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The Punch
"No reader should pass this by." -- Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Joe Henry was the glue that held his family together. Now he is dead, and his wife and sons are coming together for one final journey to scatter his ashes. First, however, his loved ones have some things to work out. David, the older son, believes that any minute his life is going to fall apart and everyone he loves will leave him. His brother Scott can't shake the belief that at heart, people are inherently rotten. Doris, their mother, just doesn't believe in anything anymore. Wickedly funny and biting, The Punch is an essential exploration of modern American grief, family violence, and redemption from the bestselling author of Before the Fall and creator of the Emmy award-winning series FARGO. "Noah Hawley really knows how to keep a reader turning the pages." -- New York Times
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2008
280 people are currently reading
3500 people want to read
About the author
Noah Hawley
8 books2,886 followersNoah Hawley is an Emmy, Golden Globe, PEN, Critics' Choice, and Peabody Award-winning author, screenwriter, and producer. He has published four novels and penned the script for the feature film Lies and Alibis. He created, executive produced, and served as showrunner for ABC's My Generation and The Unusuals and was a writer and producer on the hit series Bones. Hawley is currently executive producer, writer, and showrunner on FX's award-winning series, Fargo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
February 15, 2017
This was my third Noah Hawley book to read. I discovered Mr. Hawley from his TV show Fargo, and I wondered if he'd written books. I found him to be a serious and gifted writer but of those three books I loved this one the most. There at least 3 dozen lines worthy of being in my quotation book. The characters are sadly funny, and the plot is as perfectly woven together as my mother's crocheting. It is a family slice of life story, but it is superior to most similar works. The similarities between this work and This Is How I Leave You, but it is far, far better, in my opinion. I urge people who love good writing, delightfully created character and a plot full of surprises to read this book!
unfinished
May 29, 2019Sadly life is too short for this one. Great idea, good characters but very drawn out and introspective to far too high a degree for me.
June 28, 2016
Knockout
Noah Hawley - he of Fargo TV fame - hits the bullseye with this comedy/tragedy of brotherly love. Unlike the Good Father, a well constructed but plainly written thriller, the prose sparkles and moves the story up a notch to a more philosophical level.
The story is about the squabbling Henry family, especially David and Scott and their fraught relationship with the mother. Joe, the patriarch has died and the brothers and mother are going to make a trip to NY to hold a memorial service. The predictable loathing of family is there, but there are some genuine jumps that make the book much less predictable, entertaining and bizarre than you might think. Whatever the plot twists, the writing is the star in this one. Hawley is very smart, funny and a bit deeper than average. The fact that he has adapted Fargo and used it as a launchpad for a TV series featuring the Coen sense of humour is reflected very well in this story.
As a man with a brother problem I related to this tale. It gets you right away and doesn't let up. Superb.
Noah Hawley - he of Fargo TV fame - hits the bullseye with this comedy/tragedy of brotherly love. Unlike the Good Father, a well constructed but plainly written thriller, the prose sparkles and moves the story up a notch to a more philosophical level.
The story is about the squabbling Henry family, especially David and Scott and their fraught relationship with the mother. Joe, the patriarch has died and the brothers and mother are going to make a trip to NY to hold a memorial service. The predictable loathing of family is there, but there are some genuine jumps that make the book much less predictable, entertaining and bizarre than you might think. Whatever the plot twists, the writing is the star in this one. Hawley is very smart, funny and a bit deeper than average. The fact that he has adapted Fargo and used it as a launchpad for a TV series featuring the Coen sense of humour is reflected very well in this story.
As a man with a brother problem I related to this tale. It gets you right away and doesn't let up. Superb.
May 12, 2020
Parts of this book were laugh out loud funny. (But I have a quirky sense of humour!)
The rest is really about relationships: with family, with lovers, with friends.
The rest is really about relationships: with family, with lovers, with friends.
March 29, 2018
Oh Noah Hawley, I'm giving up on you.
I really loved Before the Fall. It was clever, very moving, and the main characters were well-rendered.
But this. Uh.
What should be a moving story of brotherhood and redemption, reads like a bad screenplay with two unlikeable men who do everything possible to mess up their own (and others' lives). Very little time is devoted to their relationship, so that when they 'make up' at the end, you can't possibly care that they will now be closer.
In this universe, women are either nymphomaniac psychopaths, overbearing narcissistic mothers, or bland feminine smudges in the background.
Combine this with some highly implausible plot points and it's a right mess of a book. I was so ready to enjoy it...
I really loved Before the Fall. It was clever, very moving, and the main characters were well-rendered.
But this. Uh.
What should be a moving story of brotherhood and redemption, reads like a bad screenplay with two unlikeable men who do everything possible to mess up their own (and others' lives). Very little time is devoted to their relationship, so that when they 'make up' at the end, you can't possibly care that they will now be closer.
