Champion of the World
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year
In this stunning historical fiction debut set in the world of wrestling in the 1920s, a husband and wife are set adrift in a place where everyone has something to hide and not even the fights can be taken at face value.
Late summer, 1921: Disgraced former lightweight champion Pepper Van Dean has spent the past two years on the carnival circuit performing the dangerous “hangman’s drop” and taking on all comers in nightly challenge bouts. But when he and his cardsharp wife, Moira, are marooned in the wilds of Oregon, Pepper accepts an offer to return to the world of wrestling as a trainer for Garfield Taft, a down-and-out African American heavyweight contender in search of a comeback and a shot at the world title.
At the training camp in rural Montana, Pepper and Moira soon realize that nothing is what it seems: not Taft, the upcoming match, or the training facility itself. With nowhere to go and no options left, Pepper and Moira must carefully navigate the world of gangsters, bootlegging, and fixed competitions, in the hope that they can carve out a viable future.
A story of second chances and a sport at the cusp of major change, Champion of the World is a wonderful historical debut from a new talent in fiction.
Customer Reviews
Great Book
It’s just a fun, fun read.
Fantastic book
I became aware of Chad, as co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, the Co Main Event Podcast, which is an MMA podcast. They have a feature, called "tips for the well rounded fight fan" , which they offer a tip, non MMA related for the listeners. From documentaries, to tv shows, other podocats, and mainly novels. Now, I like reading "how to" books, non fiction sports books, and autobiographies... Up until a year or so ago, never in my life had I read a fiction book outside of whatever they forced down our throats in the public school system. I took a chance on one of Chad's tips, a fiction book called Ghost Man. I loved it. Finished it in no time, and discovered it had a recently released sequel called Vanishing Games. I loved it as well. So when Chad's book was announced, I pre-ordered it.
I just finished Champion Of The World tonight. I Loved every bit of it. One of my all time favorite movies is Jackie Brown, a Quentin Tarrantino movie based off a book called Rum Punch. While reading Champion Of The World, it reminded me a lot of that movie. The way it slowly uncovered each characters ulterior motives, and how they were all out to betray each other. The book blended some of my all time favorite things, pro wrestling , prohibition era gangster tales, gambling, twisting plot turns, and so much more. His writing filled my imagination greatly, without ever being overly wordy or too smart for it's own good