Customer Reviews

Dog Fighter, The: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am not a huge reader of fiction, and when I do I tend towards less violent fare, but I picked up this book, meaning to read a chapter before bed, and ended up staying up all night to finish it. The unnamed protagonist is both brutal and brutalised by his circumstances and the expecations of the codes of masculinity in which he is brought up, especally by his grandfather.
I will not discuss the narrative further, as I leave the discovery of its many great qualities to the reader, I will mention the issue of the violence within the story, the book is not for everyone; but I truly believe that unlike so much of modern culture, the violence is an integral part of the milleu that the dog fighter inhabits.
In short, the book succeeds both as an evocation of a time both specific and universal, whilst also llustating the dangers of a particular type of masculinity. This first effort by the author makes me hungry for his next work. In short a fine book by a promising artist.

The energy in Marc Bojanowski's writing is exciting. Though the first scene of the book (and countless scenes thereafter) are gruesome--and though this would normally turn me off--I kept reading because of Mr. Bojanowski's strong voice. The initial energy, however, fizzled as I read. What seemed like genuine innovation at the outset became self-conscious affectation midway through. It's not that Bojanowski leaves out punctuation (commas, apostrophes, etc.) that bothers me. It's that he uses a period INSTEAD of a comma. My complaint? If you're going to put a mark of punctuation there, use the right one. IF you're going to innovate and delete common punctuation, then DELETE it. Let the rhythm of your language carry the voice. Exchanging one mark of punctuation for another is artifice, not art. Likewise with his deletion of apostrophes. Apostrophes have nothing to do with voice. They only have to do with clarity. Deleting them comes off as a trick, rather than something necessary to the story.

I can only attribute this self-consciousness to Mr. Bojanowski's youth. However, I am also impressed by the very same thing. To write a novel this strong at this age shows so much promise for the future. It's staggering. (More staggering, say, than any other "Heartbreaking work of Genius" out there.) I can't wait to see what Bojanowski writes next--and I hope some of the self-consciousness of The Dog Fighter wanes and his great sense of language and image and story prevail.

Marc Bojanowski's debut novel is a story that finds power and beauty of life in the masculine brutality of Mexican dog fighting. If there is one word to describe this book, it is passion.

Three major themes intertwine through The Dog Fighter. First is the theme of dog fighting, of the contrived struggle between man and beast that reflects the very soul of the protagonist. Second is the theme of unrequited love, as seen through the protagonist's unquenchable desire for a woman he can never have. The third theme is that of war, of the constant revolution that engulfs the town of Canciòn.

It is during his first fight with a dog that the protagonist lays eyes on his love. This instant awareness of his love distracts him from the fight, minimizing the danger of the dog and emphasizing the danger of his heart. This is because the woman he falls in love with is the mistress of the Cantana, the brutal and corrupt businessman turning Canciòn from a quiet fishing village into a tourist resort for Americans.

It is against these businessmen that the people of Canciòn revolt. These people want their fishing village to remain the way it always has been. They sabotage equipment and delay construction of the hotel which symbolizes the radical changes that this fishing village faces. The protagonist is drawn into this struggle. In the end, he must choose which side of the revolution he will support.

There are no easy paths for the Dog Fighter.

From the first whisperings of the Dog Fighter's grandfather to the final song sung by the Dog Fighter's love, this tale is absolutely engrossing.

A truly impressive first novel from Marc Bojanowski ... lyrical bordering on poetic. Mr. Bojanowski tells a violent tale of a severely damaged young man's journey toward becoming a whole human being. The violence is handled artfully ... never gratuitous ... harsh and ugly, but always a logical part of the meticulously devised plot. A unique and highly original debut novel from Marc Bojanowski.

I am not really sure how I feel about The Dog Fighter. It is about an unnamed young man who wanders from Mexico to California where he kills a man and then to a city on the Baja Peninsula. Once there, he is recruited to participate in fights with dogs. In theory, the macho Hemingwayesque prose and characters are things that would instantly turn me off from a book. On top of that, this is surely the most violent book I have ever read in my life (even more so than _Blood Meridian_). But, as I read on I saw that the violence was necessary to the story in a Cormac McCarthy-kind-of-way. The character's struggle to find himself and seek virtue and redemption reminded me of the best of Graham Greene (minus the Catholicism). I have been pondering this book since I finished it last night. This is the only book I have read in a long time that I have not formed a decisive opinion about once finishing it. It had a tremendous impact on me and I think it just might be great literature. The author's decision to use no punctuation other than periods got on my nerves at first and absorbed me by the end of the novel. However, I know that this is incredibly difficult reading: it really is astonishingly violent in its depictions of fights with dogs and men.

For an inaugural novel, Bojanowski laces his story with beautiful metaphors and poetic prose which makes much of the violent content subdued and contemplative. While the story is developed well, the main character's motives often go unexplained and despite the tragic turns of his life it is difficult to empathize as the dog fighter appears to lack any empathy for himself. It is written almost in a series of scenes intended to be developed for a movie so it is easy to become engrossed without becoming overemotional.

The dog fighter and his graduation into manhood is cultivated with deep self-realizations, something you would not have expected from him from the beginning. Though the great size of his body and his brawn stir stories of mystic heroism, his thoughts and actions are much that of an ordinary man. I enjoyed the ride through his psyche which gave glimpses of some of the most "beautiful and difficult things."

I wish with all my heart that Marc Bojanowski would write another novel. The Dog Fighter is a masterpiece.

I am surprised after reading the previous reviews...two mentioned Hemingway. I just finished the book and that was my very thought. Although I would temper that by saying it is very Hemingwayesque with overtones of Dostoevsky. By far the most insightful, best written books I read all year. Note...I am a huge Hemingway fan, therefore my bias. As to the lack of punctuation...I barely noticed. I think it only matters if you can't stomach the book's content...not to say that it's terribly graphic. Simply, some folk won't sit well with scenes depicting the dog fights. While this is the title, scenes involving the actual dog fighting actually take up very little of the book. One thing I don't get, and this isn't the author's fault, why is there a white kid on the cover pointing what looks like a toy gun?

This is actually a quite sensitive and compelling book, just given for an atrocious review by Amazon (as usual). Since they spoil some of the best facts for you, let me at least give them to you accurately. Our hero is NOT sent back to Mexico, he chooses to flee there. There are SPIKES not knives on the glove. He is doing battle with the idea of men like cantana, not so much cantana himself. Of course some of the most lackluster quotes have been used to "illustrate" the Amazon review....
Anyone who has actually read this book would want to put on the SPIKED glove and enter the ring against the author who would end his review " Bojanowski is adept at charting the anxieties of a small city on the brink of expansion and the darkness of men's hearts. "

I had not heard of this book until my brother recommended it a few years ago. Great book. It is violent, but not overly violent. It's grittiness is part of what makes it so great. Definitely worth a look.