May 6

May 6 Headshot

About the book

Author: Rita Bullwinkel
Publisher: Viking

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

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My Review

Headshot is a Booker Prize longlister and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. The first is unsurprising to me, while the second is a tad surprising — but that’s because of the Pulitzer’s focus on novels that “deal with American life,” and I’m not sure I would have put this book in that category over others — not because it isn’t excellent. Which it is.

Headshot is about eight teenage girls competing in a national-title boxing tournament in Reno over the course of one weekend. Each chapter focuses on one match, and we make our way linearly through the bracket. But the story is not really about boxing; it’s a portrait of those eight girls and a commentary on the fight that is girlhood, told through a story of girls literally fighting.

Much of the genius of this book lies in its structure and pacing, which mimics a boxing match in its own way. There is hardly any dialogue; we bounce back and forth in the girls’ heads, occasionally zooming out to the spectators. Probably 75% of the time, the girls are referred to by their full names. Their perspective sometimes switches rapidly, as a trading of blows; sometimes slowly, as the boxers step back to dance around each other. And I’m very eager to discuss the ending with my Booker Prize book club.

All this results in a style that’s masterfully pared back; it feels simple in a way that’s obviously anything but. Truly expert stuff here, and more than worth your time. Read it!