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A review by a_picara
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
The premise of this novel had a lot of promise-- close focus on 8 girls competing in a boxing tournament with a narrator that slips between them and the periphery characters during the event and also through time in their lives. However, the execution was disappointing. Despite attempts to distinguish the girls from each other, the narrative style was so overwhelmingly present that it made the differences between the characters feel false- like decorations over the same core. The best moments were when the narrator and characters were in the present moment and one character witnesses another doing something that is at odds with how that character sees herself interacting with the world. But those moments did not happen often. The interiority takes over, so that the main action is dulled and distanced. Every thought spirals into metaphor or simile and these images recur across characters, adding to the sense that they are indistinguishable from each other. Repetition is misused throughout, which is very annoying.
The final chapter tries to recast the novel into a deep rumination on the nature of girlhood and cyclical patterns of human behavior, wrapped in a package that says climate change and capitalism are bad but inevitable. Despite having a large cast and using a narrator that gets inside their heads, the characters are flat and have no emotional resonance. The premise of the entire novel taking place over a boxing tournament should produce tension about who will win. But instead there's a lot of metaphysical musing that makes no logical sense and is too slippery to hold onto.
The final chapter tries to recast the novel into a deep rumination on the nature of girlhood and cyclical patterns of human behavior, wrapped in a package that says climate change and capitalism are bad but inevitable. Despite having a large cast and using a narrator that gets inside their heads, the characters are flat and have no emotional resonance. The premise of the entire novel taking place over a boxing tournament should produce tension about who will win. But instead there's a lot of metaphysical musing that makes no logical sense and is too slippery to hold onto.