Million Dollar Baby: Stories From The Corner (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
The name F. X. Toole was the pseudonym of Jerry Boyd (1930-2002).He was a boxing trainer and his writing in these stories clearly display his great knowledge on boxing.His stories are through various characters in the boxing arena. He tells them through the eyes of the fighter female and male, the trainer and manager and the cutman. He sticks his characters amongst problems in society crime, racism, brutality and politics. He takes his characters through courage, lose, love, hope and triumph.This would be great for the fighting fan as it’s filled with useful boxing advice.I have included excerpts below that concern this plus my review of two short stories.The key ingredients that make a champion are highlighted in one of his stories where he mentions in a paragraph.“..mental stability, warrior mentality, athletic ability, desire, power, chin and heart.” Million Dollar BabyA Million-dollar fighter, that’s what she was to be. A fighting spirit raised in the Ozarks where flipping burgers was not the fate she wanted to remain in. This caged bird wanted to flap her wings and stamp her future literally through her fists to a more independent and prosperous life.Those days of watching Rocky inspired many a kid to rise up from the poverty or concrete jungle, to don their fists with hand wraps and boxing gloves to tread upon a warrior path, to make a future away from the streets and boredom. I believe the boxing gym and the fighting process does successfully instil hope and betterment for life for many a person especially the youth. Many love to relive the Ali shuffle or the Sonny Liston stare. Boxing is something that holds quite dear to my heart in my youth I spent many a night pounding the bag, shadow boxing, skipping and sparring. I had dreams of making it to the Olympics and going pro. The concern over punch-drunk friends and fighters who have inflicted blood clots in the brain weaned me away slowly but gradually.The art of fighting can discipline the ferocity and waywardness in a man and in this story a woman. Boxing does wonders and has proved to be a great deterrent against crime with the youth. My legends from boxing are Sugar Ray Robinson pound for pound best fighter, Roberto Duran ‘manos de piedra ‘ and Muhammad Ali and modern fighters like Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Junior.Female boxing was in the past not celebrated as much as now and only recently it has been included in the Olympics. The first woman to win a Gold in female boxing was a British fighter in the London 2012 Olympics. I watched that fight, and few others, is was best bit of boxing I had seen in a while since I gave up watching boxing for years, I was enjoying the fight there was a real challenge taking place history was being made. She dropped her opponent for a standing count and delivered some nice combinations and right-handers. Nicola Adams the worlds first woman to be a Olympic Boxing Champion in London 2012 Olympics.There are some other issues that are highlighted in this short story in this excerpt. “Most important, he simply didn’t like seeing women getting hit. Regardless, there were now girls in the amateurs, and soon they’d be going to the Olympics. There would be more and more of them, so they would get better and better. That meant they’d be better than the ones currently fighting, and people said that would be good for the game. He didn’t care how good they got. Girls getting busted up went against everything he believed in. Okay, he thought, times have changed. Dames are doing what guys is doing, but that don’t make it right. And then there were the practical reasons. Scheduling fights around periods. And bruised tits. And what if one was pregnant and had a miscarriage because of a fight? That, and he couldn’t cuss.”In the end man or woman now has a choice. This story centers more on this woman’s professional pursuit of the sport. When she finally makes it to Madison Square Gardens then she’s was in the right direction. The only way some try to win is dirty fighting those after bell punches, rabbit and kidney punches and thumb in the eyes. She had everything to win but one opponent was to make her future in boxing null. The road the trainer and fighter chose to take was sad but it makes you ponder on what would you have done?The movie adaptation with Clint Eastwood was just as much as a tearjerker.I would have loved to read of her return to the ring in a kind of Rockyesque way but such is the reality of life that we have to settle with something less but heartfelt and memorable in this story. This story is a great story featuring a woman’s journey through a male dominated sport, the dangerous but noble art of boxing. Rope BurnsThis is the longer story of this collection. It is about a fighters hope and dreams quashed. There is racial tension, the Rodney king beating and riots. A tale from the streets where a few characters are killing left right and center in their own neighborhood for money and power. One white trainer hopes to take one black fighter to the Olympics and make him into a million dollar fighter but yet again your and not amidst a Rocky movie. This is bloody and there is some vengeance. This and million dollar baby the two better stories of the novel. Excerpts from this book:“When Frankie Dunn told a fighter how to move