Review: BLEW ME AWAY!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2012
Somebody strap me down or I might start levitating. I don't know this author personally, and I happened to see this title newly released on Kindle. Because I've enjoyed films like The Fighter, and I saw that Charity Parkerson writes some romance as well, I thought it would be interesting to see how she handles love stories that center around the boxing ring. Holy Moly--can Parkerson WRITE! Here I was expecting a "genre" kind of treatment, only to discover that Parkerson is a true artist. UNDEFEATED is a very fresh glimpse into the world of boxing and the men & women who inhabit it--specifically, two brothers and their associates who run the Smith Brothers Fight Club. Naturally, I expected to see how these people train and the toll that boxing takes on their lives--but what BLEW ME AWAY was how Parkerson delicately peeled away each person's skin to reveal the most vulnerable & delicate places inside their souls. Every single time I thought Parkerson might dip into "tough guy" cliches with her narrative, she veers left or right or threw an undercut that completely surprised me like a one-two punch! Get your handkerchiefs ready , because Parkerson floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee! And precisely where she hits the hardest is straight into your heart. You will weep for both sadness and joy. The four interwoven stories that make up UNDEFEATED are each inhabited by "last chancers": men & women who are hardened by life, down on their luck, and seriously wondering if love & fulfillment are completely out of reach. But time after time, Parkerson ups the stakes and throws them into the ring to see if they have the courage to fight for what they truly want. I enjoyed each story immensely, but personally, it was the 3rd section about Walt, a returned war veteran, that wrung me inside out--and as I was reading it, I found myself whispering, "This isn't genre anymore--this is a literary accomplishment." If you want something fresh & well written that will make you root for life once again, UNDEFEATED will leave you cheering.