Grimmish

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD

Pain was Joe Grim’s self-expression, his livelihood and reason for being.

A superstar boxer who rarely won a fight, Grim distinguished himself for his extraordinary ability to withstand physical punishment.

In this wild and expansive novel, Michael Winkler moves between the present day and Grim’s 1908-09 tour of Australia, bending genres and histories into a kaleidoscopic investigation of pain, masculinity, and narrative.

Pain is often said to defy the limits of language. And yet Grimmish suggests that pain – physical and mental – is also the most familiar and universal human condition; and, perhaps, the secret source of our impulse to tell stories.

“A powerful blast of literary ingenuity and originality.” – Lloyd Jones, author of Mister Pip

“Grimmish meets a need I didn’t even know I had. I lurched between bursts of wild laughter, shudders of horror, and gasps of awe at Winkler’s verbal command: the freshness and muscle of his verbs, the unstoppable flow of his images, the bizarre wit of the language of pugilism–and all the while, a moving subterranean glint of strange masculine tenderness.” – Helen Garner

]”All the makings of a cult classic. It’s grotesque and gorgeous, smart and searching.” – Beejay Silcox, The Guardian

Author: Michael Winkler
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Coach House Books
Published: 04/25/2023
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.8lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.70w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781552454664
Language: English