and why, the fighter could see it through Frankie’s eyes, and feel it slip on into his own flesh and down into his bones, and he’d flush with the magic of understanding and the feeling of power. Some called the old man Doc, some called him Uncle Frank. Old-time black fighters and trainers called him Frankie Dunn Frankie Dunn, repeating his name with a node or a smile. Frankie loved Warriors.” “Trainers, swaying like cobras, worked with their fighters, isolated in the noise and the heat and the steam. Some hunched close to whisper, others yelled out loud. Sweat poured off everyone, even the dozen or so onlookers who sat in the short stretch of low bleachers facing the two rings. Boom boxes blared different music from four corners and along the walls, making the place sound like a cell block.” “Most important, he simply didn’t like seeing women getting hit. Regardless, there were now girls in the amateurs, and soon they’d be going to the Olympics. There would be more and more of them, so they would get better and better. That meant they’d be better than the ones currently fighting, and people said that would be good for the game. He didn’t care how good they got. Girls getting busted up went against everything he believed in. Okay, he thought, times have changed. Dames are doing what guys is doing, but that don’t make it right. And then there were the practical reasons. Scheduling fights around periods. And bruised tits. And what if one was pregnant and had a miscarriage because of a fight? That, and he couldn’t cuss.” “Frankie said, “Watch my hips turn as I go from foot to foot. Ass is where the power comes from, understand?”“He taught her how to stay on the balls of her foot, how to generate momentum off her right toe; how to keep her weight over her left knee, to flex on it when she fired her jab; how to double up and triple the jab, which would keep the opponent backing up on her heels. He taught her how to cut off the ring, how to slip punches and counter off lefts and rights. No matter how hard he drove her, she was always ready for more. His heart went out to her, macushla-mo cuishle in Gaelic: darling, my blood.” “Frankie said, “You can’t give up hope. Even the doctors say-“she cut him off.”Aint no hope. I’m deadweight, cant you see? Aint no insides to this body you’re lookin at. The bird in me can’t fly.” “The pretty fighter was the man, and fighting pretty meant you were slick in the way you moved, the way you threw punches, and the way you slipped punches; that you moved while you punched, so that you kept your opponent off balance and missing and without thump in his punches.” “Trick him. Boxing is a game of lies.” “There’s a saying in boxing: don’t forget the people you meet on the way up, because they’re the same ones you’ll meet on the way down. To that Mac always added: First your legs go, and then your money, and then your friends.” “mental stability, warrior mentality, athletic ability, desire, power, chin and heart.”Find with movie trailer also @ http://more2read.com/review/million-dollar-baby-stories-from-the-corner-by-f-x-toole/
Os livros têm destas coisas: põem-nos muitas vezes a ler sobre coisas que não nos despertam o mínimo interesse na vida real. Boxe era uma das últimas coisas sobre as quais me ocorreria ler, mas, ainda assim, este livro encontrou caminho para chegar até mim e, apesar de não ter sido uma leitura propriamente marcante, acabou por se revelar positiva pelas baixas expectativas com que a iniciei. F.X. Toole é pseudónimo de Jerry Boyd, já falecido, que dedicou boa parte da sua vida ao boxe, fosse a combater ou a treinar pugilistas. É importante referir isto porque é bem visível que esta coletânea de contos foi escrita por alguém que amava este desporto e que conhecia os seus meandros. Aqui fica uma apreciação individual para cada um dos contos:Ar de Macaco: o primeiro conto do livro segue a vida de um cutman veterano, cuja principal função é tratar dos cortes dos pugilistas que acompanha, de modo a estancar o sangue provocado pelas feridas e evitar que estas impeçam que o pugilista continue em prova. Penso que o principal objetivo do autor neste conto é mostrar um pouco dos bastidores do boxe e das artimanhas utilizadas por todos os que circulam à sua volta. Uma história interessante, ainda que longe de notável. – 3/5Judeu Preto: Também este conto é narrado por um cutman, diferente do da primeira história. Aqui, acompanhamos um pugilista negro de origem judia que parece ter dificuldades em fazer-se respeitar. As diferenças entre um vencedor e um perdedor ficam aqui bem vincadas, mais uma vez com uma visita aos bastidores do boxe. Não achei este conto nada de especial. – 2/5Million Dollar Baby: o conto que dá nome ao livro (e deu o nome ao filme de Clint Eastwood) era o que mais curiosidade me suscitava nesta coletânea. Frankie Dunn é um treinador de boxe irlandês, já de idade avançada, que é procurado por Maggie, uma jovem de 32 anos que deseja aprender a ser pugilista. Apesar das reticências iniciais, Frankie acaba por aceder treiná-la, e os dois conseguem bastante sucesso num campo anteriormente pouco explorado, o boxe feminino. Mas às tantas algo inesperado acontece, e isso tem um impacto profundo na vida dos dois. Dá para perceber porque é que alguém decidiu fazer desta história um filme; sem dúvida que tem imenso potencial para tal, mas independentemente disso é uma história cativante e bem escrita, apesar de por vezes parecer avançar depressa demais ou necessitar de um pouco mais de desenvolvimento. Penso que teria dado um excelente livro, por si só. Foi o meu conto preferido do livro e fico, por isso, com imensa vontade de ver o filme (que me parece que toda a gente já viu menos eu). – 4/5Lutar em Filadélfia: mais uma vez pelos olhos de um cutman, acompanhamos um pugilista e a sua equipa, num conto que destaca o trabalho de equipa num combate de boxe, apesar de este ser considerado um desporto individual. Este cutman, Con, é um homem que gosta de literatura e arte, onde encontra o equilíbrio necessário às exigências da sua profissão. A prova do seu lutador pode não correr como o esperado, mas a esperança e o amor de Con por este desporto não esmorecem. Gostei deste conto. 