Cockfighter

Rating:
Summary: one man's obsession with cockfighting...
Review: Before reading 'Cockfighter' I knew nothing of cockfighting. Now I know more than I thought possible, which I guess is a good thing. :-) Thankfully Charles Willeford's cockfighting education manual is actually a darn good read.

Cockfighting is gruesome, and Willeford does not sanitize the sport in any way. In a rather balanced way he describes cockfighting and cockfighters. The main character in this novel is obsessed in winning the 'super bowl' of cockfighting. He lives for cockfighting. Quite honestly, it's a rather depressing existence. Thankfully Willeford's attention to detail rises just above the boredom level. And the ending is very exciting indeed.

Bottom line: certainly not a book for everyone. Yet it's compassion to this nasty blood sport should be lauded.

Rating:
Summary: one man's obsession with cockfighting...
Review: Before reading 'Cockfighter' I knew nothing of cockfighting. Now I know more than I thought possible, which I guess is a good thing. :-) Thankfully Charles Willeford's cockfighting education manual is actually a darn good read.

Cockfighting is gruesome, and Willeford does not sanitize the sport in any way. In a rather balanced way he describes cockfighting and cockfighters. The main character in this novel is obsessed in winning the 'super bowl' of cockfighting. He lives for cockfighting. Quite honestly, it's a rather depressing existence. Thankfully Willeford's attention to detail rises just above the boredom level. And the ending is very exciting indeed.

Bottom line: certainly not a book for everyone. Yet it's compassion to this nasty blood sport should be lauded.

Rating:
Summary: Still haven't recovered
Review: I read it years ago and I still haven't recovered. When you are through, you will understand how gambling becomes insanity, its rituals imposing a twisted order on full blown psychosis. As a work of first person narrative, it's breathtaking. The other books by the same author will not prepare you for the intensity of this story. If Jim Thompson is too dark for you, don't read this: you will be jumping right out of the window.

Rating:
Summary: You MUST read this book!
Review: This is a wonderful book. Willeford was thwe absolute master and you owe it to yourself to scour the used bookstores for this gem! Or, to make it easier, I heard that No Exit out of the UK published a Willedford Omnibus and Cockfighter is included in it. Got to Amazon.co.uk and order this amazing work now! this is the best, and really, only novel about cockfighting you will ever need to read. I don't know how to say much about the plot without giving it away, though. Ideally, you're already familiar with Willeford from MIAMI BLUES and his other Hoke Mosley novels. If not, be sure to get your hands on those as well. Read anything and everything by CHARLES WILLEFORD! And then get the excellent biography WILLEFORD by Don Herron. Amazon should have it. And, as a final not, monte Hellman's film of Coickfighter, with the great Warren Oates and harry dean Stanton is now avl. on dvd. Also starring Willeford himself. And be sure to check out the film of The Woman Chaser while yr at it. Read Willeford. NOW!

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing fictional look into a colorful subculture
Review: You can't really relate to another man's (or woman's) obsession, but "Cockfighter" does a impressive job of drawing the reader into the psyche of Frank Mansfield, the single-minded hero of this pretty intense novel. Frank's goal in life is to win the Cockfighter of the Year award, and he's taken a vow not to speak another word until he does so. In relating silent Frank's journey, the author takes us on a memorable trip through the cockfighting pits of the Southern U.S. and allows us a close-up look at the rugged, obsessive, fiercely individualistic types who haunt them. You will learn from this novel virtually everything you could conceivably wish to know about cockfighting; the details feel absolutely authentic. Above all, though, it's a convincing portrait of a man driven half-mad by his private demons.

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing fictional look into a colorful subculture
Review: You can't really relate to another man's (or woman's) obsession, but "Cockfighter" does a impressive job of drawing the reader into the psyche of Frank Mansfield, the single-minded hero of this pretty intense novel. Frank's goal in life is to win the Cockfighter of the Year award, and he's taken a vow not to speak another word until he does so. In relating silent Frank's journey, the author takes us on a memorable trip through the cockfighting pits of the Southern U.S. and allows us a close-up look at the rugged, obsessive, fiercely individualistic types who haunt them. You will learn from this novel virtually everything you could conceivably wish to know about cockfighting; the details feel absolutely authentic. Above all, though, it's a convincing portrait of a man driven half-mad by his private demons.