FIGHT CLUB meets THE OUTSIDERS in this knockout debut, written in a voice both fierce and sensitive.
The working class family of Cameron Wolfe and his brother Ruben isn't having much luck these days. Their dad has just lost his job and is too proud to go on welfare. Their older brother has moved out of the house in disgust. Which leaves them open to suggestion when a local boxing promotor signs them up for illegal bouts. But it's more than the meager winnings that draws the two brothers in. Soon they find themselves fighting for something else. Is it pride? Love? Or just the experience of winning for once? A knockout debut from the front lines of a family's recession.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
As Cameron and Ruben Wolfe walk home from school one day, a rough bloke awaits them at their gate. "Can we talk inside?" he asks.
"Well, for starters," Rube answers, "who the hell are y'?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," says the stranger. "I'm a guy who can either change your life or smack it into the ground for bein' smart."
The brothers decide to listen. They keep listening, and soon they're embroiled in a ruthless underground world of sleazy amateur boxing, 50 bucks for a win, a decent tip for a loss. The intensity of this kind of fighting goes beyond the obvious violence and danger, though, as Cameron wonders whether he even wants to come out from his brother's shadow and both boys seek an identity beyond that of their painfully harsh working class family's.
Markus Zusak pens a surprisingly complex and touching story that will linger long with readers. The language is hard-hitting, witty, and authentic--as are the emotions and action. Fighting Ruben Wolfe is not about boxing. It's about respect, stubborn pride, and real brotherly love. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In earthy working-class dialect, Australian novelist Zusak offers a lot of boxing action as well as a sensitive inspection of sibling relationship and family pride, wrote PW. Ages 13-up. (June) n Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Australian author Markus Zusak grew up hearing stories about Germany during WWII, about the bombing of Munich and about Jews being marched through his mother's small, German town. He always knew it was a story he wanted to tell.
"We have these images of the straight-marching lines of boys and the 'Heil Hitlers' and this idea that everyone in Germany was in it together. But there still were rebellious children and people who didn't follow the rules and people who hid Jews and other people in their houses. So there's another side to Germany," said Zusak in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.
At the age of 30, Zusak has already asserted himself as one of today's most innovative and poetic novelists. With the publication of The Book Thief, he is now being dubbed a "literary phenomenon" by Australian and U.S. critics. Zusak is the award-winning author of four previous books for young adults: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting the Girl, and I Am the Messenger, recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature. He lives in Sydney.
Q&A with the author:
*How did you become a writer?
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a house painter like my father, but I was always screwing up when I went to work with him. I had a talent for knocking over paint and painting myself into corners. I also realized fairly quickly that painting bored me. When I was a teenager, I read some books that brought me totally into their worlds. One was The Old Man and the Sea and another was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. When I read those books, I thought, "That's what I want to do." It took seven years to get published and there were countless daily failures, but I'm glad those failures and rejections happened. They made me realise that what I was writing just wasn't good enough, so I made myself improve.
*Do you follow a set routine when you write?
I basically have two routines. The first one is the non-lazy routine, where I get up and work from about 7am and aim to finish by 11:30. That usually sees me through till noon or twelve-thirty (with some time-wasting in between). Then I'll take a long break and do a few more hours in the afternoon. The lazy routine usually starts at 10am and I'll write longer into the afternoon.
The only time these routines really change is at the start or end of a book, when I'm more likely to work at night. I can't face starting a book early in the morning purely because self-belief levels are at their lowest for me when I wake up. When I'm finishing a book, I will stay up longer and work through the night, mainly out of desperation to finally get it done.
*How did you come to write I Am The Messenger?
I was sitting in a park one night eating fish and chips and saw a bank with a fifteen minute parking zone out the front, and I thought, "Fifteen minutes, that's not very long, every time I go the bank it takes a lot longer than that." I then thought, "What if you were in that bank when it was being robbed and your car was out in the fifteen minute parking zone? How would you get out to move your car to avoid getting a fine?" That gave me the bungled bank robbery scene that led to everything else in the book.
*What do you do to get away from writing? Living in Sydney, I've taken the chance to start surfing again. One of my best memories of growing up is catching my first proper wave and surfing across it and my brother cheering at me from the shore. Many years later, I've started up again and I'm really loving it, as long as the waves are small enough! I also watch a lot of movies, especially when I'm struggling with a story I'm working on. I like watching the same ones over and over again, so I half watch and half think about the story.
