Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Fight Night

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Fight Night by Miriam Toews

22 reviews

funktious's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad 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

3.5

This was the first book I got in my book subscription from Porty By Post (https://portybypost.com/) which my lovely partner got me for my 40th.

It’s a great present because I wouldn’t have picked this up for myself, so it was interesting to read something completely different. It’s a very funny book, with a hilarious child narrator, even if she doesn’t realise it. Her embarrassment at the antics of her family is so perfectly observed. And Grandma is a wonderful character, larger than life and with no fucks left as she grapples with multiple illnesses. There was so much love between the three generations of women, despite the many arguments. A really good portrait of a family.

The alleged framing of the novel as Swiv writing a letter to her absent father wore a bit thin though, and once I figured out how old she was I wasn’t terribly keen on how much she was having to care for her grandmother. There’s also very little plot beyond waiting for Swiv's sibling to arrive and the lessons that Grandma tries to impart.

But the ending all brings it together nicely, if heart breakingly, and you can see how much Swiv has learned and changed.

I didn’t realise this author also wrote Women Talking, which I’ll track down now. So a great first book box, all in all!

Content Warnings

f_amiliar_happine_ss's review

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can suffer the most who will conquer.

After sulking in a reading slump for MONTHS, I have finally found a book that entertained me ~and~ left me wanting to read more, now I'm motivated enough to take on my ambitious tbr.
This novel describes the lives of three women in a family of fighters, set mostly in Canada with a quick travel to America, written as a letter from an eight-ish year old daughter to her alcoholic father who recently left his family. Although the perspective is that of a child's, this read carried such an emotional weight at times before the mood picks up with hysterical humor.
I mostly sprinted through this read, completing a chapter or two before taking a quick break, then coming right back because I just had to know why Swiv's father left, what happened with her mother just months previously, what Gord's gender is or if they are delivered safely; so many questions developed as I flew through this book which were promptly answered.
Highly recommend to all types of readers, definitely going to look into more of this authors work :)

Content Warnings

orla_h's review

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emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

eeenou's review

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I love a precocious child narrator and Swiv is no exception. Viewing this family's struggles and triumphs through her eyes is touching and humorous.

Content Warnings

krys_kilz's review

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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.