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In the Cage
Daniel is one of the most feared cage fighters in Mixed Martial Arts, closing in on greatness until an injury ruins his career. Forced back to his rural hometown, career derailed, he slips into the criminal underworld, moonlighting as muscle for a mid-level gangster he has known since childhood. Battling a cycle of rural poverty, Daniel and his wife Sarah struggle to secure a better life for their daughter, but in this violent and unpredictable world of back-country criminals and county cops, Daniel sparks a conflict that can only be settled in blood. Written in spare, muscular prose, In the Cage penetrates the heart of what it means to endure life in the underclass, revealing the small joys found there.
- GenresFiction
310 pages, Paperback
Published October 10, 2017
1 person is currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Hardcastle
8 books41 followersKevin Hardcastle is a fiction writer from Simcoe County, Ontario. He studied writing at the University of Toronto and at Cardiff University.
Hardcastle’s debut collection, Debris, won the Trillium Book Award, the ReLit Award for Short Fiction, runner-up for the Danuta Gleed Literary award, and was a finalist for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. Debris was named a Quill & Quire book of the year.
His novel, In the Cage, was released to wide acclaim in fall 2017. It was named a Globe & Mail and National Post book of the year. In summer/fall 2018, the French language translation, Dans la Cage, was published by Éditions Albin Michel. In summer 2019, the German language translation was published by Polar Verlag.
Hardcastle was a finalist for the 24th annual Journey Prize in 2012, and his short stories have been widely published in Canada and the US, and anthologized in The Journey Prize Stories 24 & 26, Best Canadian Stories 15, and Internazionale.
Find Hardcastle here:
https://twitter.com/KHardcase
https://kevinmhardcastle.com/
https://instagram.com/khardcase/
Hardcastle’s debut collection, Debris, won the Trillium Book Award, the ReLit Award for Short Fiction, runner-up for the Danuta Gleed Literary award, and was a finalist for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. Debris was named a Quill & Quire book of the year.
His novel, In the Cage, was released to wide acclaim in fall 2017. It was named a Globe & Mail and National Post book of the year. In summer/fall 2018, the French language translation, Dans la Cage, was published by Éditions Albin Michel. In summer 2019, the German language translation was published by Polar Verlag.
Hardcastle was a finalist for the 24th annual Journey Prize in 2012, and his short stories have been widely published in Canada and the US, and anthologized in The Journey Prize Stories 24 & 26, Best Canadian Stories 15, and Internazionale.
Find Hardcastle here:
https://twitter.com/KHardcase
https://kevinmhardcastle.com/
https://instagram.com/khardcase/
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 8, 2018
"Dans la cage" de Kevin Hardcastle - Un premier roman comme un uppercut.
« Imaginez un poing qui se serre lentement, phalange après phalange, et vous aurez un aperçu de la façon dont ce jeune écrivain construit son récit, avec une précision tout à la fois sombre, hypnotique, bouleversante et humaine. »
Extrait d’un article du journal canadien - The Globe and Mail.
Roman sur la précarité, version canadienne, « Dans la cage » nous fait découvrir avant tout le combat d’un homme, Daniel, pour trouver un emploi stable et faire vivre sa famille décemment (Sarah, sa femme et Madelyn, sa fille).
Il est soudeur sur différents chantiers. Mais souvent, il manque de travail pour tout le monde. Dans ce cas là, Daniel a la tentation de demander du boulot à Clayton Tarbell, voyou de seconde zone. Ce dernier fait un peu dans tout : vols de tableaux, trafics, prêteur sur gage…
Daniel joue alors les gros bras pour lui avec Wallace King, son garde du corps.
Dans une première vie, Daniel a été boxeur. Il a souvent fait du free fight pour lequel les deux combattants se trouvent enfermés dans une cage. Dans cette pratique, tous les coups sont permis et les deux combattants ressortent souvent avec de graves blessures.
C’est ce qui lui est arrivé. Il a dû arrêter le sport de haut niveau, en pleine gloire, à cause d’une mauvaise blessure à l’oeil.
Il va finir par reprendre la boxe et les entraînements dans le but de refaire des combats et de gagner un maximum d’argent. Mal lui en prendra.
Kevin Hardcastle, l’auteur de ce premier roman, donne à celui-ci un rythme effréné.
Il nous décrit un milieu assez peu connu pour certains lecteurs (c’est mon cas). Mais on reste très à l’aise, avec le vocabulaire technique, à la lecture de ce livre.
Chaque grand chapitre, écrit en italique, revient sur le passé de Daniel et de sa famille.