In this universe, women are either nymphomaniac psychopaths, overbearing narcissistic mothers, or bland feminine smudges in the background.
Combine this with some highly implausible plot points and it's a right mess of a book. I was so ready to enjoy it...
July 7, 2019
I read Noah Hawley's most recent book Before the Fall last year and it absolutely floored me: accomplished writing, compelling characters, and a satisfying story. This earlier work from Hawley shares some traits with Fall -- disparate characters thrown together; a sense that you might find the answers to big questions in small stories -- but, oof, it has many, many more storytelling flaws.
One of the reasons I found Fall so impressive is that it uses omniscient narration with aplomb. I haaaaate omniscient narration, so anyone who can make me not hate it gets a gold star. The Punch, by contrast, is a pretty good example of why I loathe this type of "God's eye view" narration. It keeps its characters at arm's length, tramples over opportunities for plot-related tension, and then falls headfirst into cringey philosophising.
Stylistic choices aside, The Punch is dissatisfying because ... not much happens. It's a classic "privileged white male is sad and doesn't quite know why" story, of two brothers in the wake of their father's death. Even the most potentially interesting part of the story -- the older brother, David, has two wives, one on each coast, and ohshityeah each wife is about to find out the other one exists -- manages to turf up shockingly little drama. The fact that the younger brother Scott's story resolves by is just weird.
Don't even get me started on the novel's third main character, David and Scott's mother, Doris. Doris is a character. Such a poorly-drawn character than, as I read, I literally thought to myself, 'this is a character that someone has written'. Rarely have I ever experienced such trouble suspending disbelief while reading. Doris is so badly written that you can't even pretend she might exist.
I'll end this review on a positive (criticism sandwich!) and say that, while The Punch was dull and frustrating, I read the whole thing and never even thought about abandoning it. So ... that's something?
Also, Before the Fall is genuinely excellent and a reminder to us all that, in order to be an accomplished writer, first you must be a mediocre one.
One of the reasons I found Fall so impressive is that it uses omniscient narration with aplomb. I haaaaate omniscient narration, so anyone who can make me not hate it gets a gold star. The Punch, by contrast, is a pretty good example of why I loathe this type of "God's eye view" narration. It keeps its characters at arm's length, tramples over opportunities for plot-related tension, and then falls headfirst into cringey philosophising.
Stylistic choices aside, The Punch is dissatisfying because ... not much happens. It's a classic "privileged white male is sad and doesn't quite know why" story, of two brothers in the wake of their father's death. Even the most potentially interesting part of the story -- the older brother, David, has two wives, one on each coast, and ohshityeah each wife is about to find out the other one exists -- manages to turf up shockingly little drama. The fact that the younger brother Scott's story resolves by is just weird.
Don't even get me started on the novel's third main character, David and Scott's mother, Doris. Doris is a character. Such a poorly-drawn character than, as I read, I literally thought to myself, 'this is a character that someone has written'. Rarely have I ever experienced such trouble suspending disbelief while reading. Doris is so badly written that you can't even pretend she might exist.
I'll end this review on a positive (criticism sandwich!) and say that, while The Punch was dull and frustrating, I read the whole thing and never even thought about abandoning it. So ... that's something?
Also, Before the Fall is genuinely excellent and a reminder to us all that, in order to be an accomplished writer, first you must be a mediocre one.
December 23, 2017
This is the third novel by Noah Hawley that I've read, and they are all quite different and I found each of them tricky to rate and review. At first I thought this book was so-so and would've given just a 2-star rating, but I appreciated its nuances more as I continued to read.
It's a quiet book that packs a punch (no pun intended!), with wit and wisdom hidden in the pages. But it's subtle. It has plenty of plot and both 'larger than life' and quirky characters, but the drama is muted and it doesn't indulge in hysterical theatrics (even the big moment at the end where everyone is gathered together and several huge family secrets are suddenly revealed). Scott's and David's mother Doris in particular could so easily be over-played (if this is made into a film - which presumably it will be at some point, isn't every book these days?!) - bitter, neurotic, alcoholic and belligerent. But there's so much more to her, and the author really takes care to show some of those layers.
I may try to come back to this book and read it again some day, and if so perhaps I'll be able to update my review. This isn't a book that you can dip in and out of, when you have a few moments to spare, as I discovered. You have to be in the right frame of mind to read certain books - what mood you're in, what is happening in your day-to-day life at that time and occupying your thoughts affects how much attention you give and how you respond to a book. This book does deserve that focus and attention.
It's a quiet book that packs a punch (no pun intended!), with wit and wisdom hidden in the pages. But it's subtle. It has plenty of plot and both 'larger than life' and quirky characters, but the drama is muted and it doesn't indulge in hysterical theatrics (even the big moment at the end where everyone is gathered together and several huge family secrets are suddenly revealed). Scott's and David's mother Doris in particular could so easily be over-played (if this is made into a film - which presumably it will be at some point, isn't every book these days?!) - bitter, neurotic, alcoholic and belligerent. But there's so much more to her, and the author really takes care to show some of those layers.
