“You’re a small thing, and you must learn to fight.”

Award winning Canadian author, Miriam Toews, has always been an auto-read author for me. Some of her books are very sad, but they are always so interesting and worth the read. This one… I think it might be my favourite one yet! It’s written from the perspective of nine year-old Swiv. She’s been expelled from school and is spending her days with her octogenarian grandmother. Her grandmother gives her an assignment to write a letter to her absent father. Her mother, meanwhile, is pregnant with a little baby they’ve dubbed “Gord”, and Swiv gives her grandmother the assignment to write a letter to Gord. In a way, this book reads a bit like one long run-on sentence. It’s all from the mind of a nine year old girl. But that’s what makes it so endearing. And Grandma! She is so quirky, delightful and hilarious. I laughed, and I cried and when I finished, I wanted to flip the the beginning and read the whole thing again.
Like many of Toews’ books, I believe this is semi-autobiographical (the grandmother is based on her own mother, and the suicide deaths of the grandfather and sister in the book would be similar to her own sad family history. There are themes of mental health, love and certainly the power and strength of familial bonds between women.

Highly recommend!

There’s something special about great child characters in fiction and Swiv, the narrator of Fight Night, is a pretty special one at that.

Miriam Toews’s Fight Night is narrated from start to finish by nine-year-old Swiv as she writes a letter to her absent father. Swiv lives with her grandmother and pregnant mother in Toronto. Her mother is an actor and ever since being suspended from school, Swiv spends almost all of her time with her grandmother, the gregarious, hilarious Elvira who, though she’s older and has health challenges, has a quick wit and an engaging joie de vivre. Together, Swiv and Elvira are a pair you want to spend time with.

As nine year olds do, Swiv experiments with adult vocabulary as she recounts events in her life and retells stories her grandmother has told her. She occasionally misunderstands things going on around her which is sometimes humorous but at other times sad as Swiv misinterprets situations as more serious, less safe for which she must take responsibility. It’s an important reminder to adults to have empathy for children’s perspectives and to provide clarity for them in the confusing adult world.

Through her writing, Swiv tries to make sense of her grandmother’s age and illness, her father’s disappearance, her mother’s struggles with mental health and worries about family’s suicides, religion, and adult sexuality. But, while this sounds serious, Swiv’s narrative is equally peppered with her grandmother’s fanship of the Toronto Raptors, funny sayings and games she and her grandmother have, and the mishaps and adventures they have together. It is a mix of the serious, the sad, the ridiculous, and the joyful. Just like life.

For much of the story, Swiv’s mother is in the background, a troubled woman having difficulty with her husband’s disappearance, recovering from traumatic experiences, and worrying about her mental health. By the end of the book, however, she too has become a well-rounded, sympathetic character whom we come to root for.

In Fight Night, Toews shows that we are all flawed humans, but that, despite our idiosyncrasies, we can also be warm, caring people who can love each other deeply. By focussing the story on Swiv and her grandmother, people who are often on the edges of narratives, we see that children and seniors also have lives that can be interesting to readers.

Three hundred and some pages of a child narrator may not be for everyone, but witnessing Swiv’s exploration of the world and her grandmother’s zest for life was a wonderful exploration of the bond between grandparent and child. Fight Night cheers for those who aren’t afraid to live life to its fullest and who willingly share themselves with others.

Toews has previously won or been a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, the Writers’ Trust Prize, and the Giller. I’d imagine Fight Night will be under consideration for all of these awards and hope to see it among the finalists announced in just a few weeks’ time.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Knopf Canada, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this book, but unfortunately it didn't really work for me. I'm sure some Toews fans will love it. However, there were many times when I just couldn't believe the narrator was supposed to be 9 years old, and I also had trouble staying engaged through some of the lengthy, meandering stream-of-consciousness sections. I was relieved that the ending did actually tie things together and make the story feel complete.

Oh, I am such a fan of Canadian author Miriam Toews! I was so excited when I was given an advance e-copy of the novel and this book did not disappoint! It was such a beautiful read.

Set in Toronto, the story is told from the perspective of the nine-year old Swiv who lives with her spunky, hilarious yet ailing grandmother and her mother who is battling her own demons while very pregnant with Swiv's sibling Gord. The entire book is a letter penned from Swiv to her absent father who has abandoned the family.

The book reminds the reader that everyone must fight through various points in life --yet it is done in a way that is real and surprisingly funny. While reading this, I'm pretty sure I had a permanent smirk/smile on my face as the characters are so realistic and funny in their quirks and personalities. I found myself thinking of them when I wasn't reading and was sad when the book was over. The characters and story sure left a mark on me.

Also, as a person that grew up on the prairies and someone that came from a long line of Germans who lived on colonies in Russia before immigrating to the Canadian prairies in the late 1800s, there are so many little references that I appreciated in this book, including the mention of the German Folk Song Du, Du that my grandma used to sing to me growing up. I also loved all the nods to Canada, including mention of Leonard Cohen, the Raptors, the Blue Jays' Vladdy Guerrero Jr. and others.