*Lastly, where do you get your ideas from? I used to lie about this, but now I actually know: I started writing when I was sixteen. I'm thirty now. I get my ideas from fourteen years of thinking about it.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
13 Facts (+ a few more) about Markus Zusak
1.He has severe troubles writing biographies about himself because he doesn't find himself particularly inspiring. 2.He lives in Sydney near the Royal National Park, where he has lunch with the local deer, the kookaburras (a very tough brand of laughing birds) and other creatures. 3.He is a dog person, but he has two cats, Bijoux and Brutus. He named the second one. 4.His middle name is Frank. (When he hated the name Markus, his brother and one of his sisters suggested he use his middle name: Clearly, Frank was not really a step in the right direction.) 5.His three favorite books are: 1. What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges 2. The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen 3. My Brother Jack by George Johnston 6.The last book he read was Werewolves in their Youth by Michael Chabon, and the book he is currently reading is Ulysses by James Joyce. 7.In 2005, he attempted to read 52 books. He is writing a book about this ridiculous reading challenge and calling it 53 Killers. People ask him, "Why fifty-three and not fifty-two?" 8.His three favorite movies are: 1. Amelie by John Pierre Juenet 2. The Big Lebowski by the Cohen Brothers 3. Run Lola Run by Tom Tykwer (And although it's not a favorite, he also has a soft spot for The Goonies.) 9.The last movies he's seen are A Very Long Engagement and The Motorcycle Diaries. 10.If he could meet anyone who ever lived, he would choose Michelangelo. 11.He got the idea for I am the Messenger when he was sitting in a park one night eating fish and chips and saw a bank with a fifteen minute parking zone out front. He thought, "Fifteen minutes, that's not very long. every time I go the bank it takes a lot longer than that." He then thought, "What if you were in that bank when it was being robbed and your car was out in the fifteen minute parking zone? How the hell would you get out to move your car to avoid a fine?" (That's exactly what happens at the start of the book.) 12.He is riddled with self-doubt about I am the Messenger but is glad he wrote it because he loves The Doorman. 13.His favorite number is thirteen.
This is the best young adult novel I've read in a long time. Teens who like action/sports novels will find it a satisfying read, but there's also much more depth than you typically find in books about adolescent boys. Zusak gets right to the heart and soul of his characters, developing a complex yet ultimately loving relationship between two tough brothers -- both of whom are the type of kids most adults would look down on. Most amazingly, the story is told almost completely through ordinary dialogue with the first-person voice interjecting amusing self-effacing observations. An absolute treat from beginning to end!
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What a pleasure it was to finally get to read Zusak's first novel, the prequel to GETTING THE GIRL.
The Wolfe family is just barely making it. Dad's trying to recover from an accident at work and needs to find work or he'll have to go on the dole (welfare). Mom's working hard and doing the best she can. Rumors are flooding the school that their sister Sarah has been "getting around." Ruben and Cameron have done nothing but lose at the dog races. When Dad starts going door to door to beg for work, the boys resolve to do something, anything to redeem their pride and hide their embarrassment.
Ruben gets in a fight at school, and just like that an underground boxing league agent asks both of the boys if they want in -- $50 for a win, tips for a loss. Before long, the money isn't an issue anymore. It's about pride. Dignity. Self-worth. It's about fighting for something instead of rolling over and letting life kick you again while you're down. It's about getting up. Again. Again. Again. Because at some point you have to own up to what and who you are.
And it's about brothers. Because if there's one thing they'll always be, it's that.
-- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens
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The book "Fighting Ruben Wolfe," by Markus Zusac was probably the best book I have ever read. Th librarian at our school recomended it to me, and at first I thought that I would feel like quiting after the first chapter, but the book kept me in suspense from page one. Some reasons why I like this book was because of all of the action in it, and how it kept me interested. It also didn't have a lot of complicated vocabulary that I couldn't understand. If you liked the book "The Contender" I would highly recomend this book. The book is mainly about two 13-year-old boys named Ruben and Cameron Wolfe who are twin brothers that have a very poor family that is struggling to pay bills and eat. But then one day a guy by the name of Perry who owns a boxing arena saw them fighting in their back yard each with one glove. Then Perry pursuades them to become boxers. Cameron struggles a lot in his matches, while Ruben goes undefeated with all TKO's. Cameron eventually gets jealous of Ruben, because Ruben is not only getting more attention in the arena and at school, but a girl named Stephenie, who Cameron likes, now wants to go out with Ruben. Will the brothers eventually solve their problems at home and in life in the end? I would recomend this book to anyone who wants a book that is interesting and fun to read.
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