The Polish Boxer
*Starred Review* This strange and beautiful book at the outset defies definition. It is neither a collection of short stories or a novel but rather a tapestry of loosely connected movements that, when taken together, compose something haunting and enigmatic. The narrator, named, like the author, Eduardo Halfon, never seems to be in one place, nor is the time line clear. He is a literature professor tracking down a talented student, and a young man daring to ask his grandfather about the numbers tattooed on his arm, and then, in the longest narrative arc, a traveler searching the brothels of Belgrade for a gypsy pianist who may or may not be an old friend. But in almost all of these encounters, Halfon glides over the climactic and decisive moments, instead focusing almost entirely on the events leading up to a future we never have the privilege to visit. Rather than being inconclusive and unsatisfying, however, Halfon passionately and lyrically illustrates the significance of the journey and the beauty of true mystery. The Polish Boxer is sublime and arresting, and will linger with readers, who will be sure to revisit it again and again. --Sarah Hunter