Product Description
They are all at the wharf to say good-bye. His mother, with tears in her eyes, hugs him as Mouse tells him to remember them all when he's world champ. Dewey smiles. Danny is holding Heather's hand while wishing him good luck. As Duff Martin slips the ropes and his sloop begins to move away, he looks at Heather. For an instant their eyes lock. The way she looks that morning stays with him. Duff has chosen to run away. Run from his father who is already dead and from Heather who he already loves. Four days later, into the dark and choppy waters of the Gulf of Maine, he knows running was the wrong choice. The Parrsboro Boxing Club is six years in the life of Duff Martin. In 1954, Duff is sixteen and getting ready for the most important fight of his life or at least his farther's life. Duff is fighting for his father, a man driven by the bitter passion to make his son a world champion. Increasingly, Duff is caught between his parents as his farther's drive intensifies and his mother's concerns deepens. It's on the water that Duff finds a refuge. Trying to escape things he can't understand, Duff sails down the Bay of Fundy into the swirling black waters of the Gulf of Maine, then on to Boston and down the Jersey coast into Delaware Bay. He's boarded by the US Coast Guard, rammed in a rainstorm by a tug boat and encounters an amazing range of unforgettable characters. He is influenced by the nautical wisdom of the coastal people of Maine and the hard-nosed gangsters of Boston. He faces the fastest man in the world and experiences the kindness of a Mexican immigrant, trying for one last big fight. Eventually, Duff returns to Parrsboro. He has tasted defeat but also discovered himself and vows to start things right by winning back the girl he loves. But boxing is the only thing he knows and circumstances draw him back to the ring and leads him back under the spell of his father -- even from the grave, his father seems to hold a power over him. The Parrsboro Boxing Club is about a young man's search for his true self and his gradual realization the only dreams you should follow are your own.
About the Author
Bruce Graham has spent the past thirty-eight years in Canadian broadcasting, working in every aspect of radio and television news. He now does the 'Final Word' commentaries on Global Television in the Maritimes and works as an independent television director/writer. Bruce has worked across Canada in Newcastle, Moncton, Halifax, Calgary and Winnipeg. 'The Parrsboro Boxing Club' is his first novel.