I may try to come back to this book and read it again some day, and if so perhaps I'll be able to update my review. This isn't a book that you can dip in and out of, when you have a few moments to spare, as I discovered. You have to be in the right frame of mind to read certain books - what mood you're in, what is happening in your day-to-day life at that time and occupying your thoughts affects how much attention you give and how you respond to a book. This book does deserve that focus and attention.
November 12, 2019
This book started well and had lots of promise. Frankly the character development was awful, and by the end of the book I disliked ever character for their selfishness and their actions. Nothing was wrapped up and there were aspects of physics and religion that were thrown in that didn’t seem to fit well with the story.
Do not waste your time.
.5 stars at best.
Do not waste your time.
.5 stars at best.
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October 9, 2017READ!
May 18, 2020
I chose this book after I read a wonderful review of the narrator, Edoardo Ballerini, in the NYT, and I had read another by this author that I liked. The narrator is indeed excellent, the book was only okay.
It seems I’ve only read books about dysfunctional families lately, but I’m in the midst of re-reading Pat Conroy’s books and this author suffered by comparison, I think. Too often, I found myself thinking, “Oh for Pete’s sake, just get on with it.” Lots of introspection, not much productive insight. The protagonists are unlikable, the family a hot mess, and there isn’t a truly redemptive moment. One where you realize what the entire book was leading you to.
I’ll definitely find more books narrated by Ballerini, not sure about reading more by Hawley at this point.
It seems I’ve only read books about dysfunctional families lately, but I’m in the midst of re-reading Pat Conroy’s books and this author suffered by comparison, I think. Too often, I found myself thinking, “Oh for Pete’s sake, just get on with it.” Lots of introspection, not much productive insight. The protagonists are unlikable, the family a hot mess, and there isn’t a truly redemptive moment. One where you realize what the entire book was leading you to.
I’ll definitely find more books narrated by Ballerini, not sure about reading more by Hawley at this point.
February 21, 2019
This is a really tough one to review. 3.5 stars. I was interested at the very beginning and then I lost interest. I kept with it though and then it got interesting again at the very end. At the point where I got bored I found myself asking “what is this book even about?” Part of what kept me reading was that there were quite a few times I actually laughed out loud-definitely some funny moments and waiting for mom’s scenes almost makes it worth getting past the boring ones.
November 25, 2022
Dysfunctional family dramas are not my thing. I often find them impossible to read because I'm not a fan of characters who are just a collection of bad decisions and terrible character traits. Don't get me wrong, I like flawed characters, but often family dramas are short on things happening and long on description.
So why did I read this book then? Two words - Noah Hawley. I think his work on Fargo is some of the most brilliant writing I've ever seen. It was a high bar to try and match the Cohen Brothers but Hawley, in my opinion, did it and then some. So I figured if anyone could make me care about this genre it would be him.
The Punch in many ways has all of the usual flaws of the genre. The story of the very dysfunctional Henry family it doesn't disappoint in creating characters who hover on the edge of being unlikable and the basic plot, taking their dead fathers ashes to New York for a memorial before scattering them in the ocean off Maine, is pretty thin.
That said, Hawley pulls off an almost perfect balancing act by making David, Scott and Doris Henry extremely sympathetic and pathetic at the same time. Also, everything they do in the book is perfectly logical given who they are the situation they find themselves in. It was nice to have Hawley just wind up these characters and let them go.
Hawley also does a nice job anchoring the whole book around a single punch to the face from David Henry to Scott. On the surface that might seem like the epitome of what I hate about the genre - do you really need 267 pages to explain a single punch? - but because he starts the book just after the punch and winds everything back to explain how David and Scott got there it really works. Also, when the moment does arrive he's done such a great job of building out these characters that the punch, and everything that comes after it, is really this huge deal in all of their lives.
In the end I did really enjoy this book. I even found Hawley's insertion of himself at times as an almost narrator spinning off on wild tangents about the nature of time, the universe and even God amusing, insightful and poignant.
If there was one weak spot it was the ending. It wasn't terrible but it felt a bit short. I would have liked to have spent a little more time with the characters in this book understanding where they went post-punch and instead it seems like things just sort of drift away. Perhaps that was Hawley's point about big events in your life, that life just moves on, and perhaps it is the best evidence that Hawley made me care about these messed up people. Still, a little more closure would have been appreciated.
So why did I read this book then? Two words - Noah Hawley. I think his work on Fargo is some of the most brilliant writing I've ever seen. It was a high bar to try and match the Cohen Brothers but Hawley, in my opinion, did it and then some. So I figured if anyone could make me care about this genre it would be him.