Ce roman nous plonge dans le Canada profond.
Peut-on reprocher à l’auteur d’être trop complaisant avec la violence ?
Personnellement, même si certaines scènes, sont en effet très violentes. Il ne faut pas oublier que cette violence est partout et quotidienne dans les pays Nord-Américains, par exemple : fusillades dans les lycées, courses poursuites entre voyous et policiers…
Kevin Hardcastle a choisi de traiter de la boxe dans son roman, « Dans la cage ». De tous les sports, la boxe est celui qui a le plus fasciné les écrivains et les cinéastes.
Le sport, en lui-même, est très visuel. Il s’agit de déplacement, de réflexe, d’esquive, de riposte, de coup, de cible.
La boxe véhicule beaucoup d’émotions. Il s’agit de tension, de violence, et de maîtrise en même temps, de passion, d’adversaire, d’énergie.
Et pour décrire tout cela, il faut des mots puissants capables d’exprimer et de diffuser, aux lecteurs ou aux spectateurs de cinéma, tout ce que ce sport peut faire ressentir au sportif.
Je ne donnerai que quelques exemples de romans ou de films inspirés par la boxe :
« Million Dollar Baby », d’abord un livre de F.X. Toole sous le titre « La brûlure des coudes », devenu un film de Clint Eastwood avec comme héroïne principale, l’actrice Hilary Swank.
« De la boxe », un essai de Joyce Carol Oates.
« Le combat du siècle » de Norman Mailer, décrivant la victoire de Mohammed Ali contre George Forman, en 1974 à Kinshasa.
« Fight Club », livre de Chuck Palahniuk, filmé par David Fincher ayant pour sujet justement le free fight.
Et le géantisssime « Raging Bull » de Martine Scorsese avec dans le rôle de Jake LaMotta, Robert De Niro.
« Imaginez un poing qui se serre lentement, phalange après phalange, et vous aurez un aperçu de la façon dont ce jeune écrivain construit son récit, avec une précision tout à la fois sombre, hypnotique, bouleversante et humaine. »
Extrait d’un article du journal canadien - The Globe and Mail.
Roman sur la précarité, version canadienne, « Dans la cage » nous fait découvrir avant tout le combat d’un homme, Daniel, pour trouver un emploi stable et faire vivre sa famille décemment (Sarah, sa femme et Madelyn, sa fille).
Il est soudeur sur différents chantiers. Mais souvent, il manque de travail pour tout le monde. Dans ce cas là, Daniel a la tentation de demander du boulot à Clayton Tarbell, voyou de seconde zone. Ce dernier fait un peu dans tout : vols de tableaux, trafics, prêteur sur gage…
Daniel joue alors les gros bras pour lui avec Wallace King, son garde du corps.
Dans une première vie, Daniel a été boxeur. Il a souvent fait du free fight pour lequel les deux combattants se trouvent enfermés dans une cage. Dans cette pratique, tous les coups sont permis et les deux combattants ressortent souvent avec de graves blessures.
C’est ce qui lui est arrivé. Il a dû arrêter le sport de haut niveau, en pleine gloire, à cause d’une mauvaise blessure à l’oeil.
Il va finir par reprendre la boxe et les entraînements dans le but de refaire des combats et de gagner un maximum d’argent. Mal lui en prendra.
Kevin Hardcastle, l’auteur de ce premier roman, donne à celui-ci un rythme effréné.
Il nous décrit un milieu assez peu connu pour certains lecteurs (c’est mon cas). Mais on reste très à l’aise, avec le vocabulaire technique, à la lecture de ce livre.
Chaque grand chapitre, écrit en italique, revient sur le passé de Daniel et de sa famille.
Ce roman nous plonge dans le Canada profond.
Peut-on reprocher à l’auteur d’être trop complaisant avec la violence ?
Personnellement, même si certaines scènes, sont en effet très violentes. Il ne faut pas oublier que cette violence est partout et quotidienne dans les pays Nord-Américains, par exemple : fusillades dans les lycées, courses poursuites entre voyous et policiers…
Kevin Hardcastle a choisi de traiter de la boxe dans son roman, « Dans la cage ». De tous les sports, la boxe est celui qui a le plus fasciné les écrivains et les cinéastes.
Le sport, en lui-même, est très visuel. Il s’agit de déplacement, de réflexe, d’esquive, de riposte, de coup, de cible.
La boxe véhicule beaucoup d’émotions. Il s’agit de tension, de violence, et de maîtrise en même temps, de passion, d’adversaire, d’énergie.
