Shadow-Box by: Antonia Logue
Hardcover | 308 pages | ISBN:0771053517
Year Published:1999 – McClelland & Stewart | Tidewater Price:$32.99
Rarely does a first novel generate the attention and buzz that Shadow-Box is garnering. With foreign rights sold to five countries, this novel is destined to be one of this fallÃs most sought after titles in both North America and the U.K. Based on real-life characters, Logue’s fictional retelling of a fascinating and tragic love story from the early 20th century is breathtaking in its scope. Spanning three continents and two world wars, with a cast of well -known historical figures, Logue brings together the world of boxing and art. The story revolves around three people: the English poet Mina Loy; American Black Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson; and art critic and semi-professional boxer Arthur Cravan, who was also Oscar Wilde’s nephew. Told through letters between Loy and Johnson, their lives are revealed from the heady early days of their friendship through the tumultous and tragic days after the mysterious disappearance of Arthur Cravan. Each searching for the answer, the letters reveal their lives with an intimacy that envelops the reader. With passion and vigour, Logue’s writing will sweep you up and transform you to this by-gone era. From the salons of Paris in the early 1900′s, to the Manhattan literati scene, to the beaches of Mexico, and to a boxing fight in Australia, Shadow-Box is a remarkable novel from an important new literary talent.