Counterpunch by
Aleksandr Voinov
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
It might sound like hyperbole to suggest that Counterpunch is one of Aleks Voinov's best pieces of writing, but I am willing to go there. I downloaded the book early this morning when I was woken up early by a sadistic cat, and could barely drag myself out of bed to get ready for work. Luckily I was able to finish up the book on my longer-than-usual bus ride.
As a Voinov fan, I readily accept that there will be violence, possibly horrific pain and torture, and all-around general misery before the conclusion of the narrative is reached. Counterpunch does not disappoint on any of those fronts. All are there in great quantity. What I didn't expect was for Aleks to deliver one of his most fascinating characters ever in Brooklyn, a slave who is slowly gaining fame in the slave boxing world. It would be too easy for Brooklyn to just be hard, to have no empathy or tenderness left in him, but instead of a deadened shell, the reader is let into the mind of someone is is clearly tortured about the events leading up to his sentence into slavery, who believes to a certain degree that he deserves this life, but who is not yet ready to give up thoughts of freedom, or more interesting, the idea of a "normal" life.
What I found most compelling were the moments when Brooklyn tries to submit to Nathaniel, but really cannot give over that much control to another person, even as he is beginning to realize the depths of his feelings for the other man. This is mirrored later in the book when Brooklyn, fighting against the pain in his match with Thorne, realizes that he doesn't have it in him to throw the match. Instead, he regains control of the situation, and pushes again for the win.
Also enjoyable is how well this work fits into the Belonging world. Voinov has a hard job in making his characters fit into a world which was predefined by another author. I like the fact that this world continues to mirror our own, just with the inclusion of slavery. It forces us to grapple with some of the issues about the ethics, morality, and economics surrounding issues of slavery (much like Nathaniel does), without feeling too displaced into a complete alternate history.
Overall, I was completely taken aback by how much I loved the overall mood of this book. Brook is probably one of my favorite characters of the year and I thoroughly enjoyed this British installment to the Belonging 'verse. I can only hope that eventually Aleks choose to revisit this world in a future narrative.
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