Et pour décrire tout cela, il faut des mots puissants capables d’exprimer et de diffuser, aux lecteurs ou aux spectateurs de cinéma, tout ce que ce sport peut faire ressentir au sportif.
Je ne donnerai que quelques exemples de romans ou de films inspirés par la boxe :
« Million Dollar Baby », d’abord un livre de F.X. Toole sous le titre « La brûlure des coudes », devenu un film de Clint Eastwood avec comme héroïne principale, l’actrice Hilary Swank.
« De la boxe », un essai de Joyce Carol Oates.
« Le combat du siècle » de Norman Mailer, décrivant la victoire de Mohammed Ali contre George Forman, en 1974 à Kinshasa.
« Fight Club », livre de Chuck Palahniuk, filmé par David Fincher ayant pour sujet justement le free fight.
Et le géantisssime « Raging Bull » de Martine Scorsese avec dans le rôle de Jake LaMotta, Robert De Niro.
November 13, 2017
Hardcastle has a way of documenting the gritty side of the human condition in bold yet lyrical fashion. And this story is so true of his ability. Readers easily gain empathy for the main character of Daniel, a once-great Mixed Martial Arts fighter who is desperately trying to maintain an existence doing straight jobs in his rural hometown. But as the desperation builds, he turns to a childhood friend for work doing “muscle” to claim unpaid debts. As much as Daniel tries to keep life quiet and normal, desperation pushes him back into violence and anger – a reality for many people on the fringes of society.
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https://pacifictranquility.wordpress....
October 3, 2017
If fighting was my thing, I would probably give this book 5 stars.
October 5, 2018
From prairiefire.ca. Review by Mary Barnes.
Kevin Hardcastle’s book In the Cage is not for the faint-hearted. Hardcastle takes readers into a part of society where poverty hovers and taunts at the shoulder. Daniel, the author’s central character, battles every hard knock thrown his way in order to survive. Daniel is a mixed martial arts fighter, taking matches wherever and whenever he can to support his wife, Sarah, and his daughter, Madelyn. He achieves moderate success in the ring and in the cage until a serious injury occurs and he can no longer compete. With his family he returns to his rural hometown hoping to find employment and a different way of life. He seeks out a former school friend, Clayton. Clayton lives a shade outside the law but offers Daniel a deal that is tempting. Nothing else is forthcoming and he accepts his friend’s offer and becomes his muscle man. Working for Clayton though leads to the underworld, a place of blood and violence.
Sarah, who works in an old aged home, doesn’t care for Daniel’s connection with Clayton and his nephew, Tarbell. She wants him to get out, to find work elsewhere, especially for the sake of their daughter. Daniel wants what others have, a good job with regular hours and a substantial pay. But the jobs are few, part-time and low paying.
Why is this story so compelling? The fight scenes and the criminal world depicted throughout the novel verge on the horrific. But the author’s work is honest in its interpretation in showing us these too little known worlds. There is no mistaking the path his characters travel and will travel. Yet we empathize with Daniel and his family. It is the humanity we see in the author’s characters, Daniel’s desire to protect them, to live long enough to see his daughter grow to adulthood, and the desire to reach the goals of the ordinary.
In order to do this Hardcastle dispenses with language that would slow the telling of the story. He cuts out adverbs and uses adjectives in their place; ‘Daniel leans heavy against the doorway frame’ and brings the novel to a new level. (p.304)
He creates images and scenes with fist-iron care. We want to turn away because the images are too demanding. We are unable to because we care for Daniel and Sarah and Madelyn. We witness the kindnesses each of them gives to the other and there is the sense to want to see them do better. We want to cheer them on. We want to see them together going about life in a similar manner as ours with food on the table, a decent income, good schooling and maybe an evening out with friends.
Hardcastle’s writing could be compared to that of Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy or Ken Bruen. His pared down sentences scrutinize a way of life that is rough and unrelenting. His characters are reminiscent of those of David Adams Richards, who come across as marginalized and scorned. Yet the author has found his own style, is in command of his pen and knows his subjects. He strips the facades from our comfortable lives and jolts us into the hard lane of life, and we soon acknowledge that living on the edge is difficult and downright heart-breaking. It is not a pretty place to be.
Kevin Hardcastle’s book In the Cage is not for the faint-hearted. Hardcastle takes readers into a part of society where poverty hovers and taunts at the shoulder. Daniel, the author’s central character, battles every hard knock thrown his way in order to survive. Daniel is a mixed martial arts fighter, taking matches wherever and whenever he can to support his wife, Sarah, and his daughter, Madelyn. He achieves moderate success in the ring and in the cage until a serious injury occurs and he can no longer compete. With his family he returns to his rural hometown hoping to find employment and a different way of life. He seeks out a former school friend, Clayton. Clayton lives a shade outside the law but offers Daniel a deal that is tempting. Nothing else is forthcoming and he accepts his friend’s offer and becomes his muscle man. Working for Clayton though leads to the underworld, a place of blood and violence.
