Living the Gimmick

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By Ben Peller

Formats and Prices

Price

$24.99

Price

$31.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Trade Paperback $24.99 $31.99 CAD
  2. ebook $12.99 $16.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 15, 2000. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

From the time he was able to body slam a pillow, Michael dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler, vanquishing imaginary enemies and nagging self-doubt with every drop kick he landed. As his buddies hit the books, Michael got hit. When they left for college, he enrolled in Shane Stratford’s Wrestling Academy, where cash — and a particularly punishing “audition” — afforded him a first look into a world part circus, part sport, and all spectacle.

From penny-ante matches to national notoriety, Michael rises through the ranks of professional wrestling. Hopped up on speed, pumped up on steroids, and fueled by a frustration he can’t quite name, he adopts and discards identities in a bid to find the “gimmick” that will make him complete. His search will bring him in contact with people weird and wonderful: athletes and actors, crazy fans and crooked managers, the full rich range of folks who revel in the ring.

Combining elements of sports narrative a la “North Dallas 40, ” the behind-the-scenes authenticity of “Pumping Iron, ” and a flair for the bizarre that recalls John Irving, “Living the Gimmick” is a novel not soon forgotten.

Genre:

On Sale
Oct 15, 2000
ISBN-13
9780759550049

Ben Peller

About the Author

I did grow up in Chicago, and I never knew my real father. I fled the Midwest winters immediately after graduating high school and came out to Los Angeles, where I lived in an Inn by the Sea. Bizarre Hollywood nights followed, along with crazy days wandering the beach. But I was always writing. And wrestling. That’s the time I encountered Shawn. (And NO, it’s not the famous one that was WWE Champion for years). This was a whole different person. After many injuries, both physical and mental, I decided to make writing my full time occupation.

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