BRAWLER

‘Brawler’ by Lauren Groff is a brilliant collection of nine short stories which are intense and uncompromising. Groff captures the complexities of human nature with grit and compassion in equal measure. Sharing similar themes of fighting against the system, whether that be poverty or privilege, loneliness or oppression, inner dark thoughts or abuse they all pack a punch. Many finish on a sudden split decision or life-changing moment giving some kind of freedom to the central character of its story, whether this is a good choice or not.

A brawler is a fighter, either through unrefined physical means or aggressive verbalisation. And this theme runs through both the protagonist and the sufferer of each of Groff’s stories. The opening story 'The Wind' is the moment a woman takes her family on the run to escape an abusive relationship - but at what cost? This is followed by 'Between the Shadow and the Soul', a heart wrenching story of loyalty and sacrifice when you long to be set free, but know doing so would destroy the person you agreed to spend the rest of your life with. The theme of being set free is continued in 'To Sunland' when Joanie takes her younger epileptic disabled brother Buddy away from her seemingly loving aunt after their mother’s death for a new life. But is Joanie offering Buddy a better choice?

The story 'Brawler', after which the novel is titled, is just a few pages long but delivers one of the most crushing finales. We are given a short glimpse into the world of Sara, a loner and outsider, caring for her sick mother, who is outcast except when she dives, which she does brilliantly.

'What’s the Time Mr Wolf' is the longest story. It begins with Chip, a boy submerging himself in water with the newts to escape the annual family Thanksgiving extravaganza. It has elements of TV drama ‘Succession’ at its core, as Chip struggles to thrive within his privileged wealthy family and spirals into alcohol and drugs. His only ally is his elder sister Elizabeth, academic and successful, who arranges for him to ‘dry out’ in one of the family’s country properties. He seems to be turning over a new leaf until he starts a relationship with Pearl, several years his senior, who had also been a guest at the infamous Thanksgiving Dinner. The two view the relationship very differently until the story builds up to a crescendo - will Elizabeth arrive in time to save her younger brother? Groff’s note to this story is that privilege is a weed.

Water is a common theme which stems from Groff’s background as a competitive swimmer. Sometimes water is central to the theme as with ‘Under the Wave', a mother submerged by the grief. At other times the absence of water is just as notable such as in the final story ‘Annunciation’ when an unnamed young woman escapes the darkness of her violent family in search of light and sun in California, finding peace living in an old pool house.

This collection of short stories will give your book club a plethora of interesting talking points about human nature, survival, family love and the casualties of fear and violence. This is the first time The Den have read Lauren Groff’s work, but ‘Matrix’ and ‘Fates and Furies’ are now definitely on the list.