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sshabein's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
LOVED this. Having so far read this and Women Talking, I think Miriam Toews might be one of my new favorite authors. Her sentences, her humor, her characters... Just excellent.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
1414's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
krys_kilz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was unlike anything I've ever read. The writing style - which felt akin to stream of consciousness - was a little difficult to navigate at first, but I'm glad I stuck with it. There were so many moments of exquisite tenderness and passages that made me laugh out loud. Precocious 8-year-old Swiv as the narrator really amplified the absolute absurdity of the everyday. Grandma Elvira's section where she talks about Swiv's mother, mental illness, and how authoritarianism and fascism warp perception was impeccable. And the ending - the final paragraph - was just perfection.
"To be alive means to have full body contact with the absurd."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Suicide and Mental illness
Minor: Excrement, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
heatherdavies's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At the start I wasnt sure I was jiving with the story thinking maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea. But I think there is a certain level of buildup in this book and you have to stick with it to get to the heart of the story at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
erinnz's review against another edition
The way Miriam Toews writes is hard to follow - lack of spacing, long paragraphs and dialogue without breaks/ quotation marks. This makes it a tough read, on top of a character-driven story.
Half way through I was reading just to finish it, not to enjoy it. And then on page 208/251 I am 0% invested in what was going to happen.
Half way through I was reading just to finish it, not to enjoy it. And then on page 208/251 I am 0% invested in what was going to happen.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy and Death
emniluk's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
jen_again's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Death
spaghettireads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
For starters, I have to say that I am a big fan of Miriam Toews’ writing. I love the way that she writes about ‘normal life’ in a way that is so funny and so heartfelt, and rings so true.
Fight Night is centred around the relationship between Swiv (the 9 year old narrator) and her grandmother. Please don’t let the child narrator turn you off from the book, because I really feel like it’s done well here. The narration feels a bit chaotic at first, but you settle into it, and at the end you feel like you are in on the characters’ inside jokes.
There were so many points in this book that had me laughing out loud, and also points that had me in tears. I loved the references to Toronto, and specifically Toronto sports team fandom.
I felt like sometimes the format of the book being a letter got a bit lost, however I loved the rest of the book so much that I’m willfully passing over that.
I would highly recommend, and I’m happy to see it shortlisted for the Giller this year!
Fight Night is centred around the relationship between Swiv (the 9 year old narrator) and her grandmother. Please don’t let the child narrator turn you off from the book, because I really feel like it’s done well here. The narration feels a bit chaotic at first, but you settle into it, and at the end you feel like you are in on the characters’ inside jokes.
There were so many points in this book that had me laughing out loud, and also points that had me in tears. I loved the references to Toronto, and specifically Toronto sports team fandom.
I felt like sometimes the format of the book being a letter got a bit lost, however I loved the rest of the book so much that I’m willfully passing over that.
I would highly recommend, and I’m happy to see it shortlisted for the Giller this year!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicide
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