The Punch in many ways has all of the usual flaws of the genre. The story of the very dysfunctional Henry family it doesn't disappoint in creating characters who hover on the edge of being unlikable and the basic plot, taking their dead fathers ashes to New York for a memorial before scattering them in the ocean off Maine, is pretty thin.
That said, Hawley pulls off an almost perfect balancing act by making David, Scott and Doris Henry extremely sympathetic and pathetic at the same time. Also, everything they do in the book is perfectly logical given who they are the situation they find themselves in. It was nice to have Hawley just wind up these characters and let them go.
Hawley also does a nice job anchoring the whole book around a single punch to the face from David Henry to Scott. On the surface that might seem like the epitome of what I hate about the genre - do you really need 267 pages to explain a single punch? - but because he starts the book just after the punch and winds everything back to explain how David and Scott got there it really works. Also, when the moment does arrive he's done such a great job of building out these characters that the punch, and everything that comes after it, is really this huge deal in all of their lives.
In the end I did really enjoy this book. I even found Hawley's insertion of himself at times as an almost narrator spinning off on wild tangents about the nature of time, the universe and even God amusing, insightful and poignant.
If there was one weak spot it was the ending. It wasn't terrible but it felt a bit short. I would have liked to have spent a little more time with the characters in this book understanding where they went post-punch and instead it seems like things just sort of drift away. Perhaps that was Hawley's point about big events in your life, that life just moves on, and perhaps it is the best evidence that Hawley made me care about these messed up people. Still, a little more closure would have been appreciated.
November 27, 2021
I had difficulty giving this a full 4, it's more a 3.8 only because too many descriptions, too much train of thought for each character... but a good job and excellent attempt to define a moment of life and its consequences and moments of life that make up the entire cloak of existence.
Some characters had no flesh -- Joy sounded like almost ridiculous in her airy flirty ways, and the other wife just 2 dimensions for "wife. I finally felt sympathy for the mother and the 2 brothers were pretty messed up and although struggling- not sympathetic. I love this author and this was not his best.
Some characters had no flesh -- Joy sounded like almost ridiculous in her airy flirty ways, and the other wife just 2 dimensions for "wife. I finally felt sympathy for the mother and the 2 brothers were pretty messed up and although struggling- not sympathetic. I love this author and this was not his best.
July 25, 2025
3.5 stars, rounded up.
A snarky and irreverent account of two brothers in the wake of their father's death. We also hear about their widowed mother's concerns over the course of the 10 days which the novel covers.
It opens with the brothers sitting in the emergency room. One brother has a broken nose, the other a broken fist. The title lets you know how this happened, but what was neat about this story is how the narrator (third-person, omniscient?) keeps breaking in to speak to you directly, to point things out like a guide, and to remind you now and again that the Punch is still coming.
Despite its tone, there's quite a bit of good writing here. And the characters surprised me by turning out to be sympathetic. Maybe a little too much forced philosophizing, but overall very engaging.
A snarky and irreverent account of two brothers in the wake of their father's death. We also hear about their widowed mother's concerns over the course of the 10 days which the novel covers.
It opens with the brothers sitting in the emergency room. One brother has a broken nose, the other a broken fist. The title lets you know how this happened, but what was neat about this story is how the narrator (third-person, omniscient?) keeps breaking in to speak to you directly, to point things out like a guide, and to remind you now and again that the Punch is still coming.
Despite its tone, there's quite a bit of good writing here. And the characters surprised me by turning out to be sympathetic. Maybe a little too much forced philosophizing, but overall very engaging.
November 4, 2018
This audiobook is a really good one. Noah Hawley’s The Punch reminds me of this year’s Pulitzer winner, Less by Andrew Sean Greer. The writing is crisp and clever. The narrator is key here and helps this above average story reach its full potential in audio format. He was phenomenal. Overall rating: 4.38 stars
November 4, 2019
Noah Hawley is so good at developing characters, and that is what I liked most about this book. It wasn't as good as Before the Fall, but it was still a good story, with very interesting characters, and some life lessons.
January 17, 2019
Schlocky, set-piecey, Hallmark-for-boring-men.
May 1, 2019
I love Noah Hawley's work.
June 20, 2019
I don't usually read books about dysfunctional, broken families sprinkled with random theory about life, the universe and everything.
July 29, 2019
It's good to find a great screen-writer and quite good novelist at the same time, thought it was a myth.
November 7, 2018
I really didn't like this one. I had read Before the Fall and loved it, so was excited to see what I thought was a new book by Noah Hawley. Turns out this is a re-release of a book from 2008. He's obviously improved a lot since then. This book just was SO wordy, contemplative, going nowhere. By about halfway through I was tempted to stop but instead just did a skim read of the rest. And it was fine because I could skim through whole pages without missing a thing. It's just a lot of ruminations on religion, physics, life, the nature of time, blah, blah, blah. Honestly it was just not very well done.
