A real fighter never hangs up the gloves. When they do, that's the death of them. Crews explores poverty, friendship, the ghosts of one's past, and all manners of sex and fetishism (some particularly odd) in this brief but impactful novel about one haunted man's personal journey to freedom from a haunted city. Crews' prose is expectedly great, strong and terse, but not without the right amount of gritty southern gothic poetry. Luckily for us readers, all manners of grotesqueries abound: capitalism, drugs, gluttony, sex. This is all a joy to read, especially when filtered through Crews' wit and sense of place. And if that wasn't enough, we are gifted with Eugene's journey. We see his struggle to find himself amidst personal mistakes, concessions he unwittingly makes, and abuse suffered at the hands of others--as well as at the hands of his own self (literally and figuratively). A fine short novel that leaves you hoping that redemption is more than just a flimsy fairy tale ideal. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Penguin Classics for the ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group Penguin Classics for an advance copy of a reissue of a novel about a man with a gift and those who are both drawn to him, and seek to profit from him, by an author who has been unfairly neglected.

In the world of letters many authors are remaindered quickly, or even worse taken out of print, almost wiping certain authors out of existence. Some have enough of a following that these readers can entice others, sharing dog-eared pages, telling tales about the author, seeking out lost works on the bottom shelves of used book stores. Harry Crews was one of these authors. For a time Crews was published in magazines, profiling famous actors, or telling stories about his youth, experiences, and interests, which were many. Feast of Snakes was probably his most famous book, though no two books were alike, even if the all shared a Southern gothic sense. Penguin Classics has seen this wrong, and has decided to do a right, reissuing Crews to a new generation. The Knockout Artist is a story about a boy, trying to be a man, a boxer with a particular skill, one that won't win him championships, but one that makes him in demand to the wrong people.
Eugene Talmadge Biggs has left his small Georgia town, to find himself, find a good job, and figure out what he might be good at. Biggs is placed as a welder's apprentice to a man who loves the fights. The constant boxing talk finally gets to Biggs, and Biggs begins to train with the man, gradually building a reputation for taking hits, and tiring out his opponents. Until one night in Madison Square Garden, Biggs is knocked out, with a punch to the jaw. Something in Biggs changed with that punch, and Biggs finds that he can knock him self unconscious. As a boxer this is the end of of his career, but as a performer this is the beginning. Soon Biggs is in demand by people who like the odd, the weird and the unsettling. And these people are more dangerous than any he fought in the ring.

A tough, dark strange little tale, about a man who is trying to find himself, which is hard when one spends so much time unconscious. Crews has a real gift for making even the most weird of characters seem real. Drawing on his past, growing up in rural Georgia, dealing with a lot of loss early in life and later as a father, Crews channeled much of that pain into his writing. Along with some crazy ideas. Crews can get to the heart of the matter with phrases that are beautiful, and in the same sentence write language that is just ugly and mean. The story does meander a little, once Biggs finds himself in spotlight of people who don't want to be in the spotlight. But Biggs is a character that grows on the reader. One wants him to have something, at least once, before putting himself down for the count again. A very original different kind of book, that might have been a little ahead of its time.

Recommended for people who like to take risks in what they read. Actually that is pretty much all of Crews work. Fans of writers like Barry Gifford or Daniel Woodrell will enjoy this. Or fans of early David Lynch movies.