The Last Bell: Life, Death and Boxing

"Donald McRae is a well known journalist, famous for his work on boxing, both in books and in his journalism. I think he is hinting that this is his last book about boxing, though he may change his mind. There is always something of him in what he writes, but he’s gone the extra mile on this one. There’s a lot about his relationship with boxing, a sport that often leads to terrible head injuries and even death. So he’s aware it is an odd sport to love when it can be so cruel. He explores that alongside grief in his own life—the death of his parents and his sister—he juxtaposes his grief and the grief of people he knows through boxing, when they’ve seen their loved ones in the ring getting battered. It’s a very moving book, and made all the more moving that this is sort of a life’s reflection, if you like. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that someone who has earned his money through the knowledge of boxing and the passion for boxing—that when he comes to really analyse how he feels about it, you’re left thinking that maybe you’ve wasted a lot of your life on this because it’s caused so much pain. It’s a difficult sport. Then just as you’re beginning to feel a bit depressed, he’ll throw in one of his beautiful descriptions of how a bout unfolded. And you’re reminded—or, well, I was reminded—that this is why I prefer literature about boxing to actually watching boxing. I find it quite difficult to watch, but I can read about it. I’d rather be one step removed."