Crews’s novel about a boxer with the gift of knocking
himself
unconscious, with a new foreword by
New York Times
-bestselling author S. A. Cosby
A Penguin Classic
A favorite of longtime Harry Crews fans,
The Knockout Artist
(1988) portrays Eugene Talmadge Biggs, a young boxer from rural Georgia whose champion rise is diverted by a vulnerability, or gift, for knocking
unconscious. As he begins to exploit his talents, the notorious Knockout Artist journeys a hero’s descent into the New Orleans underworld and meets characters who have long since checked their morals at the door. The unforgettable climax shows Crews at his virtuoso best, when Eugene confronts his truth, and sets out to claim his freedom and win his own self-respect.