Sarah, who works in an old aged home, doesn’t care for Daniel’s connection with Clayton and his nephew, Tarbell. She wants him to get out, to find work elsewhere, especially for the sake of their daughter. Daniel wants what others have, a good job with regular hours and a substantial pay. But the jobs are few, part-time and low paying.
Why is this story so compelling? The fight scenes and the criminal world depicted throughout the novel verge on the horrific. But the author’s work is honest in its interpretation in showing us these too little known worlds. There is no mistaking the path his characters travel and will travel. Yet we empathize with Daniel and his family. It is the humanity we see in the author’s characters, Daniel’s desire to protect them, to live long enough to see his daughter grow to adulthood, and the desire to reach the goals of the ordinary.
In order to do this Hardcastle dispenses with language that would slow the telling of the story. He cuts out adverbs and uses adjectives in their place; ‘Daniel leans heavy against the doorway frame’ and brings the novel to a new level. (p.304)
He creates images and scenes with fist-iron care. We want to turn away because the images are too demanding. We are unable to because we care for Daniel and Sarah and Madelyn. We witness the kindnesses each of them gives to the other and there is the sense to want to see them do better. We want to cheer them on. We want to see them together going about life in a similar manner as ours with food on the table, a decent income, good schooling and maybe an evening out with friends.
Hardcastle’s writing could be compared to that of Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy or Ken Bruen. His pared down sentences scrutinize a way of life that is rough and unrelenting. His characters are reminiscent of those of David Adams Richards, who come across as marginalized and scorned. Yet the author has found his own style, is in command of his pen and knows his subjects. He strips the facades from our comfortable lives and jolts us into the hard lane of life, and we soon acknowledge that living on the edge is difficult and downright heart-breaking. It is not a pretty place to be.
September 12, 2017
Hardcastle is compared with Cormac McCarthy, but I was reminded more of Hemingway’s best writing: spare prose revealing raw and truthful moments.
I didn’t think I’d be interested in a book with a cage fighter as the main character. But I loved In the Cage for the same reason I loved Breaking Bad and Bloodline and Ozark—watching with sick fascination as characters dug themselves deeper and deeper into the muck.
Hardcastle’s writing is every bit as visceral as the action, but there are many moments of surprising beauty, in the same way Cormac McCarthy managed to find raw beauty in a post-apocalyptic America. What I admired most was Hardcastle's landscape description, the light, the dark roads, rural Canada.
Hemingway once said, “The hardest thing is to make something really true and sometimes truer than true.” I think Hardcastle accomplishes the “truer than true” with passages like this:
“Afterward Daniel drove home through dark country where the snow had cleared and seed-filled soil lay black and damp. Nightbirds cried out and circled above. And at the end of the road his wife and daughter sleeping.”
In the Cage is a story of a tough soulful guy who just wants to support his family, but whose ability to fight and win aligns him with the wrong people. There is much more going on below the surface. It tells of the violence of existence and struggle to rise above class and poverty, the choices we make to avoid tragedy, but which are tragic in and of themselves.
I didn’t think I’d be interested in a book with a cage fighter as the main character. But I loved In the Cage for the same reason I loved Breaking Bad and Bloodline and Ozark—watching with sick fascination as characters dug themselves deeper and deeper into the muck.
Hardcastle’s writing is every bit as visceral as the action, but there are many moments of surprising beauty, in the same way Cormac McCarthy managed to find raw beauty in a post-apocalyptic America. What I admired most was Hardcastle's landscape description, the light, the dark roads, rural Canada.
Hemingway once said, “The hardest thing is to make something really true and sometimes truer than true.” I think Hardcastle accomplishes the “truer than true” with passages like this:
“Afterward Daniel drove home through dark country where the snow had cleared and seed-filled soil lay black and damp. Nightbirds cried out and circled above. And at the end of the road his wife and daughter sleeping.”
In the Cage is a story of a tough soulful guy who just wants to support his family, but whose ability to fight and win aligns him with the wrong people. There is much more going on below the surface. It tells of the violence of existence and struggle to rise above class and poverty, the choices we make to avoid tragedy, but which are tragic in and of themselves.
