THE POLISH BOXER -- an enchanting, semi-autobiographical mix of finely nuanced prose and humor11/22/2015 The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Halfon (2012, Bellevue Literary Press; 188 pages) The Polish Boxer is probably one of the best books I have read this year. The blurb on its back reads : "A young Eduardo Halfon believed in the lie that the green tattoo on his grandfather’s arm was a phone number. Grown up, a writer and a professor, he believes in literature, in music, in a friend’s digressive, confessional, mythical postcards, in his girlfriend’s graphs of the arcs, plateaus and spikes of her orgasms. He learns the real story of the tattoo, and he thinks and journeys in pursuit of what makes a person and what makes a story." The main character in the book is a man in search of answers to big questions: he is trying to figure out who he is, where he came from and where is going. The Polish Boxer is a book about encountering, about confronting oneself, or others. It is a book about the meaning of the word exile, both forced and self-imposed. It is also a delightful journey through different geographies, some of which I happen to love, like Guatemala. It is a book about survivors of the Nazi horror, about Serbia and about America. It is a superb reading, one of those that you want to start reading again as soon as it has ended. You can read an excerpt from the book here For a conversation with the author about the book, click here To listen to the author, Guatemalan Eduardo Halfon, talking about the book and more, click here Find this title in our catalog: The Polish Boxer Recommended by: Maite
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