October 2, 2017
Hawley is fascinated with the concept of time in The Punch. The passing of time, the freezing of time, the circle of time. This is ultimately a story of family and its dynamics in all its glory and ugliness. At times, Hawley's thought-provoking prose make my head spin from thinking but in a great way. He proves he can write in many different styles and genres.
October 14, 2022
This book was fine; as others have noted there are long, long musing passages, mostly the thoughts of the generally unlikable sons involved in the title punch, which is revealed at the very beginning, with the rest of the story explaining how they got there. But that's okay. This is a book about the thoughts behind the actions. They are not terrible people, just flawed like everyone else. Well, except that some of their behavior, at least one of them, veers pretty convincingly into terrible, a not very sneaky plot line that one suspects will be resolved to said character's misfortune later on.
I read this immediately after reading This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by another author. The books are remarkably alike in a few ways that were impossible to ignore, and thus led to my comparison of the two practically chapter for chapter.
It was as if both authors attended the same course or workshop and given the same assignment with the same rubric: Allow me to provide the assignment details.
DEAD FATHER NOVEL PROJECT - complete a novel around this general plot line - your details and execution may vary but certain details must be followed in order to satisfy the rubric.
1. An elderly father has passed away after a period of decline that was difficult and stressful for the mother. The father was cremated and his ashes are being delivered to their final resting place. He died somewhere on the west coast, where part of the story takes place. The characters will also travel to your choice of a second American location.
2. The surviving mother is an alcoholic and has been for some time whose own health is now declining.. She will be shown, (early, late, or throughout, your choice) to have survived some devastating trauma from childhood, which partially, but not entirely, justifies and redeems her later struggles and behaviors through her adult life.
3. There are exactly two surviving adult children who have various issues and relationship problems with their parents. The adult children are in the process of trying to make decisions about what to do with their surviving mother, who is also experiencing failing health. They all struggle with loving and hating one another.
4. Don't be overly sympathetic to any of your three primary characters. Leave the readers guessing whether they should actually like any of these people or not.
5. Somehow, without saying it, make it obvious throughout the entire story what's probably going to happen to mom by the end.
As the reader grading on the rubric, this novel gets an A+, as did the other book I read just last week for the same assignment. Who did it better? That, fellow reviewers, is up to you.
I read this immediately after reading This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by another author. The books are remarkably alike in a few ways that were impossible to ignore, and thus led to my comparison of the two practically chapter for chapter.
It was as if both authors attended the same course or workshop and given the same assignment with the same rubric: Allow me to provide the assignment details.
DEAD FATHER NOVEL PROJECT - complete a novel around this general plot line - your details and execution may vary but certain details must be followed in order to satisfy the rubric.
1. An elderly father has passed away after a period of decline that was difficult and stressful for the mother. The father was cremated and his ashes are being delivered to their final resting place. He died somewhere on the west coast, where part of the story takes place. The characters will also travel to your choice of a second American location.
2. The surviving mother is an alcoholic and has been for some time whose own health is now declining.. She will be shown, (early, late, or throughout, your choice) to have survived some devastating trauma from childhood, which partially, but not entirely, justifies and redeems her later struggles and behaviors through her adult life.
3. There are exactly two surviving adult children who have various issues and relationship problems with their parents. The adult children are in the process of trying to make decisions about what to do with their surviving mother, who is also experiencing failing health. They all struggle with loving and hating one another.
4. Don't be overly sympathetic to any of your three primary characters. Leave the readers guessing whether they should actually like any of these people or not.
5. Somehow, without saying it, make it obvious throughout the entire story what's probably going to happen to mom by the end.
As the reader grading on the rubric, this novel gets an A+, as did the other book I read just last week for the same assignment. Who did it better? That, fellow reviewers, is up to you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2021
3.5 stars.
There’s a kind of magic involved in taking a commonplace, seemingly unremarkable event and spinning it into an involving narrative. Our best authors do that, and based on the events of The Punch, we can add Noah Hawley to that list.
The title gives us the seemingly unremarkable event in question. When the book opens, two brothers – Scott and David Henry – are in the emergency room. One has a broken nose; the other has a broken hand. You make the connection. The book then backs us up several days to recount the events that led to the titular fisticuffs.
And that’s it.
But of course that’s not just IT.
Because what Hawley does is meditate on family – and especially family secrets – by filtering everything through the tricky nature of time itself. The punch is simply a jumping off point to dig into, as Douglas Adams calls, life, the universe, and everything.
So we have Scott, the younger brother, who’s sort of a ne’er do well, making his money as the supervisor of a customer service call center, and who’s unlucky in love while spending too much time at strip clubs.
