By Markus Zusak (author) Part of the Underdogs series
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Bestselling novelist Markus Zusak has written a taut and compelling novel which, suitably enough since it is about boxing, packs a punch. With not enough money coming into the house, two brothers set about to earn some extra cash. Picked up by a boxing promoter they start to fight for money. Having practised together, one with the left hand glove and one with the right, the two are both good but what will happen when they have to fight each other?
Keep it clean, fellas. Fair fight. Okay. Do it. Don't go down. If you go down, get up.
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The bell, the fists, the fight. It begins, and the first round is death. The second round is the coffin. The third is the funeral. The Wolfe brothers know how to fight - they've been fighting all their lives. Now there's more at stake than just winning.
Review of ‘Fighting by Ruben Wolfe’ by Books for Keeps [4 stars]
First published in Australia in 2000, this story concerns Ruben and Cameron, teenage brothers who become embroiled in the world of underground boxing clubs in order to earn money for their struggling working-class family. They begin by sharing a pair of gloves as they spar in the back yard, then Ruben is discovered by a talent-spotter after pulping a schoolmate who has insulted his dissolute sister. This brings them into the sleazy glamour of a world of committed gladiatorial violence, Ruben as an invincible but agonized champion, Cameron, our narrator, as the plucky loser who collects tips for taking his thrashings manfully. Both brothers earn money rapidly, but in a way that would horrify their parents.
The title is Ruben’s fighting name, but also a play on his battles with his brother, the world and himself. The prose style resembles the brothers’ boxing: lots of staccato, jab-like sentences with longer, more graceful flourishes of vivid description and reflection. Each chapter ends with a murmured conversation between the brothers in the darkness of the shared bedroom, suggesting concerned, ring-side chats between rounds. The book provides a traditionally punchy view of anguished masculinities – the fighters’ older brother and their father also have struggles of their own – but poignant complexities are brought out in the way in which the boys both embrace and resist the expression of their most humane instincts in violence.
Australian author Markus Zusak grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, 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.' 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 recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature. He lives in Sydney with his wife and new baby.
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Keep it clean, fellas. Fair fight.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Fighting Ruben Wolfe and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
Fighting Ruben Wolfe features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Recommended Children's eBooks, Featured Books for 13+ readers
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
Fighting Ruben Wolfe was written by Markus Zusak and published by Definitions an imprint of Random House Children's Books
Fighting Ruben Wolfe has 197 pages
Yes it is part of Underdogs series
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.
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