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Fight Night cover art

Fight Night

Written by: Miriam Toews
Narrated by: Georgia Toews,Miriam Toews
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Publisher's Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS’ TRUST FICTION PRIZE

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Globe and Mail ● CBC ● USA Today ● NPR

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice

An Amazon Editors’ Pick

An Indie Next Pick

An Apple Book of the Month

One of Indigo’s “Top 10 Best Canadian Fiction Books of 2021”

The beloved author of bestsellers Women Talking, All My Puny Sorrows, and A Complicated Kindness returns with a funny, smart, headlong rush of a novel full of wit, flawless writing, and a tribute to perseverance and love in an unusual family.

Fight Night is told in the unforgettable voice of Swiv, a nine-year-old living in Toronto with her pregnant mother, who is raising Swiv while caring for her own elderly, frail, yet extraordinarily lively mother. When Swiv is expelled from school, Grandma takes on the role of teacher and gives her the task of writing to Swiv's absent father about life in the household during the last trimester of the pregnancy. In turn, Swiv gives Grandma an assignment: to write a letter to "Gord," her unborn grandchild (and Swiv's soon-to-be brother or sister). "You’re a small thing," Grandma writes to Gord, "and you must learn to fight."

As Swiv records her thoughts and observations, Fight Night unspools the pain, love, laughter, and above all, will to live a good life across three generations of women in a close-knit family. But it is Swiv’s exasperating, wise and irrepressible Grandma who is at the heart of this novel: someone who knows intimately what it costs to survive in this world, yet has found a way—painfully, joyously, ferociously—to love and fight to the end, on her own terms.

©2021 Miriam Toews (P)2021 Knopf Canada

What the critics say

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE 2021 ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE

One of Indigo’s “Top 10 Best Canadian Fiction Books of 2021”

“Toews is a master of voice, and Swiv's . . . is one that I could read forever. . . . [A]s Elvira says, ‘To be alive means full body contact with the absurd. Still, we can be happy.’ This is an apt mission statement for Toews's body of work. Fight Night makes an ardent, hilarious, and moving addition.” —NPR

“[A] joyful, powerful, philosophical book. . . . It’s a profound affirmation of storytelling as a life force. . . . While life can be and is hard . . . what becomes obvious in Fight Night is that love wins out over everything.” —Deborah Dundas, Toronto Star

“[Fight Night] is a touching tribute to the matrilineal bond among three women of different generations. . . . Toews’ greatest talent lies in creating messy and lovable characters—the kind of people you’d want on your team (or coaching your team) if you were in a fight. Not because they are the strongest, but because somewhere inside themselves they’ve found the energy to keep moving forward.” Los Angeles Times

Giller 2021 Shortlist Author Spotlight: Miriam Toews

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What listeners say about Fight Night

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    4 out of 5 stars

A lot of funny moments

There wasn't much of a story, just a kid's observation of the world and family. I loved the dry humour and I'm sad it ended so quickly.

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Fight Night - Wonderful

OMG, I loved every word of this novel. So delightful to listen to and identify with so many characters! Another wonderful Canadian writer!

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Live and die like grandma

The world through 3 generations keeps things in perspective and most importantly keeps you laughing the whole way through.

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Great story and great characters!

A well written story with characters you can’t help but fall in love with. Worth the listen.

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Wonderful performance of a heartwarming story!

The narrator was PERFECT for this gem of a story which invites the reader into the mind of 10 yr old Swiv. Could there be a more captivatingly quirky character as the Grandma. Loved this book. Was sad to reach the end.

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Good story

Heartfelt and genuine. I love the perspective of the 10 year Swiv. I really enjoyed listening to it in the office voice in her daughters voice too. I did wonder how much it was from their actual lives?

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Wonderful story

Loved this narrator’s voice, her take on life, relationship with her Grandma and the unexpected details that made me stop and replay this portion or that, just to be surprised again. Performances were very good, direction subtle and seamless. Bravo!

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Enjoyed it so much

I hated to see the end of it. I thought there could be so much more.

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loved every word

I just love the writing style of Miriam Toews!! It's amazing what can be expressed in a single sigh.
I thought the narration was a little flat in the beginning but it actually perfectly suits the story.

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  • Overall
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Fabulous!

As a huge fan of Miriam Towes I am never disappointed. Colourful, quirky and engaging characters; a compelling plot line; wonderfully written; excellent readers. Highly recommend!

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  • Dun2020
  • 2022-08-09

Tough to Finish

It seemed to be the story of an abused child, abandoned by the school system and her parents. Her grandmother was the only shining light, but she too took risks with the child.

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