His older brother, David, a pharmaceutical sales rep, is seen as the brother who has his life together. He’s got a wife and two lovely kids in California. But he also has – whoops – a second wife and child in New York.
And then there’s mom Doris, mourning the recent death of her husband, and the boys’ father, Joe, who’s harboring a devastating secret of her own.
Hawley deftly weaves these three storylines together, moving the characters inexorably toward a reckoning at Joe’s wake. But as I said earlier, he does this in a way that is as much about the nature of time as it is about family dynamics. To be fair, his digressions into the theories of Stephen Hawking (especially the Thermodynamic Arrow of Time) are a little heady, and I admit to having to reread those sections a few times. But those sections are what prevents this book from being yet another tiresome exploration of the psyche of the American male.
So: come for the family conflict, stay for a lesson on Kurt Gödel’s First Incompleteness Theorem. I promise it’s a lot of fun.
There’s a kind of magic involved in taking a commonplace, seemingly unremarkable event and spinning it into an involving narrative. Our best authors do that, and based on the events of The Punch, we can add Noah Hawley to that list.
The title gives us the seemingly unremarkable event in question. When the book opens, two brothers – Scott and David Henry – are in the emergency room. One has a broken nose; the other has a broken hand. You make the connection. The book then backs us up several days to recount the events that led to the titular fisticuffs.
And that’s it.
But of course that’s not just IT.
Because what Hawley does is meditate on family – and especially family secrets – by filtering everything through the tricky nature of time itself. The punch is simply a jumping off point to dig into, as Douglas Adams calls, life, the universe, and everything.
So we have Scott, the younger brother, who’s sort of a ne’er do well, making his money as the supervisor of a customer service call center, and who’s unlucky in love while spending too much time at strip clubs.
His older brother, David, a pharmaceutical sales rep, is seen as the brother who has his life together. He’s got a wife and two lovely kids in California. But he also has – whoops – a second wife and child in New York.
And then there’s mom Doris, mourning the recent death of her husband, and the boys’ father, Joe, who’s harboring a devastating secret of her own.
Hawley deftly weaves these three storylines together, moving the characters inexorably toward a reckoning at Joe’s wake. But as I said earlier, he does this in a way that is as much about the nature of time as it is about family dynamics. To be fair, his digressions into the theories of Stephen Hawking (especially the Thermodynamic Arrow of Time) are a little heady, and I admit to having to reread those sections a few times. But those sections are what prevents this book from being yet another tiresome exploration of the psyche of the American male.
So: come for the family conflict, stay for a lesson on Kurt Gödel’s First Incompleteness Theorem. I promise it’s a lot of fun.
February 22, 2019
Existential thinking and plot make for an interesting look at a mother and her two sons whose dynamics are headed toward an all-out confrontation at their father's memorial.
In "The Punch" it feels at times like Hawley is talking to you because this story isn't told in its own velocity, its narrator purposely stops and talks to you directly about the cosmos, space and time, and cosmic theory that lead to moments of reckoning.
As a family gathers for a memorial service for their late patriarch, there are plenty of secrets to be revealed. David Henry is living two separate lives with two separate families. Scott Henry is having a crisis of faith. And their mother is hiding a family secret she can't wait to tell in front of everyone.
This is an intense read but this novel above all else is about grief - things we thought would happen that didn't, the people who let you down, how we react, missing someone.
The characters live their lives trying to make up for something even they can't define. They're all waiting for "the punch", literal in the book, metaphorical in thought - that hit to the conscious that wakes you up and sometimes in dramatic fashion, others in more subtle ways, but always leading you to the truth about yourself. The question this novel asks, after we take everything we've hidden behind away, are we prepared to know that truth?
The saddest scene is when Scott recalls his father calling him from a nursing home asking him to come get him and Scott having to say no. It feels so personal. Hawley does a good job of talking to you as an omniscient narrator that you forget you're reading a family drama and may in fact be reading something more supernatural than that, almost sci-fi.
From what I understand, this book was printed before but has been reprinted in a US version from Grand Central.
An intense look at grief, family, and life itself.
In "The Punch" it feels at times like Hawley is talking to you because this story isn't told in its own velocity, its narrator purposely stops and talks to you directly about the cosmos, space and time, and cosmic theory that lead to moments of reckoning.
As a family gathers for a memorial service for their late patriarch, there are plenty of secrets to be revealed. David Henry is living two separate lives with two separate families. Scott Henry is having a crisis of faith. And their mother is hiding a family secret she can't wait to tell in front of everyone.
This is an intense read but this novel above all else is about grief - things we thought would happen that didn't, the people who let you down, how we react, missing someone.
The characters live their lives trying to make up for something even they can't define. They're all waiting for "the punch", literal in the book, metaphorical in thought - that hit to the conscious that wakes you up and sometimes in dramatic fashion, others in more subtle ways, but always leading you to the truth about yourself. The question this novel asks, after we take everything we've hidden behind away, are we prepared to know that truth?