This is the third book that I have read by Toews and she is definitely one of my favourite authors. This book will be available on August 24! After you're done reading this one, I also highly recommend All My Puny Sorrows and Women Talking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but the voice of Swiv, the narrator, seemed so precious and artificial that I couldn't get into the story. The narrative felt flat. It is rare for me to not finish a book, but I could not finish this one. Sorry.

Both hilarious and poignant, this is a slice-of-life of three generations of women—grandmother, mother and 10-year-old daughter—told by Swiv, the kid, in the form of a letter to her absent father. Swiv’s is a most engaging, memorable voice, and her best observations are about her grandmother Elvira, who is an indomitable force of nature. The “fight” of the title refers to the struggle, especially for women, to carry on in the face of life’s many hardships, and this Elvira especially does, with her trademark cheerful gregariousness in spite of failing health. Swiv is fiercely attached to her mom and grandmother but, as is the way with most 10-year-olds, can be deeply mortified by the things they say and do, especially around other people, and a lot of the book’s humour falls into this category. Her mother is a heavily pregnant actress working on what sounds like an execrable local stage play, so a lot of the work of looking after Elvira falls to Swiv, who has been expelled from school for vague reasons that Swiv just alludes to. In fact, a lot of the “how” and “why” info is similarly vague, as funnelled through the consciousness of a kid who either isn’t much interested in such details or who doesn’t always entirely know or understand what’s going on. (Her mother and grandmother have frequent whispered conferences about, Swiv is sure, her father, who has abandoned them, though Swiv hopes he might return.) The adults seem to have some time ago left or been cast out from an unnamed oppressive patriarchal religious community whose people originally came from Russia: again, no details, just references to the loathed authoritarian figure Willet Braun, who had periodically turned up to chastise those who weren’t falling into line. Swiv knows nothing of this history (before her time), just what she’s been told and overheard. This is above all a valentine to Elvira, her resilience and ebullience come what may, her refusal to be cowed by anything, her peals of laughter at everything, the people she charms and befriends everywhere she goes (embarrassing Swiv mightily). One is on pretty solid ground assuming this is a loving portrait drawn from or at least informed by the author’s life, as her acknowledgement of her own grandmother Elvira at the end of the book makes clear. The word “Mennonite” appears nowhere in the book, but again one knows there’s some real-life experience buried in here. Very touching.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance reading copy. To be published on October 5.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC ebook.

A beautiful, endearing, and sometimes incredibly sad book.
The perspective as written as a letter written by an 8/9 year old to an absent father makes it painful in many ways.

I wasn’t always pulled into it, but the characters would stay with me when I wasn’t reading.

I laughed so hard at times that I cried and then I cried so hard yet I smiled. This extraordinary book is told through the eyes of Swiv who lives with her pregnant mother and elderly grandmother. She spends most of her time with her grandmother who teaches her about her past and helps prepare her for her future. The book is heartwarming and heartbreaking. The perfect mixture of everything life can throw at you. It shows that we are strong even when we think we are weak and useless. It shows us that love is always there for us. It shows us that a mother’s love knows no end. The book was a bit confusing to red in the beginning as it seemed to ramble on but I quickly got into that pace of the book and never looked back. I couldn’t put it down and I was sad for it to end. I think everyone needs a Grandmother like Elvira! It’s hard to explain what category to file this book under ….. maybe family, love, life, relationships. I will just say you really need to read this moving book and to search for the love and joy in your life.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the privilege of reading the ARC of this delightful Book.

A love letter to living life to its’ fullest, Fight Night by Canadian author Miriam Toews was heartwarming and humorous with tender moments.

Nine year old Swiv is a precocious child who has been expelled from school and is being homeschooled by her grandmother. A therapist has suggested writing letters to her father as a means to communicate as he is not around. Swiv gives her grandmother the homework of writing to Gord, her soon to be new sibling. Swiv takes care of her grandmother’s needs and recognizes when her grandmother needs her emergency medications.

Elvira, Swiv’s grandmother, tells stories from her past being the youngest of many children. Her friends get together regularly and celebrate being alive. When an opportunity to see her two nephews arises, many hijinks occur.

The story is told from the perspective of Swiv and is endearing and in hindsight the perfect one to tell the story with the innocence it requires. Swiv is mature by necessity but still has doe eyes and vulnerability.

While Fight Night isn’t your typical epistolary novel, it does flow like a letter.

Thank you to @netgalley and @knopfca for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Fight Night comes out August 24, 2021. I can’t wait to discuss this one with the #booktwinbuddyread group when it comes out.

Miriam Toews is one of my favourite authors and I was absolutely delighted that I was able to read this book early. A few weeks before the pandemic closed everything down, I was lucky enough to see her speak, but too shy to say hello after, which I will regret for a very long time.

