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The Cockfighter
In this stunning debut novel, Manley explores the part of the rural American experience where the human spirit prevails against seemingly overwhelming odds.
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 3, 2011
"'Where can I get me a chicken?' Homer asked.
"A man in the shadows started laughing.
"Harry smiled and said, 'Gold Kist. Down at the plant.'
"'Not that kind of chicken,' Homer said. 'I mean a cock.'
"'Fighting cock?' Harry asked.
"'That's right.'
"'There're some cages down on the road. You passed right by them. What's his name?' he asked the men in the shadows. One of them told him who it was, and Harry said, 'That's right.'
He turned to Homer and told him the man's name.
"'He raises them, but he doesn't fight them.'
"'They fight them in the Philippine Islands,' one of the men in the shadows said. 'That's where he ships them. Imagine that.'"
When I was young like the principal protagonist in this novel (a twelve-and-half year old boy) I was a cockfighter myself (my father was, too). So I was wincing in distress every now and then as I was reading the author's descriptions of cocks and cockfights. They do not jibe with what I know first-hand. Look:
1. In the quoted portion above, the unnamed guy(this is rural America) is supposed to be exporting fighting cocks to the Philippines. Some really rich Filipino cockfighting aficionados indeed import fighting cocks abroad but these are the really good cocks worth thousands of dollars per head. So this unnamed guy must really be a bigtime breeder. Yet Homer, who lives in that place and who dabbles in cockfighting himself, does not seem to know him;
2. In cockfights, the referee is the only one allowed to handle the cocks during the fight. Here, the handlers of the fighting cocks are allowed to hold the cocks to remove them from their entanglement (this allowed the other handler to cheat by twisting the gaff imbedded upon the cock of the boy);
3. A hilarious, prolonged cockfight with the cocks even resting like boxers in between rounds. This, even if supposedly the boy's cock has had several injuries already, one of them caused by the opponent's gaff piercing its neck (most certainly fatal or, at the very least, debilitating). In real cockfights, they end in under two minutes on the average. From the time the handlers let go of their cocks, it's a fight to the finish: it's death to one or both, or one of them running away in defeat;
4. Are American cockfights really like boxing (and their cocks with stamina like boxers)? Here, as the boy's cock appears to be losing, he was given the chance to throw in the towel, so to speak. That does not happen in Philippine cockfights. The referee can declare a draw (when the cocks die simultaneously) or one cock the winner (if it still can peck at the opposing cock while the latter won't anymore as it is either already dead or does not want to fight anymore);
5. Cocks crow as early as three o'clock in the morning, long before sunrise. Here, the cocks seem to wait for the sun to rise before crowing; and
5. In this novel, defeated cocks are thrown away (like the Americans don't eat chicken!). In the Philippines, if your cock loses, the owner of the winning cock gets to bring yours home and if it's already dead, that's dinner for his family, or if it is still alive, the winner has the option of keeping it alive for whatever purpose he has in mind.
Despite all these, however, I couldn't give the novel a failing rating. It's fast-paced, brutal, and gut-wrenching. The ending is a shock, but with a little reflection it makes sense as you grasp the powerful symbolism in it. And when the author mentioned the Philippines, I took that to mean as an acknowledgment that of all the cockfighters in the world, the best are the Filipino cockfighters.
"A man in the shadows started laughing.
"Harry smiled and said, 'Gold Kist. Down at the plant.'
"'Not that kind of chicken,' Homer said. 'I mean a cock.'
"'Fighting cock?' Harry asked.
"'That's right.'
"'There're some cages down on the road. You passed right by them. What's his name?' he asked the men in the shadows. One of them told him who it was, and Harry said, 'That's right.'
He turned to Homer and told him the man's name.
"'He raises them, but he doesn't fight them.'
"'They fight them in the Philippine Islands,' one of the men in the shadows said. 'That's where he ships them. Imagine that.'"
When I was young like the principal protagonist in this novel (a twelve-and-half year old boy) I was a cockfighter myself (my father was, too). So I was wincing in distress every now and then as I was reading the author's descriptions of cocks and cockfights. They do not jibe with what I know first-hand. Look:
1. In the quoted portion above, the unnamed guy(this is rural America) is supposed to be exporting fighting cocks to the Philippines. Some really rich Filipino cockfighting aficionados indeed import fighting cocks abroad but these are the really good cocks worth thousands of dollars per head. So this unnamed guy must really be a bigtime breeder. Yet Homer, who lives in that place and who dabbles in cockfighting himself, does not seem to know him;
2. In cockfights, the referee is the only one allowed to handle the cocks during the fight. Here, the handlers of the fighting cocks are allowed to hold the cocks to remove them from their entanglement (this allowed the other handler to cheat by twisting the gaff imbedded upon the cock of the boy);
3. A hilarious, prolonged cockfight with the cocks even resting like boxers in between rounds. This, even if supposedly the boy's cock has had several injuries already, one of them caused by the opponent's gaff piercing its neck (most certainly fatal or, at the very least, debilitating). In real cockfights, they end in under two minutes on the average. From the time the handlers let go of their cocks, it's a fight to the finish: it's death to one or both, or one of them running away in defeat;
4. Are American cockfights really like boxing (and their cocks with stamina like boxers)? Here, as the boy's cock appears to be losing, he was given the chance to throw in the towel, so to speak. That does not happen in Philippine cockfights. The referee can declare a draw (when the cocks die simultaneously) or one cock the winner (if it still can peck at the opposing cock while the latter won't anymore as it is either already dead or does not want to fight anymore);
5. Cocks crow as early as three o'clock in the morning, long before sunrise. Here, the cocks seem to wait for the sun to rise before crowing; and
5. In this novel, defeated cocks are thrown away (like the Americans don't eat chicken!). In the Philippines, if your cock loses, the owner of the winning cock gets to bring yours home and if it's already dead, that's dinner for his family, or if it is still alive, the winner has the option of keeping it alive for whatever purpose he has in mind.