The saddest scene is when Scott recalls his father calling him from a nursing home asking him to come get him and Scott having to say no. It feels so personal. Hawley does a good job of talking to you as an omniscient narrator that you forget you're reading a family drama and may in fact be reading something more supernatural than that, almost sci-fi.
From what I understand, this book was printed before but has been reprinted in a US version from Grand Central.
An intense look at grief, family, and life itself.
August 2, 2025
Despite the fact that this book opens with a scene in the immediate aftermath of the titular punch, and despite the fact the reader quickly understands that the subsequent story will lay out all that led up to that punch, this book surprised me be being far more character-driven than plot-driven.
I did not immediately sympathize with these characters, but as the story slowly unfolded and details of their history and experiences were filled in, I warmed to each one or, at the very least, found my initial assumptions about them challenged. Hawley did an impressive job of creating real and complicated characters. He filled in background little by little, building my understanding of each one and causing me to second guess who I thought they were and what their motivations might be. The entire book covers about 10 days to 2 weeks of time, but there were many dives into this family's history along the way which were well done.
My biggest gripe about this otherwise excellent read is that there were too many asides (sometimes somewhat extended) in which Hawley became quite philosophical. I believe he intended these to make a point, but for me they were big distractions. (They reminded me of a college professor so impressed with his own knowledge that he rambles on during a lecture on some tangent, just to hear himself speak.) I would have enjoyed the cohesiveness and flow of the story more if he had trimmed these moments down and stayed with the story.
The scene in the end when the punch itself finally occurs was so cleverly written and I was pleased with the resolution of the story, which was really less of a resolution of circumstances, but more of an opportunity for readers to see growth of characters and the resulting change in family relationships. It was just right.
I did not immediately sympathize with these characters, but as the story slowly unfolded and details of their history and experiences were filled in, I warmed to each one or, at the very least, found my initial assumptions about them challenged. Hawley did an impressive job of creating real and complicated characters. He filled in background little by little, building my understanding of each one and causing me to second guess who I thought they were and what their motivations might be. The entire book covers about 10 days to 2 weeks of time, but there were many dives into this family's history along the way which were well done.
My biggest gripe about this otherwise excellent read is that there were too many asides (sometimes somewhat extended) in which Hawley became quite philosophical. I believe he intended these to make a point, but for me they were big distractions. (They reminded me of a college professor so impressed with his own knowledge that he rambles on during a lecture on some tangent, just to hear himself speak.) I would have enjoyed the cohesiveness and flow of the story more if he had trimmed these moments down and stayed with the story.
The scene in the end when the punch itself finally occurs was so cleverly written and I was pleased with the resolution of the story, which was really less of a resolution of circumstances, but more of an opportunity for readers to see growth of characters and the resulting change in family relationships. It was just right.
November 4, 2018
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway, and I loved it!! I had only read about 35 pages and I had laughed out loud 7 or 8 times already! Noah Hawley's sense of humor is wonderfully funny! Two brothers and an alcoholic and bitter mother are to have a memorial for the father, and in between this happening you learn about their lives. The younger brother, Scott can't seem to have a good relationship with women, they're all lunatics...lol...and the older brother, David has a successful career, yet he ends up having two wives and children with each. And he's like...how did I let this happen? Their mother is bitter because of her mother. That seems to be the case with alot of people, right? But she definitely has reason to be, her mother gave her to an aunt to raise at age 5 so she could start a new life and a new family, and this remained a secret. The mother, Doris decides to announce this secret at the memorial, David's wives meet in a most unfortunate manner, which Scott unwittingly made happen. It's pure chaos, and David punches Scott in the face and breaks his nose. Doris dies suddenly at the memorial from a stroke and now the sons go together to spread their ashes in Maine where they took summer vacations as kids. Of course, they're both wondering...what now? I really loved this dysfunctional family and this story! I was left feeling that in everyone's life, we all get that punch...maybe more than once...some may be small punches, others a real knockout, sometimes we're giving the punch, sometimes we're on the receiving end and that's just life, so we better just try and make the best of it. Loved this book, so 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2018
The family dysfunction runs deep!
Joe Henry the family patriarch and the "glue that held them all together" was physically abused as a child. IMO that experience contributed to his life long vices of smoking and boozing that ultimately led to his multiple organ failure. I believe, it also led to him being attracted to Doris who had her own baggage of having been abandoned by her mother. This caused Doris to be extremely dependent on Joe and since nobody came to save Joe as a child he became a savior as an adult.
Joe and Doris were married for 40 years the last 7 of which Joe was battling multiple serious maladies that ultimately landed him in a nursing home. The fruit of this interesting pairing was David and Scott. Although like peas in a pod as children they grew apart as adults. David into an emotionally stifled bigamist and Scott into a magnet for toxic women that were never able to fill his insatiable desire for love (basically his long rooted desire for a hug from his mommy).
