Harry Crews’s savagely funny and gritty portrait of discipline, obsession, control, and power

Shereel Dupont, formerly the secretary Dorothy Turnipseed, trains rigorously at the behest of her boss turned personal trainer Russell (“Muscle”) Morgan, sculpting her body into taut muscles and bone in preparation for the Ms. Cosmos bodybuilding championship. But the arrival of one family — her family, the Turnipseeds — endangers her chance for victory. The ragtag group disturbs the chiseled competition and leaves Shereel at a crossroads: to whom does her name, and body, belong? Infused with Harry Crews’s trademark dark humor and absurdity, Body is a funny and gritty exploration of how far some will go for physical glory and purpose.

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