Leonard Gardner

Fat City is a novel set in the world of small-time boxing in Stockton, California in the 1950s. Leonard Gardner's deeply affecting portrayal of the anxieties and hopes of his characters achieves an unexpected universality that reaches out to readers well beyond the bounds of this world. The conviction, authenticity, and economy of means that characterize the novel found wide admiration among reviewers upon its first publication in 1969. Subsequently made into a film by John Huston, Fat City is an American classic. Originally published in 1969, "Fat City" is an American classic whose stature has increased over the years. Made into an acclaimed film by John Huston, the book is set in and around Stockton, California.

Ambientada en la deprimida localidad de Stockton (California), "Fat city" es el retrato descarnado de una serie de personas, en palabras de Gardner, aplastadas por la monumental desdicha del presente. Los cabezas de cartel son dos boxeadores que recorren sendas paralelas hacia la ruina: por un lado, Billy Tully, un cansado pugil de veintinueve años que reparte su tiempo entre bares, hoteles mugrientos y deshumanizadores trabajos a jornal; por otro, Ernie Munger, un mediocre aspirante a profesional de dieciocho años con pocas perspectivas de futuro, responsabilidades crecientes y ambiciones que se van desvaneciendo. Cada uno de ellos es un reflejo deformado del otro: Tully ve quien era; Ernie, en quien se convertira.

Fat City is a vivid novel of defiance and struggle, of the potent promise of the good life and the desperation and drink that waylay those whom it eludes. Stockton, California, is the novel's setting: the Lido Gym, the Hotel Coma, Main Street's lunchrooms and dark bars offer a temporary respite to the men and women whose backbreaking work in the fields barely allows them to make a living. When two men meet in the gym - the ex-boxer Billy Tully and the novice Ernie Munger - their brief sparring session sets into motion their hidden fates, initiating young Munger into the 'company of men' and luring Tully back into training. Fat City tells of their anxieties and hopes, their loves and losses, and the stubborn determination of their manager, Ruben Luna, who knows that even the most promising kid is likely to fall prey to some weakness. Then again, 'There was always someone who wanted to fight.'

A muscular novel about boxers in small town California in the 50s: an American classicStockton, California: a town of dark bars and lunchrooms, cheap hotels and farm labourers scratching a living. When two men meet in the Lido Gym - the ex-boxer Billy Tully and the novice Ernie Munger - their brief sparring session sets a fateful story in motion, initiating young Munger into the "company of men" and luring Tully back into training.Fat City is a vivid novel of defiance and struggle, of the potent promise of the good life and the desperation and drink that waylay those whom it eludes. This acclaimed American classic tells of their anxieties and hopes, their loves and losses, and the ephemeral glory of the fight.Leonard Gardner was born in Stockton, California. His short stories and articles have appeared in the Paris Review, Esquire, Southwest Review, and Brick, among other magazines. His screen adaptation of Fat City was made into a film by John Huston in 1972; he subsequently worked as a writer for independent film and television. For his work on the series NYPD Blue he twice received a Humanitas Prize (1997 and 1999) as well as a Peabody Award (1998). In 2008 he was the recipient of the A.J. Liebling Award, given by the Boxing Writers Association of America. A former Guggenheim Fellow, he lives in Northern California.