The Barfighter

Publishers Weekly

Goldman (Where the Money Is) brings to life the sleazy underbelly of professional boxing in the 1980s, where double crosses, thievery and cheating were commonplace. After instigating a bar brawl that leads to his arrest, former army-trained boxer and journalist Lee Cheskis lands in anger management class. There he meets Marvin, the former gangbanger who is desperate to box. Lee introduces Marvin to Eddie, the salty old boxing trainer and gym owner, who discovers that Marvin is a natural. As Marvin works his way up from small auditoriums to big arenas, it becomes obvious just how seedy and disreputable the boxing world really is as fighters, fights and allegiances are easily bought and sold. Goldman's ear for dialogue and snappy pace make this latest an entertaining read, and boxing fans may recognize some of the sport's famous personalities as inspirations for the characters. Though the boxing-as-salvation story is nothing new, readers will root for this little band of misfits to succeed against the odds. (Apr.)

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Kirkus Reviews

A witty, fast-paced, well-plotted addition to boxing literature from The Ring magazine columnist Goldman (Where the Money Is, 1995). The novel opens in Los Angeles in 1984. After cold-cocking a cop in a bar fight, Lee Cheskis is sentenced to anger-management class. Flash back to 1965, when Cheskis, then an Army draftee, devoted himself to boxing as a way of avoiding deployment to Vietnam. He learned savagery as a means of avoiding savagery, and the moral implications of what he did to a friend have haunted him ever since, through a brief career as a newspaper journalist and onward into teaching at a community college and moving furniture. Cheskis is a taciturn, damaged guy who evades all questions about his past. He's recently reconnected with boxing and has been working out under the tutelage of crusty Eddie Welsh. When a hard-nosed gangbanger from his anger class asks for an introduction, Cheskis finds himself sucked into a boxing adventure; Marvin "Quick" O'Brien is good, and he quickly ascends the heavyweight ranks with Cheskis as his manager. His association with O'Brien also forces Cheskis to confront his past, as he encounters his Army coach and mentor Valaitas, who played a crucial role in the misadventure he's been running from. The prose sometimes lacks literary finesse, and certain characters seem stock, but Goldman more than compensates with plentiful action, pungent dialogue and colorful peripheral figures ranging from Ken Kesey and Neal Cassady to a promoter who bears a resemblance to Don King. Entertaining and acutely observed-and the boxing milieu and mindset are utterly persuasive. A winner.