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Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby
Dec 3, 2024 12:19 PM

Author:F X Toole

Million Dollar Baby

'Ring magic is different from the magic of the theatre, because the curtain never comes down - because the blood in the ring is real blood, and the broken noses and the broken hearts are real, and sometimes they are broken forever. Boxing is the magic of men in combat, the magic of will, and skill, and pain, and the risking of everything so you can respect yourself for the rest of your life.'

In this dazzling collection of stories F.X. Toole exhibits the skill of a miniaturist: in precise and exquisite detail, he peoples a world rich in unforgettable characters. At the same time he brings a new understanding to the violence and purity of the sweet science, opening a window into the fighter's soul.

Reviews

It is visceral and violent; written in a rhythmic street language that, in the great American tradition, manages to be both uncompromising and elegiac

—— Guardian

The best boxing fiction since Leonard Gardner's Fat City. It's the best boxing short fiction ever written. Rope Burns is a hymn to ferocious longing and loss

—— James Ellroy

The vitality and rhythms of the language is part of what make F. X. Toole's first collection of boxing stories such a stunning debut

—— Esquire

Fiction that moves and exhilarates

—— Independent on Sunday

His first collection is not just outstanding as boxing literature but must rank among the very best of short stories... Hemingway would have eaten his heart out to have written these

—— The Times

Mr Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in

—— Evelyn Waugh in a BBC broadcast

The head of my profession

—— Hilaire Belloc

The Wodehouse wit should be registered at Police HQ as a chemical weapon

—— Kathy Lette

The greatest comic writer ever

—— Douglas Adams

When it comes to humour, there is only one writer who can slay you with a mere flip of the pen. This, of course, is P.G. Wodehouse

—— Guardian

Superlative.

—— Jessie Burton, 'Best Books of 2016' , Observer

Could not be more timely.

—— Louise Daughty, 'Best Books of 2016' , Observer

The Good Immigrant is that rarest of beasts, a truly necessary book.

—— Jonathan Coe, 'Best Books of 2016' , Observer

I was deeply affected by The Good Immigrant, a vital and often bitingly funny series of personal essays

—— James Graham, 'Best Books of 2016' , Observer

Should become required reading for a new UK citizenship test – one to be taken by everyone who was born here, that is.

—— Books of the Year , Times Higher Education

A fascinating read

—— BBC Breakfast

I was expecting something serious, even upsetting. The Good Immigrant is both at times, but the 21 essays are also engrossing, human and hilarious.

—— Best Books for Christmas , i

Sticks two fingers up at a discriminatory publishing industry.

—— New Statesman

The essays, in turns witty, uncomfortable and inspiring, would make for great reading at any time, but were especially welcome this year.

—— Books of the Year , The Pool

Existentially challenging to the status quo. It could not be more timely.

—— Readers' Books of 2016 , Guardian

What a phenomenal book: timely, poignant and insightful. It deserves to be read as widely as possible.

—— Malorie Blackman

Warm, funny and often moving. A delight.

—— Shappi Khorsandi

Quite simply a wonderful antidote to the tired cliches.

—— Fatima Manji, Channel 4 News

A bold, beautiful and urgent book that should be read widely in these politically and racially charged times. It opened my eyes so much, and, in my opinion, is the most exciting publication of 2016.

—— Holly Muller , Big Issue

I am stupidly grateful for this book. It opened my eyes to my own experience and gave me words for feelings I had known but never acknowledged. I carry it with me whenever I travel, to remind me that the world is good. Buy this book, carry it with you everywhere, give it to everyone you know. We need it now more than ever.

—— Emmy the Great

Here are a bunch of brave writers actually doing something about representation … an important book.

—— Sathnam Sanghera

Incisive, funny, searingly honest … it contains work that should be read by all.

—— DJ Nihal

Brilliant, unclichéd, unique. A book of our time, which everyone must read.

—— Shazia Mirza

I want everyone to read this book. I found myself nodding along, feeling the pain, hilarity and anger.

—— Anita Rani

The Good Immigrant's strength not only comes in its numbers, but through the uniqueness of each essay inside, ranging from Coco Khan’s look at sexuality and fetishisation, through to Riz MC’s retelling of his typical treatment in airport security.

—— Complex

A stunning collection of original voices, challenging how we see race and difference.

—— Mishal Husain

I knew I'd be interested in this book. I didn't realise I'd be so moved. At a time when British identity is being claimed as the exclusive preserve of people who wish immigration had stopped with Hengist and Horsa, it does the heart good to be reminded of how many of us there are, and how deeply woven we are into the fabric of our country. It's a book that will make a lot of young Britons feel more powerful and less alone. Each essay is like another new friend standing up and saying to the reader, 'I see you.'

—— Hari Kunzru
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