‘At one time he had believed
the nineteen-fifties would bring him to greatness. Now they were almost at an
end and he was through.’
Fat
City (US)
centres upon the lives of a stable of boxers and their coaches. In truth, it’s
not much of a stable. There are has-beens and hangers-on and
never-had-a-hope-in-hell characters who sometimes turn up to train and
sometimes don’t.
Things look to be on the upturn when Tully discovers a new
talent in the form of the young Ernie Munger, so much so that Tully begins to
think that a return to the ring might not be beyond him. All he really needs is
to get over his divorce, kick the booze and get himself in condition and
anything might be possible.
The tales of the history of the training and their bouts is
compelling. Even more powerful is the examination of their personal battles. Each
of their lives a struggle against demons without and within. Their worlds are
tough. Money is tight. Women bring pleasure and pain in equal measure. The
mundane is everywhere and the only hope of escape seems to be to put on the
gloves and either take or dish out a beating.
Some of my favourite scenes revolve around the seasonal work
offered on local farms. These are handled superbly and highlight the depth of
the desperation.
‘And so Tully,
relating the story of his marriage, crawled through the afternoon, separating
the nuts from clods until all the nuts were the same hated one thrown forever
into the bucket.’
I love this sentence. It resonates with me as I’m sure it
would with many. That sense of the pointlessness of the daily grind. The repetition
week after week. The harnesses that have to be endured. Working is tough.
Surviving can feel hard. Life could always be better. Even for the lucky ones.
This is a fantastic read. The prose is tight and powerful. The
cycles of hope and despair are compelling and the desire to root for the
characters in whatever they do is strong.
Read it.
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