September 26, 2017
From beginning to the end this book held my interest. This would not be a book that I normally would of read with the little blurb about the book but I picked it up and could not put it down. The writer brings you into the lives of the characters and you do start to feel for them start imagining their lives. You get intangled into everything that they are doing and by the end of the book you want more
September 6, 2017
Turns out In the Cage is as loving and beautiful as it is hateful and ugly. Kevin Hardcastle did good. Real good.
September 10, 2017
Just turned the last page, and this book has left me breathless and gobsmacked with its powerful juxtaposition of violence, intensity and tenderness.
July 20, 2018
Found this by chance in an indie bookstore. From page 1 I was hooked. It took about 30 pages to get accustomed to the writing, which shares a lot with Cormac McCarthy's later work. Riveting story. Impossible to put down. Finished in a little over 24 hours. Will definitely seek out more of Hardcastle's work.
December 30, 2018
I read this because it was something kind of outside the comfort zone of what I would normally read but sounded compelling. I usually avoid Hemingway-esque masculine plots, and this was one of those.
Basically, it's about a former MMA fighter/welder/jack-of-all-trades/gang member who has had trouble sustaining enough work and so getting sucked back into fighting (which he shouldn't do because he detached a retina in the past during a fight) and/or criminal activities are an ever-present threat/possibility. In a way, the writing is on the wall in this book from the beginning. So it was kind of painful to watch it play out, though the ending was even bleaker than I hoped it would be.
I think this was a poor choice for audiobook. I am not sure if the audio format is entirely to blame, but I found the plot a bit difficult to follow, especially the bits that portrayed the ongoing activities of Daniel's (former) gang. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be getting out of those passages? That the gang is dangerous, and participating in increasingly risky/violent activity, I think.
I didn't love the book, and I didn't think it was as well written as some of the praise-filled reviews seemed to indicate, but it wasn't bad either. I did really appreciate how Hardcastle is able to weave in the sweet every-day-ness of Daniel's life, his relationship with his wife Sarah and daughter Madeline (whom he calls "the girl") as the safe haven of a storm of inevitability that is gaining ground all around them. I also appreciated his descriptions of how fighting makes Daniel feel - the kind of aliveness and serenity it brings. It was interesting. But not an author I'd read again.
Basically, it's about a former MMA fighter/welder/jack-of-all-trades/gang member who has had trouble sustaining enough work and so getting sucked back into fighting (which he shouldn't do because he detached a retina in the past during a fight) and/or criminal activities are an ever-present threat/possibility. In a way, the writing is on the wall in this book from the beginning. So it was kind of painful to watch it play out, though the ending was even bleaker than I hoped it would be.
I think this was a poor choice for audiobook. I am not sure if the audio format is entirely to blame, but I found the plot a bit difficult to follow, especially the bits that portrayed the ongoing activities of Daniel's (former) gang. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be getting out of those passages? That the gang is dangerous, and participating in increasingly risky/violent activity, I think.
I didn't love the book, and I didn't think it was as well written as some of the praise-filled reviews seemed to indicate, but it wasn't bad either. I did really appreciate how Hardcastle is able to weave in the sweet every-day-ness of Daniel's life, his relationship with his wife Sarah and daughter Madeline (whom he calls "the girl") as the safe haven of a storm of inevitability that is gaining ground all around them. I also appreciated his descriptions of how fighting makes Daniel feel - the kind of aliveness and serenity it brings. It was interesting. But not an author I'd read again.
December 15, 2017
Kevin Hardcastle's In the Cage delivers more than how-to descriptions of mixed martial arts: it is a tender unblinkered story of a young man who, like the community around him, suffers from the loss of work, at least of the legal kind. Daniel makes dangerous choices because he wants to support the dreams of his wife Sarah to further her education, and to support twelve year old Madelyn's standing up to those who would bully others. The straight forward prose creates a cinematic experience—you are on that dock, racing on that gravel road, drinking at the kitchen table with Daniel. If you liked the television series Justified, or like Cormac McCarthy's work, this is a book for you—fast-paced, and full of heart.
October 5, 2017
In the past few years I’ve read a handful of books that could be labelled as ‘manly man literary books’. This is of course my highly scientific name for them, which I’m sure will catch on any minute now. What makes these books unique is the writing style which is typically very sparse and straightforward (no flowery language here folks!) and the action, which is usually violent but not gratuitous. Craig Davidson’s Cataract City, and D.W. Wilson’s Ballistics are two perfect examples of this genre, and Kevin Hardcastle‘s debut novel In the Cage is an exceptional addition to this budding category of literature.
To see the rest of my review go to: https://ivereadthis.com/2017/10/03/bo...
