Book dossier

Shadow Boxing

by Tony Birch

Shadowboxing is a collection of ten linked stories in the life of a boy growing up in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in the 1960s. A beautifully rendered time capsule, it captures a period of decay, turmoil and change through innocent, unblinking eyes. Michael?s family, led by his long-suffering mother, live as though under siege, surviving his father?s drinking and rage as well as the forces of?urban renewal?. Their neighbourhood is a world of simple pleasures as well as random brutality; of family life and love as well as violence and tragedy. As Michael experiences all this with a combination of wonder and fear, he matures into a sensitive adult who can forgive but never forget. Shadowboxing is a riveting story of loss and permanence, power and weakness, stoicism and resistance.