In \Rumble, Young Man, Rumble,"" Benjamin Cavell writes about men who, as boys, might just do things like kill a stray cat for no better reason than to see how it makes them feel.
Cavell's raw, confrontational stories might make sensitive readers squirm, but his writing is so smooth that the book is insanely readable. This stunning debut collection of short stories consists of nine taut, psychologically-complex meditations about American masculinity. Best of all, these stories are razor-sharp, without an ounce of fat on them.
A 1998 cum laude graduate of Harvard in English literature, Cavell not only edited the highly prestigious Harvard Crimson, but was also captain of the university's boxing team. His experiences in the ring have undoubtedly influenced his muscular, pull-no-punches prose.
Cavell's stories in ""Rumble, Young Man, Rumble"" brim with such energy and complex aggression that it seems, at times, like they might jump off the page and take a swing at the reader.
In the appropriately titled ""Balls, Balls, Balls,"" Barry and Logan, two tough-guy employees at a sporting-goods store, lift weights, dispense with political correctness and talk strategy for the store's paintball team.
Because it's more like a military simulation than a recreational paint ball game, Barry tells Logan (the team's best player) that he's bringing in an ""expert"" to train the team. Logan feels threatened by the professional, a mercenary, who shows up at practice with a real Beretta automatic. As the men size each other up and jockey for alpha-male status, the situation escalates into a revealing and surprising climax during a bar fight.
""The Art of the Possible"" is perhaps the best story ever written about the frightening mindset and emotional sacrifices that come with running for high-level political office.
In this story, we inhabit the mind of an up-and-coming congressperson during his grueling campaign for a second term and are granted disturbing access to the strategies he must use to win; he flicks his smile on like a light, at various intensities according to the occasion. Powered by ""speed"" to stay awake, he cycles through an increasingly fake rotation of stock phrases and gestures as he greets voters. The story concludes with an absolutely chilling encounter with his concerned wife.
This story feels depressingly true; and Howard Dean's public meltdown makes more sense after reading ""The Art of the Possible."" With the upcoming election, a reader will never see a candidate the same way after reading it.
The collection's longest story, ""Evolution,"" is broken up into three telling parts: ""Sex,"" ""Violence"" and ""Climax."" When the narrator's girlfriend asks him to kill her father, he embarks on a so-called ""path to emotional detachment"" with an intense friend. In a sort of perverse mid-life crisis, they seek to ""become masters of the physical world"" while training to be assassins. Their ""evolution"" becomes instead a de-evolution as they attempt to embrace their primitive roots. But as alliances become blurred, and characters' mental states become questionable, Cavell spirals the story out of control, effectively giving the reader the sensation of a surreal and terrifying free fall.
In the collection's two boxing stories, not a single punch is thrown. ""Killing Time"" follows a fighter during a week leading up to a big fight. ""The Ropes""-one of Cavell's best stories-begins with a young boxer in the hospital after nearly being killed in the ring. The story elegantly traces his recovery, both physical and mental, as it explores the price of pride.
Cavell is already garnering comparisons to Hemingway and Norman Mailer. While those comparisons may be premature, with ""Rumble, Young Man, Rumble,"" Cavell shows he can certainly share a ring with these heavy hitters.
""Rumble, Young Man, Rumble,"" is published by Alfred A. Knopf.
