Reads like it was written by that crusty Irish codger who hangs around the boxing gym talking shit with other old timers, which is what makes this book kind of terrible but also what makes it pretty damn great. I bought it in an airport and when I started reading on the plane was like, "Oh no, I just can't believe how crappy this is." But then for some reason I couldn't set it down, and I ended up getting sucked in and loving it way more than I've loved anything in awhile. You could say Pound for Pound got knocked down in the first round and lost the first few -- there were moments early on when I considered throwing in the towel -- but then turned things around fast and wound up with a knockout victory.If the corniness of that just now bothered you, then don't read this book. In fact, if any corniness or cheesiness or central-casting-type cartoony characters or efforts to capture ethnic or regional slang bother you, don't read this book. Furthermore, I would absolutely never in a million years recommend this to anyone who isn't into boxing, because they'd likely be unforgiving of what's not good in here and bored by the rest, so if you don't love boxing, you shouldn't read this book.But if you do happen to be enamored of boxing and its many contradictions -- its romance and seediness, its vulgar brutality and scientific sweetness, its art and poetry and its clumsy cliches, not to mention its often repellant but always fascinating relationship to race -- you could easily fall in love with this book. Similarly to the way that I feel bad about myself when I'm watching a particularly bloody fight, I felt bad about myself for relishing a plot that turned on the love of a desperate man for a stray dog, not to mention the many characters who my better, educated, critical self recognized as enormously problematic, but so what? No young men were harmed in the writing of Pound for Pound, which makes it an infinitely less damning form of entertainment than prizefighting, from an ethical perspective. It was the most fun reading that I've had in awhile, probably because I keep trying to read highfalutin stuff that's supposed to be "a classic" or "critically acclaimed," but it turns out I don't necessarily want to read something that's gorgeously written or spellbindingly original or profoundly intelligent or otherwise deemed artistically and intellectually superior by someone somewhere who's artistically and intellectually superior to me. This was a good story with heart, and that goes a long way.
This was a brilliant first and (sadly) last novel by F.X. Toole. In addition to having published a collection of short stories that included "Million Dollar Baby" he left this manuscript behind. I can't say that I would have picked this up on my own but I am really glad that I read it. It has all the elements of a good boxing novel.Underdogs, shady promoters, and fixed fights have left gifted boxer Eduardo "Chicky" Garza y Duffy ready to give up on his Olympic dreams to return home to the family farm. Dan Cooley is the older gentleman trainer who has lost his loved ones and has given up on life, until he meets a dog and the young up-and-coming fighter. The messages of honesty, honor and learning your craft make this an uplifting novel that is a hallmark of all of the greatest sports stories.
What do You think about Pound For Pound (2006)?
I love this book. Jerry Boyd (F.X. Toole) had spent years in the Southern California boxing scene and it shows. His characters are spot on, it feels like I have met many of them in the dank boxing clubs in California. In fact, Dub Huntley, who loosely inspired the Morgan Freeman character in Million Dollar baby trains his light heavyweight contender in the boxing gym I go to. This book gives gives a sense of the tradition and noir drama that has drawn me to boxing instead of mma with it's drunken frat boy persona.
—Troy Vistro
This is a great story that thoroughly describes the life of amatuer and professional boxing. From some business acquaintances I was aware of the sordid world of boxing. F.X. Toole (who has a life story that is intriguing) gives the flavor, emotion, smell, and pain of the life. All of this revealed in a tale of heart-warming and very human interaction. The movie, "Million Dollar Baby" which was inspired by F.X. Toole's story portrays the noble and loving nature of people involved in a nefarious game like boxing. A really entertaining book.
—Bruce Collett
Je me suis battu pour aller au bout. Voilà tout ce qui me vient au moment d'écrire deux ou trois mots sur ce livre. Il m'est tombé dessus tout auréolé de discours tapageurs. "Un livre sur la boxe écrit par un professionnel de la boxe, celui-là même qui a donné les grandes lignes de Million Dollar Baby".Effectivement le livre a cette même veine, ses personnages rappellent ceux du film de Clint Eastwood, les techniques de boxe, celles du combat, celles de l'organisation des matchs... tout est précis, parfois trop. Certaines constructions du récit sont très cinématographiques, parfois trop, comme si un montage trop classique faisait se chevaucher des scènes jusqu'à une collision fatale. Mais qu'importe...Le souci, c'est cette écriture... et les questions qui l'entourent. Coup pour coup a-t-il été mal traduit en français ? Les erreurs de syntaxe, les phrases avec des mots en trop, les adverbes qui s'invitent sans virgule sont une catastrophe. Est-ce parce que l'auteur est mort en ne laissant qu'un manuscrit ? Est-ce un premier jet ? Toutes ces approximations ont entravé mon plaisir de lecture... Pire : elles font pour moi de Coup pour Coup un livre sous la moyenne, alors que ses personnages méritaient mille fois mieux.
—Maximgar
