The US author’s impressive first novel, a forceful and involving tale of eight young female fighters, punches above its weight
What a pleasure it is to find a novel that’s unlike anything else out there, that succeeds on its own idiosyncratic terms and leaves the reader’s head ringing. Headshot is American writer Rita Bullwinkel’s first novel, after her collection of stories Belly Up (2016), and it takes us deep into the world of teenage girl boxers.
The setting is the 12th Annual Daughters of America Cup, held in the “tin warehouse” of Bob’s Boxing Palace in Reno, Nevada: a two-day competition of fists and fury, with eight fighters in three knockout rounds. We get into the heads of all eight girls, the narrative passing easily from one to another through brief moments of connection. What’s most impressive is how, in a relatively short novel with so many central characters, Bullwinkel manages to make each girl spark distinctively on the page – even if this means each tends towards a single overwhelming personality trait.