-level explanations made the book feel at times like it was written for middle grades. I thought the flash forwards were an interesting choice that I generally enjoyed, but it wasn't nearly enough to save the book overall.
I am one of those who would never have read this book, but not for the reasons others have given. I used to love boxing. I have no idea why, but I recall watching them on TV, and listening to them on the radio. I can still hear the voice of announcer Jimmy Lennon as I write this. I even went to seedy arenas, by myself, to watch in person.
Memory plays tricks with chronology, but it was likely February 1963, when I was in my late teens, when I was lucky enough to meet Cassius Clay, before the Liston bout, before the name change. We hung out for several hours, along with his brother, Rudolph Valentino. I was at Los Angeles CIty College and was the only one there who recognized him. I asked him if he was Cassius Clay, and he asked me how did I know! I'm sure that was something he never had to ask again.
I had already given up on the sport by then. The prior year, I saw the Welterweight championship match between Emile Griffith and Benny "The Kid" Paret. I've never watched another match since.
This, however, is a great sentence: "...take these dull sentences to the face round after round and nod along for two hundred pages, hoping for a knockout," he typed with his fingers.
Based on the quotes, I'd say that pretty much every sportswriter in the USA can write the action better than this novel. Sportswriters delight in metaphor, simile, pun, analogy, and historical allusion. Does the novel contain any of that wordplay? I have only a very casual fan's knowledge of boxing but I'm a basketball expert, so I wonder if this novel is like The Basketball Diaries, a movie that's blasphemous to the sport of basketball and to Jim Carroll's brilliant novel/memoir. Here's one of the terrible basketball scenes. And these are NOT supposed to be bad Catholic 8th graders. These guys are supposed to be the best basketball team in NYC.
https://youtu.be/N8rU3Hq6TIM?si=3XND6Zre1GI9Kkt2
"Iggy swings hard and lands several point earning hits" I've never written a book or had an editor, but shouldn't someone have scrapped a sentence like that? Something about it sounds weird.
It's a sentence written by somebody who has done research but has no sense of poetry.
Not much research either. Nobody earns “hits” in boxing. You earn points, you land punches, but hits? Not in my gym.
True! True!
Sounds weird because you can’t land several hits with one swing.
"Basketball Diaries" was shockingly unwatchable.
This. Was. Excellent. I didn't mean to read the whole thing because I know very little about boxing but got drawn in and couldn't stop.
Great review, Alex! You floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. I was born in 1962 and became a huge Ali fan like many. He was just so charismatic.
You have a love of boxing and of writing and you're honest that both were treated poorly in this book.
I can't resist pointing out that the only name that fits with Bullwinkel is Rocky. (spelled Bullwinkle in the cartoon)
W. C. Heinz’s The Professional—also an interesting boxing book, groundbreaking for sports writing. Love a good boxing narrative and was curious about this more recent book, especially the women boxers angle, but also was a bit puzzled about its acclaim when reading some excerpts from it. Great insights here!
TKO
Well that's one I can remove from the maybe pile.
Excellent piece. Thanks. I will look for your work elsewhere.
Booker, shmooker, here's what I always do when considering a book to read (or even buy): go to Amazon. Read the bad reviews first. (Many of the 5-star reviews are written by shills.) Read the free sample. That should tell you everything you need to know.
What an enjoyable review. Allow me to add one more boxing essay to the list from the beginning of this piece: Albert Camus’ “The Minotaur or The Stop in Oran.”
Well written and brutal takedown. Haven't read the book so can't comment on the merit but the execution was efficient and ruthless.
Devastating review. Makes me feel kind of sad, actually. I can't stand seeing or reading about people getting hit in the head, so I was never going to pick up this novel, but I liked thinking that a really raw, primal book about broke teenage girls was out there. Too bad it didn't take them seriously enough. As a female friend of mine who used to box said, "At some point, you're there because you like to take the hit." By all rights, that should be a fascinating starting point for a story.
Has your friend written anything? I'd read it.
Sent you a direct message about this!
I also found this book fairly bad, in part for some of the reasons you mention. I'm not a fan of boxing in particular, but, for example, not being a fan of horse racing didn't keep me from loving Kick the Latch. One reason Headshot fell so flat for me was the constant repetition of simple words and phrases, the purposeful non-use of synonyms or alternate phrasings, which combined with the short sentences and surface-level explanations made the book feel at times like it was written for middle grades. I thought the flash forwards were an interesting choice that I generally enjoyed, but it wasn't nearly enough to save the book overall.
This is so good at making me angry at the failure of Headshot that it makes me want to write about my boxing and Muay Thai days.
Unfortunately, I took one too many punches and kicks to the head to remember it well enough to write about it.
Write it anyway. Memory is a trickster for all of us. Stories are more about how we felt, and our own interpretations anyway.
Sounds rough. So much for the Booker prize brand. I try and read as many of the nominees as I can but I guess I’ll skip this one.
In the meantime I’ll put in a plug for Thom Jones’ Pugilist at Rest. Excellent boxing and in the trenches combat writing.
Top notch stuff, a knock out.
I am one of those who would never have read this book, but not for the reasons others have given. I used to love boxing. I have no idea why, but I recall watching them on TV, and listening to them on the radio. I can still hear the voice of announcer Jimmy Lennon as I write this. I even went to seedy arenas, by myself, to watch in person.
Memory plays tricks with chronology, but it was likely February 1963, when I was in my late teens, when I was lucky enough to meet Cassius Clay, before the Liston bout, before the name change. We hung out for several hours, along with his brother, Rudolph Valentino. I was at Los Angeles CIty College and was the only one there who recognized him. I asked him if he was Cassius Clay, and he asked me how did I know! I'm sure that was something he never had to ask again.
I had already given up on the sport by then. The prior year, I saw the Welterweight championship match between Emile Griffith and Benny "The Kid" Paret. I've never watched another match since.
I enjoyed your review. Thank you.
This, however, is a great sentence: "...take these dull sentences to the face round after round and nod along for two hundred pages, hoping for a knockout," he typed with his fingers.
🤣🤣🤣