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A review by lucy_goosey7
The Fight by Norman Mailer
4.0
"What is genius but balance on the edge of the impossible?"
Norman takes us deep into an intimate pocket of time in the lead up to this incredible fight, diving down into the rich context of the match, and on into the ring where seconds and minutes of boxing stretch into whole chapters. This was more of a page turner than anything I've read in a while, a fascinating circling of Ali's mindset, all the while Norman knowing that he could only ever guess at the inner workings of the champion's head and heart. Some ideas/analogies were definitely dated (mainly in regards to attitudes to women, I've got used to this from 20th century reads I spose), but it helps that Norman would never advise us to take his word as gospel in the first place. A key factor of my love for this book was that I was already in the middle of an obsession with the life of Muhammad Ali - what an addition this was; funny, thrilling, thoughtful and absorbing.
Norman takes us deep into an intimate pocket of time in the lead up to this incredible fight, diving down into the rich context of the match, and on into the ring where seconds and minutes of boxing stretch into whole chapters. This was more of a page turner than anything I've read in a while, a fascinating circling of Ali's mindset, all the while Norman knowing that he could only ever guess at the inner workings of the champion's head and heart. Some ideas/analogies were definitely dated (mainly in regards to attitudes to women, I've got used to this from 20th century reads I spose), but it helps that Norman would never advise us to take his word as gospel in the first place. A key factor of my love for this book was that I was already in the middle of an obsession with the life of Muhammad Ali - what an addition this was; funny, thrilling, thoughtful and absorbing.