After the Lights Go Out: A blistering and gritty sports drama about a biracial MMA fighter battling with dementia

· Pushkin Press
Ebook
288
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

'Thrums with authenticity' The Times
'Powerful, bruising and beautiful' Chris Whitaker
A bleak, brilliant slice of American noir' Daily Mail

The latest novel from the CWA-shortlisted author of Three-Fifths – a Sunday Times, Guardian and Financial Times Book of the Year

____________

IT'S NOT A COMEBACK. IT'S A FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE.

Xavier "Scarecrow" Wallace is a biracial Black MMA fighter on the wrong side of thirty, who's been given a last-ditch chance to break into the big leagues. He is also losing his battle with pugilistic dementia, a struggle he is desperate to hide.

In the nursing home of his father, a white man suffering from Alzheimer's, Xavier witnesses shocking episodes that expose ugly truths about his family and his past.

As the big fight draws near, Xavier is faced with a dangerous dilemma: throw his match or suffer the deadly consequences.

____________

FURTHER PRAISE FOR JOHN VERCHER

'John Vercher could well be the next great American novelist' Kia Abdullah

'Shrewd and explosive' New York Times

'Vercher writes with the intensity of championship round' Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds

'A stunning, stone-cold knockout' P. J. Vernon, author of Bath Haus

'Think Warrior by way of Fat City' William Boyle, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out

'John Vercher writes like a fighter, a dancer, an athlete' Wiley Cash, author of A Land More Kind than Home

About the author

John Vercher is a writer on race, identity and social justice currently living in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons. He holds a BA in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program. His debut novel, Three-Fifths was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Award and was a Sunday Times, Guardian and Financial Times Book of the Year.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.