Despite all these, however, I couldn't give the novel a failing rating. It's fast-paced, brutal, and gut-wrenching. The ending is a shock, but with a little reflection it makes sense as you grasp the powerful symbolism in it. And when the author mentioned the Philippines, I took that to mean as an acknowledgment that of all the cockfighters in the world, the best are the Filipino cockfighters.
January 11, 2016
Personal Response:
Personally, I didn't like this book that much. I think that the book would have been good if it were to have more detail and a bigger story line. This book has some potential and I think the author should go back and rewrite the book. The ending to the book was a little confusing and kind of just cut itself off. I hope that this book isn't as bad as I think it is, to other people.
Plot Summary:
The first thing that happened was when Sonny got the champion cock for cockfighting.The cock was over four thousand dollars and a three time cock champion. His dad gave the cock to him for a present and to hopefully teach him how to train cocks to be brutal in the ring. The kid called it Lion and treated the cock as a pet, which you are not supposed to do. They went to a cock match and the kid got to handle his male chicken. Lion kept getting clawed by the other cock's talons. They eventually found white feathers on the cock and that isn't good for cockfighting. The kid killed Lion, because his dad told him to. The next day, Sonny went into the farm and killed all of the other cocks, when his dad told him to feed the cocks.
Recommendation:
I wouldn't recommend this book at all, but if I did, it should be guys that are above the age of fifteen. There is some bad language and a little bit of adult content in it. If cockfighting is what you want to do, then this is the book for you. I give this book a two star, because I didn't enjoy the book that much.
Personally, I didn't like this book that much. I think that the book would have been good if it were to have more detail and a bigger story line. This book has some potential and I think the author should go back and rewrite the book. The ending to the book was a little confusing and kind of just cut itself off. I hope that this book isn't as bad as I think it is, to other people.
Plot Summary:
The first thing that happened was when Sonny got the champion cock for cockfighting.The cock was over four thousand dollars and a three time cock champion. His dad gave the cock to him for a present and to hopefully teach him how to train cocks to be brutal in the ring. The kid called it Lion and treated the cock as a pet, which you are not supposed to do. They went to a cock match and the kid got to handle his male chicken. Lion kept getting clawed by the other cock's talons. They eventually found white feathers on the cock and that isn't good for cockfighting. The kid killed Lion, because his dad told him to. The next day, Sonny went into the farm and killed all of the other cocks, when his dad told him to feed the cocks.
Recommendation:
I wouldn't recommend this book at all, but if I did, it should be guys that are above the age of fifteen. There is some bad language and a little bit of adult content in it. If cockfighting is what you want to do, then this is the book for you. I give this book a two star, because I didn't enjoy the book that much.
May 25, 2017
Personal Response: I really like the book because it is a lot about family. It is full of action. The way the father and son bond is really cool. It is written so well I could actually visualize what I am reading in my head.
Plot: Sonny is getting older and he wants to bond with his father. He wants his father to teach him about cockfighting. Sonny goes outside and accidentally steps into his father's world of cockfighting. He is a sensitive boy and does not like the cockfights. Sonny's mom wants to hold onto Sonny and not let him grow up. She wants to keep him away from the cockfights. This causes problems in the family that already does not get along. Sonny keeps going to cockfights and participates in them. Sonny finally gets his prize cock. He gets rid of him to train a new cock and win another competition. He trains with this cock for weeks until the competition. It is a hard fight, but they won.
Characterization: Sonny is a boy that lives on a farm. He wants to be big and strong like his father, so he can work on their farm. His father is a drunk and still a great father. In the beginning of the book Sonny is sensitive and innocent to the ways of the real world. At the end of the book Sonny is mentally tougher, but he also realizes the traits needed to be a man.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to high school boys who like westerns and action.
Plot: Sonny is getting older and he wants to bond with his father. He wants his father to teach him about cockfighting. Sonny goes outside and accidentally steps into his father's world of cockfighting. He is a sensitive boy and does not like the cockfights. Sonny's mom wants to hold onto Sonny and not let him grow up. She wants to keep him away from the cockfights. This causes problems in the family that already does not get along. Sonny keeps going to cockfights and participates in them. Sonny finally gets his prize cock. He gets rid of him to train a new cock and win another competition. He trains with this cock for weeks until the competition. It is a hard fight, but they won.
Characterization: Sonny is a boy that lives on a farm. He wants to be big and strong like his father, so he can work on their farm. His father is a drunk and still a great father. In the beginning of the book Sonny is sensitive and innocent to the ways of the real world. At the end of the book Sonny is mentally tougher, but he also realizes the traits needed to be a man.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to high school boys who like westerns and action.
August 13, 2025
3.75
This whole book takes place in 24 hours. A father is trying to teach his son to be a man by taking him to a cockfight. I was so shocked, yet satisfied by the ending. This was definitely very coming of age, American west vibes.
This whole book takes place in 24 hours. A father is trying to teach his son to be a man by taking him to a cockfight. I was so shocked, yet satisfied by the ending. This was definitely very coming of age, American west vibes.
August 6, 2012
Superb coming-of-age novel, adapted into a terrific play. Just great. Really worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews