Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel

You know that feeling when you’re watching a boxing match and the air crackles with electricity? That moment right before the first punch lands, when anything seems possible? Rita Bullwinkel’s debut novel “Headshot” captures that energy and stretches it out over 300 pages of raw, visceral prose. It’s a literary haymaker that’ll leave you reeling.

Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, “Headshot” dives headfirst into the world of youth women’s boxing. Over two sweat-soaked days at a championship tournament in Reno, we meet eight teenage girls vying to be crowned the best in the country. But this isn’t just a sports story – it’s a kaleidoscopic exploration of girlhood, ambition, and the intoxicating allure of violence.

Bullwinkel writes with a feverish intensity that mimics the adrenaline rush of stepping into the ring. Her sentences land like jabs—quick, sharp, and relentless. You can almost smell the sweat and hear the dull thud of glove on flesh. It’s exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure.

Round 1: The Contenders

We’ve got a killer lineup of young fighters here. There’s Artemis Victor, the legacy boxer with two champion sisters to live up to. Andi Taylor, haunted by a poolside tragedy. Rachel Doricko, with her weird hats and even weirder energy. And that’s just for starters.

Bullwinkel deftly switches between their perspectives, giving us glimpses into their hopes, fears, and the complex web of motivations that drive them to punch each other in the face. These girls are messy and contradictory in the best possible way. They’re equal parts vulnerable and vicious, insecure and arrogant.

Take Artemis Victor. On the surface, she’s all cool confidence and family pride. But underneath, there’s a desperate need to prove herself, to step out of her sisters’ shadows. Or Rachel Doricko, who uses her “weird hat philosophy” as both armor and weapon against the world. They’re all fighting for something beyond just a plastic trophy.

The author nails that specific flavor of teenage girl intensity. You know the one – where everything feels life-or-death important, where your best friend can become your mortal enemy overnight. It’s like she’s tapped directly into the hormone-addled brains of these fighters.

Round 2: In This Corner…Bob’s Boxing Palace?

Let’s talk setting for a sec. Bullwinkel drops us into the gritty, unglamorous world of youth boxing with such specificity that you can practically taste the stale sweat in the air. Bob’s Boxing Palace in Reno becomes a character in its own right—all flickering fluorescent lights and decades of accumulated grime.

There’s something fascinatingly mundane about it all. These epic battles of will are playing out in what’s essentially a run-down warehouse. The contrast between the girls’ outsized dreams and the dingy reality of their surroundings is both funny and kind of heartbreaking.

Bullwinkel has a knack for nailing those hyper-specific details that bring a scene to life. The way the ring ropes have faded from red to pink over the years. The sad little trophy case full of plastic gold spray-painted figures. It all feels so lived-in and real.

Round 3: More Than Just a Sport

Look, I’ll be real with you—I know jack squat about boxing. But Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel isn’t really about the technical aspects of the sport. It’s about what drives these girls to step into the ring in the first place.

For some, like Artemis, it’s about family legacy and expectations. For others, like Andi, it’s an escape from trauma. Rachel seems to use it as a way to make sense of her place in the world. They’re all searching for something—identity, purpose, a way to channel their rage and energy into something productive.

Bullwinkel digs deep into the psychology of competition. What does it mean to measure yourself against another person so physically, so intimately? There’s something primal and almost erotic about it. The lines between violence and tenderness, hatred and admiration, get blurry real fast.

Round 4: Girl, Interrupted

Fair warning: If you’re looking for a straightforward sports narrative, this ain’t it. Bullwinkel’s style is fragmented and impressionistic, jumping between perspectives and timelines with dizzying speed. It can be disorienting at first, but once you get into the rhythm, it’s kind of intoxicating.

The prose has this feverish, stream-of-consciousness quality that perfectly captures the adrenaline-fueled mindset of these fighters. Thoughts and memories blur together, punctuated by bursts of vivid sensory detail. It’s less about plot and more about immersing you in the swirling psyches of these girls.

Sometimes it veers into straight-up surrealism. There are moments where you’re not quite sure if what you’re reading is really happening or if it’s just in a character’s head. But that ambiguity feels right for a story about the altered state of mind that comes with extreme physical exertion.

Round 5: The Body Electric

Can we talk about bodies for a sec? Because “Headshot” is deeply, almost obsessively concerned with the physical form. Bullwinkel writes about the human body—its strengths, its limitations, its secret hungers—with an intensity that’s almost uncomfortable at times.

These girls are hyper-aware of their bodies in a way that goes beyond just athletic performance. There’s stuff about periods, about changing bodies, about the weird in-between state of adolescence. It’s raw and honest in a way that you don’t often see in sports fiction.

The fight scenes themselves are visceral as hell. Bullwinkel doesn’t shy away from the brutality of it all. You feel every punch, every drop of sweat, every aching muscle. But there’s also an almost balletic quality to her descriptions of bodies in motion. It’s violent and beautiful at the same time.

Round 6: Not Just Another Sports Story

Look, I get it. A novel about teenage girl boxers might sound niche. But Rita Bullwinkel’s “Headshot” transcends genre in a way that’s pretty remarkable. It’s as much about the universal experience of girlhood as it is about boxing.

Bullwinkel taps into something primal here. The desire to be seen, to prove yourself, to find your place in the world—it’s all stuff that resonates way beyond the boxing ring. There’s a ferocious energy to her writing that captures that specific teenage girl intensity in a way that gave me flashbacks to my own angsty youth.

It’s also just…really freaking funny? Bullwinkel has a wickedly dark sense of humor that cuts through the intensity. The deadpan observations about the absurdities of youth sports culture had me cackling. And the interior monologues of these girls are often hilarious in their melodramatic seriousness.

Round 7: In Good Company

“Headshot” is Rita Bullwinkel’s debut novel, but she’s no rookie. Her 2018 short story collection “Belly Up” showcased her knack for the weird and wonderful. If you dug the offbeat energy of “Headshot,” definitely check it out.

In terms of comparable works, “Headshot” reminded me a bit of Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” in its unfiltered dive into female psyche. There’s also shades of Karen Russell’s brand of magic realism shot through with dark humor. And the sports angle brings to mind Chad Harbach’s “The Art of Fielding,” albeit with way more estrogen.

Round 8: A Few Jabs

Alright, let’s get real – Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel isn’t a perfect knockout. The fragmented style, while effective, can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. There were moments where I wished for a stronger narrative throughline to anchor all the impressionistic prose.

And look, I’m all for ambiguity, but there were a few surreal detours that left me scratching my head. The whole thing with Rachel Doricko’s weird hat philosophy? Still not 100% sure what that was about.

Some readers might find the violence off-putting. Bullwinkel doesn’t pull any punches (pun very much intended) when it comes to describing the physical toll of boxing. It can be intense.

The Final Bell

When all’s said and done though, “Headshot” is a knockout debut that announces Rita Bullwinkel as a major talent to watch. It’s fierce, funny, and utterly original. The Booker Prize nomination feels well-deserved – this is the kind of bold, boundary-pushing fiction that keeps literature exciting.

It’s not an easy read, but it’s a rewarding one. Bullwinkel asks big questions about girlhood, violence, and the limits of the human body. She doesn’t offer easy answers, but the journey is exhilarating.

So step into the ring with “Headshot.” Just don’t be surprised if it leaves you a little punch-drunk afterward.