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jcgrenn_reads's review
4.0
What an epic story! Awesome read; will definitely go back and read desperation road. Loved this story and the characters.
alisonlaw's review
Listen to my interview with [a:Michael Farris Smith|4309584|Michael Farris Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494000801p2/4309584.jpg] about [b:The Fighter|35604673|The Fighter|Michael Farris Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1509520131s/35604673.jpg|57042252] in Episode 36 of the Literary Atlanta podcast.
rachreadsbooks27's review
3.0
I didn’t enjoy this story as much as Desperation Road... but Michael Farris Smith is a damn fine writer.
itsmarkyall's review
4.0
This book reads like a fever dream. It’s dark, hungry, and violent. You’ll be able to taste the blood on the page. The Fighter may not be a book you enjoy, but it will leave you satisfied, and you may even want to read it again. I do.
sjj169's review
3.0
2.5 stars
Jack Boucher was dropped off at the second hand store when he was two years old.
(Inserting tidbit that stuck in my head. His last name is pronounced Boo-shay. No relation to this guy.)
After that he spends time in foster homes and finally lucks up when he is placed with the one woman that will care for him. Once there he is bullied at school and has to learn to take up for himself. Then he finds a flyer in an alley for a super secret fight that is going on and it changes Jack.
Fast forward to present day...Jack has some memory problems (probably from the head shots he has taken fighting) and has to carry around notes with people's names on them. That way he can figure out if someone is a friend or if they have stabbed him in the back years ago.
He thinks he is finally going to come out on top of things because he has money to pay off his gambling debts from Big Mama Sweet. But this wouldn't be a dark book if some crap didn't go down. He ends up losing the money and his foster mom is in the nursing home dying, and if his luck wasn't bad enough..he is also losing the house she left him.
Big Mama Sweet does not take his not being able to pay her very well and puts out an offer he can't refuse and Jack is going to end up having to do another fight.
So...I liked this book okay but I did not love it. For such a interesting blurb and storyline I ended up bored most of the time. Meh.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
Jack Boucher was dropped off at the second hand store when he was two years old.
(Inserting tidbit that stuck in my head. His last name is pronounced Boo-shay. No relation to this guy.)
After that he spends time in foster homes and finally lucks up when he is placed with the one woman that will care for him. Once there he is bullied at school and has to learn to take up for himself. Then he finds a flyer in an alley for a super secret fight that is going on and it changes Jack.
Fast forward to present day...Jack has some memory problems (probably from the head shots he has taken fighting) and has to carry around notes with people's names on them. That way he can figure out if someone is a friend or if they have stabbed him in the back years ago.
He thinks he is finally going to come out on top of things because he has money to pay off his gambling debts from Big Mama Sweet. But this wouldn't be a dark book if some crap didn't go down. He ends up losing the money and his foster mom is in the nursing home dying, and if his luck wasn't bad enough..he is also losing the house she left him.
Big Mama Sweet does not take his not being able to pay her very well and puts out an offer he can't refuse and Jack is going to end up having to do another fight.
So...I liked this book okay but I did not love it. For such a interesting blurb and storyline I ended up bored most of the time. Meh.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
tommooney's review
4.0
Mean and tender, brutal and gentle, Michael Farris Smith's new novel is really a superb read.
I read and enjoyed Desperation Road but he takes his writing to a new level with The Fighter. Tighter and more focussed, it follows Jack Boucher, an aging cage fighter with a long list of debts and an even longer list of enemies. Trying to win enough cash to clear his debts and win back the house left to him by his foster mother, Jack takes one last, dangerous, bout.
Farris Smith has, in Boucher, created an intruiging protaganist, a flawed but sympathetic man who has met all of life's hard knocks with an iron fist. But his time at the top is well past and he is in a battle to save both his body and his mind.
Beautifully written and expertly plotted, The Fighter reads like a mash-up of Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard. I liked it very much.
I read and enjoyed Desperation Road but he takes his writing to a new level with The Fighter. Tighter and more focussed, it follows Jack Boucher, an aging cage fighter with a long list of debts and an even longer list of enemies. Trying to win enough cash to clear his debts and win back the house left to him by his foster mother, Jack takes one last, dangerous, bout.
Farris Smith has, in Boucher, created an intruiging protaganist, a flawed but sympathetic man who has met all of life's hard knocks with an iron fist. But his time at the top is well past and he is in a battle to save both his body and his mind.
Beautifully written and expertly plotted, The Fighter reads like a mash-up of Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard. I liked it very much.
rcpowell27's review
3.0
I didn’t enjoy this story as much as Desperation Road... but Michael Farris Smith is a damn fine writer.
read_me_up_scotty's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sherlynn's review
4.0
What a read! The Fighter was not a book I would normally choose for myself. I received a copy in a box subscription and decided to give it a try. At first, I wasn't sure I would like the book. But, by page 59 I was propelled to figure out what happened to Jack Boucher throughout his journey. Jack is a beautifully disturbed individual with a likeability factor. I rooted for him as the story progressed. This story has a nice little twist that I didn't see coming until it was right up on me. The characters are vivid and real. They are not glossed over. They are rough and raw and full of backstories that rip at your soul. I liked his book so much that I'm considering adding more of Michael Farris Smith's books to my collection. I would recommend this book to individuals who like stories with some grit.