The Fight Book Review
A new beginning for some can work best when there is a sense of renewal. Starting fresh in a new city, new experiences, or at the very moment when self introspection happens, growth is possible. The main character Calab embraces acceptance and is able to acknowledge the challenges he faces, dealing with alcoholism. Finding support within the community, and forming relationship ties, is a constant theme in the storyline of The Fight. Characters who lose touch are brought back together, after an unplanned event happens. The catchphrase "It's not what you know but who you know" is manifested with a job offer, giving readers something to celebrate. The only real stranger, to everyone in the story is, a stalker with a score to settle against a womanizer. The tension thickens through a series of failed attempts at carrying out a vendetta, and a love interest escalates the mental instability of the culprit with rejection.
Reading The Fight by Peggy Insula shows the role of a Priest (Fr. Krist) in a light outside of the Magisterial Body of the Church, as he interacts with a variety of characters on a path to change, love and connection. Routine and embracing hobbies is an escape for Calab , who quickly realizes how easy falling back into old habits can be. Bonding between men is strengthened and barbaric behavior (cage fighting) is a necessary outlet for Caleb. Men room together and form lasting relationships. The show of emotion between men does not affect masculinity.
Marriage and interracial relations shape larger themes, concerning prejudice and the continuation of ethnic groups, as characters experience love. Death also happens abruptly, thrusting the reader into compassion and empathy. Happiness shifts to grief, like melting ice cream in the sun, and how fragile life can be is revealed through loss. In sharing this story, Insula provides a much needed layer of reassurance, by confirming that feeling alone, in things we can not control, may happen, but someone will always be there, to hand off an olive branch.
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