Fight Night is a story about three generations of women, told through the voice of Swiv, the nine-year-old granddaughter. You see the world through Swiv’s eyes, her grandmother, the feisty hilarious woman who makes friends wherever she goes, her mother, pregnant with Gord, and currently going through a mental health crisis, and her absent father who has left them.

I could have easily read Fight Night quickly in one sitting, but I was enjoying it so much that I paced myself and made it last a couple of weeks to allow the story to go on longer. It was a story full of love, power, hope and family. I laughed, cried, laughed some more, sobbed, and then laughed again.

It was absolutely beautiful.

It kills me to write this but it fell flat for me. Ugh. Miriam is a beloved author in my books 😉☺️ and I had high hopes for this one but I couldn’t get into it.

Told from the perspective of 9yr old Swiv, you learn the connections between grandmother and mom. The drama comes out through her lens, which proves to be quite funny at times, but then (which is why I only gave it 3 stars) it would go back to just a blah kind of view on what was happening.

I wonder if it was the voice told by young Swiv that didn’t connect me. Normally that wouldn’t stop me from reading and connecting but it did for this one.

As I said, I’m positive this is a one-off because Toews is a beloved author

This book was not for me. I really struggled to even finish it. I wanted to DNF it several times and once I put it down I dreaded to pick it up again. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I just didn't care about any of them. The ending was decent and enabled me to bump the rating up to 2 stars.

A fast-paced story told from the perspective of Swiv (granddaughter) of her relationship with grandma and her mom. My first Toews book and I could not fully relate to the characters who were certainly bound by love but were sadly disfunctional.

I was confused to hear Swiv's thoughts which were mature and introspective but were not in line with what I thought of as a young girl. Grandma does make you laugh out loud, mom is a mess but they and the unborn Gord are a family like many others just doing their best to get by.

This book covered family connection and survival but left me sad. And why wasn't that child in school instead of having the responsibility of caring for grandma? The mere idea that this does happen in the real world left me raw. The run-on sentences and train of thought left me breathless, I would not recommend this book to anyone who is in a dark place themselves or struggling with family issues.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #PenguinRandomHouseCanada, Knopf Canada for this advance copy.

I liked the idea of this book more than the execution. I'm not even really sure why but I wanted to love this multi-generational story about three women living in Toronto. Full of family drama and some secrets revealed, however I just never really got invested or connected to the characters. This was a miss for me unfortunately. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.

I don't have the words to tell you how much I loved Fight Night. I laughed so much and I also cried and I came away with a new favourite Miriam Toews book.

For me, the greatest gift of Fight Night was truly seeing the settings and the surroundings through the eyes of people so distinctly different than I am – in ages, in life experiences, in demeanours. This family of three generations of women made me want to be one of them, to be like them and to embrace my loved ones as easily and thoroughly, however unconventional the means.

I cherish this book. The further into it I got, the more I laughed out loud. In fact, no book has ever made me laugh as much as Fight Night did. And it also made me cry. More than anything, this book served as a reminder of the power of love, hope, and spirit and the strength of sharing it all with the people around us.

I have liked Miriam Toews’ books but this one just didn’t work for me. The almost stream of consciousness approach that the author used to reflect the thoughts of a 9 year old girl was difficult to follow and did not engage me. .I had to DNF it which I don’t like to do but I just wasn’t enjoying it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this early reader copy.

I must apologize but i cannot continue to read this book. I read 27% of it and still don’t know what the story is about and where it is going.
I rarely abandon a book but in this case I have too.

Delighted to include Toews new novel in “What to read in August,” the August installment of my monthly top fiction picks column for Zoomer magazine’s Books section. Review at link.

Regretfully, I cannot make myself pick this book back up. I’m not sure now why I thought I’d like it but I didn’t so enjoy Toews’ a last book and I’m equal parts lost and uninterested in this new one.

I see that there’s a beautifully sad story here. Abandonment, determination, making ones way in the world from the perspective of a nine or ten year old. But I cannot make myself be interested in this story. I have had the option to turn back to it several times over the course of a week and cannot bring myself to do so, always opting for something else. To be fair, the something else has been more easily digestible so maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to pick up Fight Night. And maybe it never will be.

This is the first time I’ll add a book to my did not finish shelf on Goodreads.

I loved this book! It was absolutely hilarious. I can't even remember the last time that I  laughed out loud so much while reading a book!!

This is a story about three generations of women living in the same house, but mostly focuses around the grandmother and her granddaughter; their relationship was so sweet. The grandmother was extremely feisty, frank and outspoken and talked to her granddaughter like she was an adult; I loved her character so much.

This book was about love and fighting through the hard times life puts in your path but was a lot more than that. It really focused on the imperfect and in finding the beauty in those moments. It is okay to make mistakes and lose control, or go a little crazy sometimes, you just need to fight to find your way back.

Overall, I was left with a strong feeling of love and hope. I would definitely recommend this book and am already planning to read it again.

"She would rather join a losing team than win a lonely fight."

I was provided at copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.