FINALIST FOR THE 2021 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD“Full of verve… Revelatory.” —Los Angeles TimesA dazzling and darkly comic novel of love, violence, and friendship in the California suburbsBunny Lampert is the princess of North Shore—beautiful, tall, blond, with a rich real-estate-developer father and a swimming pool in her backyard. Michael—with a ponytail down his back and a septum piercing—lives … ponytail down his back and a septum piercing—lives with his aunt in the cramped stucco cottage next door. When Bunny catches Michael smoking in her yard, he discovers that her life is not as perfect as it seems. At six foot three, Bunny towers over their classmates. Even as she dreams of standing out and competing in the Olympics, she is desperate to fit in, to seem normal, and to get a boyfriend, all while hiding her father’s escalating alcoholism. Michael has secrets of his own. At home and at school Michael pretends to be straight, but at night he tries to understand himself by meeting men online for anonymous encounters that both thrill and scare him. When Michael falls in love for the first time, a vicious strain of gossip circulates and a terrible, brutal act becomes the defining feature of both his and Bunny’s futures—and of their friendship. With storytelling as intoxicating as it is intelligent, Rufi Thorpe has created a tragic and unflinching portrait of identity, a fascinating examination of our struggles to exist in our bodies, and an excruciatingly beautiful story of two humans aching for connection.
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Brilliantly constructed and beautifully told, threaded with heartbreak, honesty and hope, The Knockout Queen is a sublime coming of age story and Rufi Thorpe is a national treasure.
One word to describe The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe is WOW. The writing, the content, everything about this book is heavy hitting and I had a hard time putting it down. It is beautiful, but at the same time it is one of the saddest and most depressing books I have read in a long time. Not much goes right for Michael or Bunny besides their friendship, and this book deals with a ton of hard, but important subjects.
I did just the audio of The Knockout Queen and the narrator Michael Crouch did a very good job with it. I could easily picture him as the character Michael Hesketh, and his emotion while reading it even got me a little emotional. I’m a bit surprised I didn’t cry during this book considering how sad and disturbing a lot of the content is, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel it in my heart. I wouldn’t read it unless you are completely in the mood for a book like this, but it is a touching coming-of-age novel that will certainly make you feel things.
The theme of friendship is strong throughout the novel, and I loved that Michael and Bunny had each other since they both have very rough lives. It’s probably best if I don’t say too much more, but just be aware The Knockout Queen is very dark and there will be triggers for some people, but I think it is an incredibly important read and I’m glad I did the audio.
Fearless, tender, and savagely alive, The Knockout Queen is unlike anything you’ll read this year. Rufi Thorpe’s third novel is about unruly thoughts and unruly bodies, about violence and love, about doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and the drag of human being. You won’t be able to look away. You might even recognize yourself.
This is the first book I’ve read from Rufi Thorpe and it was excellent. The characters are so full and flawed and lovable. And the way she explores really big themes — like friendship and violence — from a layered perspective is what made this book particularly special, I think. Would recommend for fans of coming-of-age stories!
I loved The Knockout Queen. A blistering, brilliant look at friendship and violence, suburbia and class, all told by one of the most observant, engaging narrators I’ve read in a very long time. This book is going to stay with me.
Rufi Thorpe writes with a savage, clear-eyed calm that is frighteningly good. The Knockout Queen unsettled me in the most delicious way with its complex and satisfying relationships and meditation on violence, beauty, and privilege. Read it!!
Is it cheesy to say The Knockout Queen knocked me off my feet? I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I did so only reluctantly, shakily. With unrelenting humor and terrifying intelligence, Rufi Thorpe tells the story of an unlikely high school friendship — the kind of friendship from which you never recover — with intensity and attentiveness. This captivating, generous book is a moving examination on human motivation, darkness, and love — calling attention to the ways we can be deeply different, and yet so much the same.
The Knockout Queen is an intense, unflinching examination of friendship, the threads that connect us in such strange ways. Rufi Thorpe navigates this difficult terrain thanks to a masterful use of detail and a wonderfully dark sense of humor that lands at just the right moment. Michael and Bunny are two of the most unique characters I’ve ever met, drawn with such precision that it’s impossible to leave them behind. This is a hypnotic, beautiful novel, and Rufi Thorpe is an unbelievably unique talent.
The Knockout Queen is the best book I’ve read in months! Its one-of-a-kind narrator is funny, vulnerable, brilliant, and brimming with longing, and the story he tells distills the pain and beauty of a life-changing friendship like nothing else I’ve read before. This book’s got guts and heart, and wisdom for days, and I could not put it down. Rufi Thorpe is one of the most exciting novelists working today. This novel is truly exceptional. I loved it.