A Review of Robert Lipsyte's The Contender

Finished the Lipsyte novel. It is called 'The Contender.' It was pretty good. I liked it, I have to admit. It is a solid work of literature. It comes alive for you. The story is interesting and it draws you in in its impressionistic style. Characters are not so much described in detail as they are felt. Everything kind of comes alive for the reader. And it seems like the author is doing it effortlessly, without any force, naturally. You sort of feel for all of the characters involved. You feel the story unfold, being up-close-and-personal with all of the main characters, feeling as if you are right there in the same room with all of them, as opposed to at-a-distance, with a clerical eye or cold eye for detail. It's all natural and intimate.

As you watch the story unfold you feel like nothing is being forced...