Had strong hopes for this one, but I didn't much enjoy it. When most of a novel is the interior monologue of a fairly unpleasant character, I need to find that character interesting, and I did not find Stephen Florida interesting. I did not find his obsession with collegiate wrestling interesting, I did not find his background interesting. I did not find his stunted relationship with Mary Beth interesting, I did not find the introduced-but-then-neglected quasi-supernatural personification of his anxieties as The Frogman interesting. The only surprising thing about the Rocky Balboa/Karate Kid like ending was how low key it was.

What I most enjoyed from this book was a stray aside that led me to waste an hour Googling conspiracy theories about lost cosmonauts from failed Soviet attempts to reach the moon first during the Space Race era. That was a more enjoyable example of wacky humanity than this novel. ( )

“My name is Stephen Florida and I’m going to win the Division IV NCAA Championship in the 133 weight class. That’s it.”

This is a weird book, and definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste. It is one of the strangest books I’ve ever read. Two pages of the novel are simply 97 names of the names of guys that have beat him in the all the years he’s wrestled. Yes, nothing but names.
Equal parts upsetting, befuddling, and unnerving.

There are some pretty strange and clever quotes out of this book such as
“My mother had two placentas and I was living off both of them. I was supposed to have a twin. When the doctor yanked me out, he said, “There’s a good chance this child will be quite strong.” This is the story my parents told me, but I really never believed it.”
and “Identity is curious and always getting misplaced, sometimes you have to hold it pretty hard to keep it from getting away. I was never once the most talented, not even close, but I always had my single-mindedness, foolish greedy dodo single-mindedness.”

The book is written in the first person so you are hearing his thoughts and seeing his actions.
Through the voice of Stephen Florida the author lets us see and hear the warped mind of a very disturbed young man so focused on one thing that it begins to distort his reality and culminates his descent into depression and madness as he completes his final year of college and wrestling for a national championship.

The specifics of training and wrestling play a large part in this book, and not personally knowing what the wrestling moves or positions are produced large volumes of story whose meaning was lost on me.

The book is well written and i think even though it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but i think that it will fill a hole in a very niche market.
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I must say, I can really admire a first novel when it is very very gutsy. In my mind, I would think that a first time writer would not want to be so gutsy when they don't have anything else published. Maybe save the gutsy for a second book, when you have another example of your writing and style in a first book, to compare the second book to. To have a feel for your writing. But Gabe Habash goes all in with this first book. We have Stephen Florida - not the most likeable dude, in his final year of college, when most of his relatives have recently died and his main focus is the sport of wrestling! Even the topic of wrestling should scare most readers away, if Stephen won't do it himself. I never really have a problem with unlikable characters unless they are deliberately sociopathic murderers or something. Stephen is okay but he is such a weirdo! Other characters call him a weirdo! He proceeds to beat them with a shoe. Running around the streets in a gorilla mask! The writing is gutsy in other ways - listing all 99 names of the wrestlers that Stephen has lost matches to. But Habash has the skill. Stephen is believable. Would I usually care for a book about a deranged college student obsessed with wrestling? Or even books about sports or college at all? Absolutely not. But it is a testament to the writing skill of Mr. Habash that this story is so captivating. I was a bit tired of all the technical wrestling bits by the end, not quite visualizing what is happening since I don't know wrestling. But this is Stephen's purpose and life force on the page so it's understandable why it's on the page. Sentence level perfection right here, which can not be denied no matter the topic or subject matter. I absolutely can not wait to see where Habash goes with a second book.
Morning News Tournament of Books #111 ( )

the loneliness and obsession of a college wrestler evoked in stark brilliance, he perfectly captures a smart and fiercely talented monk in religious fervor to his monomaniacal desire. daring in how it bares the near psychopathic soul of its character, without losing his humanity. and some of the best writing of what it's like to compete in a sport of this visceral nature that I've encountered. a stunning debut. ( )

The Catcher in the Rye meets The Art of Fielding meets Vision Quest ( )