Headshot A Novel
Headshot A Novel by Rita Bullwinkel is published by Penguin and will be available on March 12, 2024. This debut novel explores the intense world of teenage girl boxers as they compete in Reno, Nevada, driven by their personal motivations and the weight of familial expectations. The narrative unfolds through a series of confrontations that reveal the complexities of their ambitions, desires, and the emotional stakes involved in their pursuit of excellence.
Readers will find a vivid portrayal of the radical intimacy inherent in physical competition, as each character grapples with the pressures of victory and the sacrifices made along the way. The novel delves into themes of desire, perfectionism, and the sheer joy of fighting, offering a strikingly original perspective on the lives of young women in sports. With 224 pages, this edition presents a compelling exploration of the motivations that drive these athletes, blending humor and tenderness amidst the raw intensity of their experiences.
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FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE READS OF SUMMER 2024
Named a Best Book of 2024 by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Time, Elle, Vulture, Lit Hub, and The Guardian
“Make room, American fiction, for a meaningful new voice.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review
An electrifying debut novel from an “unusually gifted writer” (Lorrie Moore) about the radical intimacy of physical competition
An unexpected tragedy at a community pool. A family’s unrelenting expectation of victory. The desire to gain or lose control; to make time speed up or stop; to be frighteningly, undeniably good at something. Each of the eight teenage girl boxers in this blistering debut novel has her own reasons for the sacrifices she has made to come to Reno, Nevada, to compete to be named the best in the country. Through a series of face-offs that are raw, ecstatic, and punctuated by flashes of humor and tenderness, prizewinning writer Rita Bullwinkel animates the competitors’ pasts and futures as they summon the emotion, imagination, and force of will required to win.
Frenetic, surprising, and strikingly original, Headshot is a portrait of the desire, envy, perfectionism, madness, and sheer physical pleasure that motivate young women to fight—even, and perhaps especially, when no one else is watching.
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