The Fighter

“Fans of Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh will relish the graphic fight sequences and gritty social commentary.”—Rocky Mountain News

“How to Allocate Your Free Time This Month[:] Devouring Craig Davidson’s gruesome debut novel, The Fighter.”—Esquire

“This is more than a stunning debut. It reminds me how vacuous, banal and insipid most highly-touted fiction is. Craig Davidson asks—and answers—some big, uncomfortable questions about the nature of our humanity. The Fighter is an essential novel, destined for cult status at the very least.”—Irvine Welsh

“While the novel’s brutal fights will entice readers of other virile allegories like Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, Davidson’s story takes a more nuanced, realistic approach.”—Kirkus Reviews

Everything has been handed to Paul Harris, the son of a wealthy southern Ontario businessman. But after a vicious beating shakes his world, he descends into the realm of hardcore bodybuilders and boxing gyms, seeking to become a real man, reveling in suffering.

Rob Tully, a working-class teenager from upstate New York, is a born boxer. He trains with his father and uncle, who believe a gift like his can change their lives, but he struggles under the weight of their expectations. Inevitably, these two young men’s paths will cross.

Craig Davidson was born in Toronto and now lives in Calgary, Alberta. He is the author of the acclaimed short story collection Rust and Bone, which was published by W.W. Norton in the United States, Penguin in Canada, Albin Michel in France, and Picador in the United Kingdom.