The Fighter (Paperback)

Paperback. So its come to this. Sixty-seven years old and he labours on the docks. Cropped grey-white beard, ex-boxers pug nose, he is wiry, rotund and short. His strength is sensed rather than seen, belied by age and excess weight. Vigour is the word. Henry Nissen exudes vigour. His life force is strong. It animates his gestures, powers his determined little walk.Henry Nissen was a champion boxer, the boy from Amess Street in working-class Carlton who fought his way up to beat some of the worlds best in the 1970s. Now, he works on the Melbourne docks, loading and unloading, taking shifts as they come up. But his real work is on the streets. Hes in and out of police stations and courts giving character statements and providing support, working to give the disaffected another chance. And all the while, in the background is the memory of another fighter, his motherand her devastating decline into madness.The Fighter is a moving and poetic portrait of a compassionate man, but also a window onto the unnoticed recesses of Melbourne. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.…