To see the rest of my review go to: https://ivereadthis.com/2017/10/03/bo...
December 8, 2017
Once a successful mixed-martial arts fighter, an injury leaves Daniel unable to fight. Left with little options in a rural Canada struggling with widespread joblessness, he starts working as hired muscle for small-time drug deals, but the work’s getting bloodier and the crooks are getting more bloodthirsty. In the Cage explores Daniel’s quest for a better, honest life for his family and the desperation that keeps pulling him back to a life of crime.
The book that immediately came to mind when I read the synopsis for In the Cage was Andrew Sullivan’s Waste, and there’s probably a good reason for that. (Beyond the fact that people consistently mistake the two authors, of course.) Both portray small town crime and poverty and both involve sporadic, gritty violence, but the big thing that differentiates, and elevates, Hardcastle’s work is the building tension and effective pacing. Most of the story is a quiet look at Daniel’s home life, and we slowly get a great sense of who he is, along with those close to him, in a way that comes across as sincere and heartfelt. But the author peppers in consistent reminders of the dangers lurking just out of view, gradually closing in, that gives the work a foreboding nature. And I’d like to say that both effects create a mix that results in a spectacular conclusion, but that’s the only point where the author lost me. This was actually what very much put me in mind with Michael Christie’s If I Fall, If I Die, which was another book I quite enjoyed, but whose narrative suffered by the end because of this weird, unreal conclusion that chucked out all the effective pacing that got us to that point. While I may be far off the mark, I assume this happens with the best of intentions: The author wants the payoff to be worth it. And this seems like a legitimate concern. I complained at the end of Waste because I didn’t get a payoff I found satisfying, and, here, the author went through great lengths to try and make things action-packed, cinematic, and exciting. However, in doing so, Hardcastle kills what was previously a brilliant portrayal of a barren, unforgiving world that felt so, so real.
So, I’m basically trying to say that In the Cage is good, but I really thought it could have been great.
The book that immediately came to mind when I read the synopsis for In the Cage was Andrew Sullivan’s Waste, and there’s probably a good reason for that. (Beyond the fact that people consistently mistake the two authors, of course.) Both portray small town crime and poverty and both involve sporadic, gritty violence, but the big thing that differentiates, and elevates, Hardcastle’s work is the building tension and effective pacing. Most of the story is a quiet look at Daniel’s home life, and we slowly get a great sense of who he is, along with those close to him, in a way that comes across as sincere and heartfelt. But the author peppers in consistent reminders of the dangers lurking just out of view, gradually closing in, that gives the work a foreboding nature. And I’d like to say that both effects create a mix that results in a spectacular conclusion, but that’s the only point where the author lost me. This was actually what very much put me in mind with Michael Christie’s If I Fall, If I Die, which was another book I quite enjoyed, but whose narrative suffered by the end because of this weird, unreal conclusion that chucked out all the effective pacing that got us to that point. While I may be far off the mark, I assume this happens with the best of intentions: The author wants the payoff to be worth it. And this seems like a legitimate concern. I complained at the end of Waste because I didn’t get a payoff I found satisfying, and, here, the author went through great lengths to try and make things action-packed, cinematic, and exciting. However, in doing so, Hardcastle kills what was previously a brilliant portrayal of a barren, unforgiving world that felt so, so real.
So, I’m basically trying to say that In the Cage is good, but I really thought it could have been great.
October 23, 2019
Bei einem Kampf gibt es Gewinner und Verlierer. Und kämpfen ist das einzige, was Daniel, nicht auf der Sonnenseite des Lebens aufgewachsen, gelernt hat. Martial Arts im Käfig, und darin ist er gut. Bis ihm sein Gegner einen heftigen Schlag gegen den Kopf versetzt und ihm damit eine Netzhautablösung beschert. Das war es dann mit der Karriere, die den Geldregen versprach. Nix mehr mit Gewinner.
Zwölf Jahre später fährt er mit seinem Truck und einem Schweißgerät durch die kanadische Provinz, klappert die Baustellen ab und nimmt dort jeden Job an, den er bekommen kann. Nicht für sich, sondern für seine Frau Sarah und seine Tochter Madelyn. Die finanzielle Situation der Familie ist katastrophal, kein Kredit mehr von der Bank, sie leben von der Hand in den Mund. Als dann auch noch sein Schweißgerät gestohlen wird, sieht Daniel keine andere Möglichkeit mehr, als bei dem lokalen Verbrechersyndikat anzuheuern. Obwohl er Bedenken hat, macht er, was man ihm aufträgt. Bis er eines Tages eine blutige Schießerei miterleben muss. Aber er hat ja noch eine Option, und da er sich als Sparringspartner in diversen Boxhallen fit gehalten hat, überlegt er, wieder in den Käfig zu steigen. Er setzt alles auf eine Karte, aber ob das so eine gute Idee ist?