The 3 remaining members of the Henry family come together to spread Big Joe's ashes and as you can expect-mayhem ensues.
This was my first experience with Noah Hawley and I found his writing to be smart, philosophical and profound.
Although based on the description this is not a book that I would have ordinarily gravitated to. I am grateful to Goodreads Giveaways and Grand Central Publishing for the free copy. Thanks for broadening my horizons and I will be reading more of Noah Hawley's work.
3.75 stars from me.
Joe Henry the family patriarch and the "glue that held them all together" was physically abused as a child. IMO that experience contributed to his life long vices of smoking and boozing that ultimately led to his multiple organ failure. I believe, it also led to him being attracted to Doris who had her own baggage of having been abandoned by her mother. This caused Doris to be extremely dependent on Joe and since nobody came to save Joe as a child he became a savior as an adult.
Joe and Doris were married for 40 years the last 7 of which Joe was battling multiple serious maladies that ultimately landed him in a nursing home. The fruit of this interesting pairing was David and Scott. Although like peas in a pod as children they grew apart as adults. David into an emotionally stifled bigamist and Scott into a magnet for toxic women that were never able to fill his insatiable desire for love (basically his long rooted desire for a hug from his mommy).
The 3 remaining members of the Henry family come together to spread Big Joe's ashes and as you can expect-mayhem ensues.
This was my first experience with Noah Hawley and I found his writing to be smart, philosophical and profound.
Although based on the description this is not a book that I would have ordinarily gravitated to. I am grateful to Goodreads Giveaways and Grand Central Publishing for the free copy. Thanks for broadening my horizons and I will be reading more of Noah Hawley's work.
3.75 stars from me.
March 7, 2025
OKAY, SO. I liked it. I was very funny, and very relatable, (having strained family dynamics, addict parents, minimal contact with external family, watching loved ones die a slow and painful death, yada yada). There was sooooo much plot that was overshadowed by trivial and introspection. Very drawn out and superficial.
Men in their 30s coping with their emotions through anger, meaningless sex, and infidelity. It was giving men doing shrooms and discovering empathy for the first time. Truly the entire book was these two brothers wrestling with religion and frivolous relationships instead of going to therapy. Very 2008.
The commentary on time, forgiveness, religion, death, freedom, love, and family was cute but it clearly was the center of the novel as opposed to the plot. Nicely written, loved the similies and imagery but there was so much tea and drama that wasn't really ever dealt with. David has a more fleshed out story than Scott which made it feel like David was the sole griever. Doris' plot was put on the backburner as well. (Like the infidelity, also the SISTER THING? HELLO!) The book felt like it needed another 200 pages for me to be happy with it. I did love the dynamic between the brothers. Their love for one another as well as their dialogue.
It had potential to be such a great novel but it just missed the mark for me.
Men in their 30s coping with their emotions through anger, meaningless sex, and infidelity. It was giving men doing shrooms and discovering empathy for the first time. Truly the entire book was these two brothers wrestling with religion and frivolous relationships instead of going to therapy. Very 2008.
The commentary on time, forgiveness, religion, death, freedom, love, and family was cute but it clearly was the center of the novel as opposed to the plot. Nicely written, loved the similies and imagery but there was so much tea and drama that wasn't really ever dealt with. David has a more fleshed out story than Scott which made it feel like David was the sole griever. Doris' plot was put on the backburner as well. (Like the infidelity, also the SISTER THING? HELLO!) The book felt like it needed another 200 pages for me to be happy with it. I did love the dynamic between the brothers. Their love for one another as well as their dialogue.
It had potential to be such a great novel but it just missed the mark for me.
December 11, 2018
3.75 stars
The Punch
is a book I define as a "ride". It's the kind of book that you don't stop and reread paragraphs to savor language. (For me that's Chabon). You read it for fun and for the thrill. You throw your hands up in the air and just go with it, sometimes suspending belief at some of the preposterous scenes, i.e., the collision course climaxing the end of the novel. And yet, the ride is often interrupted by thought provoking, introspective philosophy. There's reference to George Berkeley's "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it really fall?" There's the question of the existence of God, and if there is a god, is he/she benevolent or spiteful? There's reference to the existence or lack of time. Can you believe something if you can't prove it? These introspections feel like you're suspended at the top of the roller coaster waiting to thrust down into the thrill.
The Punch is a good book but not great. It's the story of a really fucked up family gathering for a memorial for the patriarch who has recently died after years of illness. The mother "is a woman who can find a cloud in every silver lining." One son is secretly married to two woman. The other son looks for the craziest woman he can find and makes his move. It's a fun book. Go for the ride; stay for the philosophy.
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