3/5Água Gelada: temos aqui a história de um ingénuo rapaz da província que vai para Los Angeles com o desejo de se tornar pugilista. Num ginásio, entra em conflito com outro lutador e leva uma sova que o deixa às portas da morte. É o conto mais curto do livro, e não há propriamente grande desenvolvimento da história ou personagens para além do tema dos sonhos de infância perdidos. 2/5Queimadura das Cordas: esta é a história mais longa do livro, ocupando cerca de um terço do seu tamanho. A personagem central é Mac, um treinador de idade já avançada, que se vê a braços com um jovem negro de 18 anos, de futuro bastante promissor, de tal modo que se consegue apurar para os Jogos Olímpicos de Barcelona, em 1992. Contudo, o contexto social da época acaba por ter um papel fundamental no destino de ambos: o caso Rodney King (taxista negro agredido por polícias) acaba por originar distúrbios na cidade, nos quais o racismo assume papel central. Este é a história do livro em que o boxe fica mais para segundo plano, sendo o destaque dado às convulsões sociais da época, o que o torna bastante interessante. – 4/5Pelo descrito acima, é fácil perceber que os contos não me despertaram o mesmo nível de interesse, mas ainda assim o facto de conter alguns de que gostei já é, para mim, surpreendente. São contos que conseguem imprimir uma sensação de honra e fascínio a este desporto, mostrando que é muito mais do que os combates que se desenrolam no ringue. Curiosa a constante referência à religião ao longo dos contos, percebendo-se que o autor encarava o boxe, ele próprio, como uma religião. De um modo geral, continuo a não ser fã deste desporto, mas foi bom conhecer outro pontos de vista, e isso é sempre positivo.Nota final para a tradução: dei uma vista de olhos no texto original e pareceu-me muito bem conseguida, não só pelos variados termos técnicos mas também pela presença constante de vários sotaques.
What do You think about Million Dollar Baby: Stories From The Corner (2005)?
Don't be fooled- this book was originally published as "Rope Burns," and one story in it, "Million Dollar Baby," was turned into the movie with Hilary Swank. It's not one of those weird cheesy books that gets written after a movie comes out. It's a collection of short stories about the world of boxing. Toole's writing is clean and straightforward, almost scientific. Half of the excitement happens in the ring, where Toole narrates each blow like a former boxer reliving the glory days. The other half happens during preparation for fights, when the characters train, eat, cheat, argue, bet, and negotiate. My favorite story in the book, "Rope Burns," follows a boxer and his trainer in the days leading up to and the aftermath of the L.A. Riots. If you've ever boxed, or trained to box, you'll like reading about the intensity of that experience. Toole narrates not only the physical conditioning his characters undergo, but also the psychological and emotional terrain they navigate. I learned a lot of new things about boxing culture reading this, like the role of a boxer's "cut man" in the ring.Recommended, even if you don't like boxing. The entire book is like a love letter to the world of boxing from someone who knows it well, and it's hard not to get caught up in the exhilaration of that experience.
—sydney
Dunia tinju ternyata bisa menjadi ide cerita yang luar biasa. Tinju bukan hanya gedebak-gedebuk! Ia juga punya filosofi, pelajaran hidup, dll. F.X Tolle bukan mengarang-ngarang. Ia mencatat, mengamati, belajar dan berjuang bersama para petinju. Million $$$ Baby yang kemudian diangkat menjadi film dan diperankan oleh Clint Eastwood dan Hillary Swank hanyalah satu dari 7 cerita pendek di buku ini. Ditulis oleh FX Tolle sebagai buah pengamatannya selama menjadi seorang cut-man alias perawat luka di ring tinju.
—syam asinar
An excellent collection of stories that cover the whole range of emotions associated with the "sweet science" of boxing. Originally titled Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner, it was republished Million Dollar Baby after Clint Eastwood adapted the central story of the collection into the Best Picture-winning film about an aging boxing manager who forms a father-daughter bond with the young woman he trains to be a boxing champion. The film also features strands from the other stories featured in this collection. Beautifully written by F.X. Toole (pseudonym), a former boxer himself who lived out some of the events featured in these stories, this collection is best read as a whole, like a novel in order to retain all of the inspiration and tragedy in the stories herein.
—Adam