Vier Jahre hat Kevin Hardcastle hat an diesem Roman geschrieben, und das Ergebnis kann sich wahrlich sehen lassen. Er beschreibt Daniels Schicksal völlig unaufgeregt, reduziert, in einer klaren Sprache, nie voyeuristisch oder Mitleid für den Protagonisten und dessen Familie einfordernd. Es ist wie es ist, und genau das macht es umso eindringlicher und erzeugt Empathie bei dem Leser, der ziemlich schnell erkennt, dass es für Daniel kein Entkommen geben wird. Hoffen und Bangen, Anstrengungen, Gewalt und ein Meer von Blut, all das führt auf direktem Weg zum finalen Gefecht. Ein Verlierer, zeitlebens eingesperrt in einem Käfig, dem Schicksal ausgeliefert. Und man ahnt es schon, es wird nicht gut ausgehen. Nachdrückliche Leseempfehlung für diesen kanadischen Noir aus dem Polar Verlag!
Zwölf Jahre später fährt er mit seinem Truck und einem Schweißgerät durch die kanadische Provinz, klappert die Baustellen ab und nimmt dort jeden Job an, den er bekommen kann. Nicht für sich, sondern für seine Frau Sarah und seine Tochter Madelyn. Die finanzielle Situation der Familie ist katastrophal, kein Kredit mehr von der Bank, sie leben von der Hand in den Mund. Als dann auch noch sein Schweißgerät gestohlen wird, sieht Daniel keine andere Möglichkeit mehr, als bei dem lokalen Verbrechersyndikat anzuheuern. Obwohl er Bedenken hat, macht er, was man ihm aufträgt. Bis er eines Tages eine blutige Schießerei miterleben muss. Aber er hat ja noch eine Option, und da er sich als Sparringspartner in diversen Boxhallen fit gehalten hat, überlegt er, wieder in den Käfig zu steigen. Er setzt alles auf eine Karte, aber ob das so eine gute Idee ist?
Vier Jahre hat Kevin Hardcastle hat an diesem Roman geschrieben, und das Ergebnis kann sich wahrlich sehen lassen. Er beschreibt Daniels Schicksal völlig unaufgeregt, reduziert, in einer klaren Sprache, nie voyeuristisch oder Mitleid für den Protagonisten und dessen Familie einfordernd. Es ist wie es ist, und genau das macht es umso eindringlicher und erzeugt Empathie bei dem Leser, der ziemlich schnell erkennt, dass es für Daniel kein Entkommen geben wird. Hoffen und Bangen, Anstrengungen, Gewalt und ein Meer von Blut, all das führt auf direktem Weg zum finalen Gefecht. Ein Verlierer, zeitlebens eingesperrt in einem Käfig, dem Schicksal ausgeliefert. Und man ahnt es schon, es wird nicht gut ausgehen. Nachdrückliche Leseempfehlung für diesen kanadischen Noir aus dem Polar Verlag!
August 29, 2018
NTRER DANS L'ARÈNE.
Les premières pages s’ouvrent immédiatement sur l’action. Pas de répit, pas de présentation. On se faufile au côté de malfrats, de ceux qu’on imagine petites frappes d’une bourgade égarée. Les descriptions sont au néant. On se contente du minimum, de quelques mouvements, paroles et pas. Un premier chapitre déroutant, qui ne permet pas d’entrer dans le roman, qui m’a laissé sur le bas-côté.
LES PERSONNAGES,
MARIONNETTES INCONNUES.
Les personnages. Daniel et sa petite famille. Clayton et sa bande de fripouilles. On entre en opposition directe. Entre celui qui souhaite se ranger, ne plus avoir les mains dans le cambouis d’affaires noires. Puis celui qui ne cesse de relancer un bon élément, de lui proposer l’argent qu’il sait être manquant pour Daniel. Une trame classique, déjà vue, qui aurait pu s’élancer vers le sublime, mais malheureusement, c’est la dégringolade, une cascade d’actions sans saveur, où les personnages s'embourbent dans leur misère sans que cela m'ait affecté. On apprend trop peu de choses pour permettre l’empathie, un soupçon d’attachement. À trop vouloir se concentrer sur les actions, l’auteur en a oublié l’essentiel : la création d’une réalité cohérente, permettant l’imprégnation du lecteur.
