In this remarkable debut novel set in 1940s Mexico, Marc Bojanowski has crafted a work of startling originality -- a poetic, mesmerizing tale of loyalty, violence, love, and redemption.
Written in the searing voice of its unnamed narrator, this is the story of a young man drifting through the badlands of California and Mexico after the death of his mother. He eventually settles in Canción, a sleepy Baja city on the verge of transformation. Lured by money and fame, he enters into an underground world where men fight against trained dogs before a raucous crowd of the town's elite businessmen and those who work for them. With an uncommon display of strength, skill, and sheer fearlessness, he becomes an overnight success.
Before long he catches the eye of a powerful businessman, whose grand vision is to turn Canción into a lucrative resort destination. But when the dog fighter finds friendship with a revolutionary old poet and is drawn toward a mysterious young woman, he becomes ensnared in an intricate web of promise and deceit. Caught between the ways of his past and the dreams of his future, he is forced to make a devastating choice that ignites a mixture of jealousy, greed, lust, and betrayal, culminating in a fight both for his life and the fate of the city.
Haunting, lyrical, imaginative, and immensely powerful, The Dog Fighter is a stunning novel of beauty and brutality that announces the arrival of an extraordinary new talent in American fiction.
The anonymous narrator of this remarkable novel is a young drifter in search of his future. The son of a passionate beauty and gentle doctor, he roams the border between the United States and Mexico, eventually settling in a sleepy Baja town on the verge of transformation.
Here he learns to stand face-to-face with dogs in a makeshift ring, to fight for money and fame, and becomes involved with a powerful and corrupt entrepreneur. But when he finds friendship with a revolutionary old poet and love with a beautiful, innocent girl, everything changes. Caught between the ways of his past and the dreams of his future, he must make a devastating choice that could cost him everything.
Written with bold lyricism and magical flair, The Dog Fighter is an exhilarating tale of brutality and violence, love and wisdom, heartbreak and redemption.
