The Fair Fight

What a unique historical fiction tale!

The Fair Fight is a story centered around pugilism, the science of boxing. Set in Bristol, England in the 1790s, it weaves the story through the lives of three people whose lives are all touched by the boxing obsessed Mr. Dryer; Ruth, a girl born in a brothel and trained to be a lady boxer from youth; George Bowden, a gentleman who is unable to turn from a wager; and Charlotte Sinclair, the youngest daughter of a.landed gentleman left scarred by smallpox.

The story moves through these three characters point-of-views, often telling the story of the same events through different perspectives. I never felt like things were being tiredly rehashed in these retellings. Rather, it revealed something new i hadn't known or seen, and showed a deeper layer to the storyin a way that started making me eager to see what the next character's view of one central event would be.

The audiobook was extremely well read, with three actors taking the lead characters' parts and reading the chapters told from their perspectives. It really helped sell the shifting narrative when a new voice would start in my ear.

I really wasn't sure where the story was going in the first couple of sections, but by the time I was first introduced to the third narrators chapters, I was hooked. There is a lot of described violence, as would be expected in a book about boxing.

I never read anything related to sports, much less boxing, but this novel took me by surprise. It has really strong female characters, with struggles and defects that turn this book in more than just a boxing story. It's a female empowerment story with a sport as a medium.

4.5* read. I highly recommend it for people who like literary or historical fiction. The characters and plot were unique and interesting.