Rita Bullwinkel

Reason read: Booker long list, came available yesterday. It's short so there's that. The book is structured on the tournament play of a national boxing match of girls/women. It is not a book of plot and is it a character study, probably not, because you only gets bits and pieces. The characters reveal their thoughts while boxing and otherwise. It is stream of consciousness. I like sports and have some interest in boxing but this really never was a factor, I never felt an attachment or concern for any of the boxers. I felt like I was being told a story rather than reading a story. It was creative and ambitious but it wasn't fantastic.… (more)

The publicity descriptions of this debut novel about 8 teenaged girls competing in a 2-day world championship boxing match in Reno, Nevada, initially had no appeal for me, but I ordered it from the public library some time ago anyway, just in case. When it came in, I browsed over the first pages while still in the library, and wow! Those first few pages were written in such a unique and convincing style that I would have read the book for that alone. But I soon became very involved in the story, caring a lot about the characters and the outcome. What follows are some observations about what I liked in the novel.

Headshot is short and a fast read, with many pages devoted to the 7 bouts of the competition, where the pacing is perfectly managed. In between bouts we get slower passages, providing more information about the girls, their relatives, past experiences and the girls’ futures. All of the girls are convincing, sympathetic characters. And we also see the adult characters—coaches, referees, and relatives—mostly through teenaged eyes. We are in the child’s head at these times and hear her voice. So convincingly that I also heard some of my adolescent students from way back, Bullwinkel just got it right These children were so real to me; all of them have hearts set on winning this tournament.

The 2-minute matches themselves are suspenseful; there will be a girl who is best, but all, of course, must be exceptional boxers. The choreography of the rounds is fascinating; the violence of the sport is muted but it’s there. I winced a lot. Here is a passage from the mind of Andi Taylor in the first bout:

“As Andi is circling her fists and prodding Artemis she realizes that when she hits Artemis on her right shoulder, the rest of Artemis’s body goes left and down, slightly. It’s not a bad reaction to avoid a hit, but if Andi can smack Artemis on the left side of Artemis’s head as Artemis’s body falls to the left then Andi might be able to get in one blow, or two blows, or maybe even three, and then Andi has done it, is doing it, she’s hit Artemis’s right shoulder with her left fist and is doubling down on the left side of Artemis’s head with her right fist.”

I think Bullwinkel’s control of pace here is masterful.

In the evening of the first day after the preliminary matches are finished, the coaches, referees, and gym owner go out to one of the Reno night clubs. Here’s a passage evoking the mood:

“The adults wish they wanted anything as bad as these girl boxers want to be the best at something. These girl boxers want to be the best in the world at boxing. The girl boxers sleep through the night. The girl boxers do not dream of clubs or casinos or dancing. On the night of July fourteenth even Artemis Victor dreams only of winning.”

Although there is much action in the novel, and its outcome matters, it is a novel of character, not plot. And I loved being in the world of these girls for a while. In my opinion, Headshot competes well with other novels in the Booker Longlist —I find it one of the three best of the nominees of the six I read (Held and My Friends being the other two titles). I wouldn’t mind at all seeing Headshot make the Shortlist and maybe even win the award. And I will for sure be looking for Rita Bullwinkel’s next work.… (more)