Crescendo de la violence ? Non. À chaque page, on devine à l’avance qu’elles vont être les actions. La surprise qui devait être apothéose finale n’est que soufflet raté. La déception se confirme également avec la plume de l’auteur, bien trop fade pour exprimer la noirceur qu’il a maladroitement tenté d'insuffler à travers les pages.
Dans la cage n’offre malheureusement pas le côté anxiogène qu’on pouvait imaginer à la lecture du titre ou de la quatrième de couverture.
Les premières pages s’ouvrent immédiatement sur l’action. Pas de répit, pas de présentation. On se faufile au côté de malfrats, de ceux qu’on imagine petites frappes d’une bourgade égarée. Les descriptions sont au néant. On se contente du minimum, de quelques mouvements, paroles et pas. Un premier chapitre déroutant, qui ne permet pas d’entrer dans le roman, qui m’a laissé sur le bas-côté.
LES PERSONNAGES,
MARIONNETTES INCONNUES.
Les personnages. Daniel et sa petite famille. Clayton et sa bande de fripouilles. On entre en opposition directe. Entre celui qui souhaite se ranger, ne plus avoir les mains dans le cambouis d’affaires noires. Puis celui qui ne cesse de relancer un bon élément, de lui proposer l’argent qu’il sait être manquant pour Daniel. Une trame classique, déjà vue, qui aurait pu s’élancer vers le sublime, mais malheureusement, c’est la dégringolade, une cascade d’actions sans saveur, où les personnages s'embourbent dans leur misère sans que cela m'ait affecté. On apprend trop peu de choses pour permettre l’empathie, un soupçon d’attachement. À trop vouloir se concentrer sur les actions, l’auteur en a oublié l’essentiel : la création d’une réalité cohérente, permettant l’imprégnation du lecteur.
Crescendo de la violence ? Non. À chaque page, on devine à l’avance qu’elles vont être les actions. La surprise qui devait être apothéose finale n’est que soufflet raté. La déception se confirme également avec la plume de l’auteur, bien trop fade pour exprimer la noirceur qu’il a maladroitement tenté d'insuffler à travers les pages.
Dans la cage n’offre malheureusement pas le côté anxiogène qu’on pouvait imaginer à la lecture du titre ou de la quatrième de couverture.
February 20, 2020
I loved the story. Daniel is an interesting and engaging character. An aging MMA fighter with family obligations who is down on his luck. I could read stories like these every day.
It's gritty, poetic and violent. Mr. Hardcastle has a way with words and It reminded me of Woodrell's novels. I also love the fact that it is taking place in Canada.
Looking forward to what he comes up with next.
It's gritty, poetic and violent. Mr. Hardcastle has a way with words and It reminded me of Woodrell's novels. I also love the fact that it is taking place in Canada.
Looking forward to what he comes up with next.
February 14, 2025
I liked the story and thought the ending was well-done. I just did not like the writing style—the lack/misuse of adverbs was a problem for me. It’s one of those things where you don’t realize how much they impact the flow of the story until they’re done incorrectly.
August 1, 2018
Didn't love this book, but it wasn't bad. Hardcastle's writing is SO tense that it's unbearable. That's good for the storyline but it would have been better if he feathered the gas a little
October 6, 2018
Poorly written. Disappointing main character. Two dimensional. Wife character had more potential story possiblity. Tender scene at old age home was well done.
January 1, 2020
Ich habe die deutsche Ausgabe gelesen. Sehr gutes kurzweiliges Buch. Hoffe der Polar Verlag bringt noch seine Short Storys raus. Definitiv empfehlenswert....
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August 21, 2022dnf
March 18, 2018
I had a hard time putting this book down. Both the story and the prose had me captivated. The author’s ability to write short, dramatic sentences and yet fully paint the world these characters lived in was astounding. The story of the tragic figure of Daniel, the main character, is universal, but the setting resonated as very Canadian to me. The detailed description of a small rural community felt so real and lived in, it brought the whole story to life.
April 1, 2018
I really enjoyed this novel. Like the short stories in Debris, it’s literary tough guy fiction. Daniel, a former MMA fighter, tries to do right by his family with the means available to him while trying to escape underworld involvement. The plot treads familiar territory but the literary style and depth of characters make it unexpected when it goes to those places. I like that the characters are developed without getting into lengthy backstories. The book’s eschewal of pulp fiction devices makes it jarring when the ending goes full James Ellroy although it’s inevitable given the progression of events.
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August 19, 2018Le livret sort le 3 septembre. Hâte de vous en parler.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews