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Living the Gimmick

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By Ben Peller

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Price

$12.99

Price

$16.99 CAD

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Format:

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

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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 1, 2000
Page Count
428 pages
Publisher
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13
9780759520011

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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.

Learn more about this author