Occupy Wrestling Discussion

Over at Read Together, Blog Together, the goodreads group that Saloni and I started, we recently had the opportunity to read and discuss the novel Occupy Wrestling by Garrison Kelly. Here are some of my thoughts on that book. If you've read it, let me know what your answers are in the comments. 

Synopsis

Over a decade of hard work, sacrifices, and injuries have earned professional wrestler Mitch McLeod a chance at the KDW World Heavyweight Championship, at the time held by a 400 lb. monster named Jason Finnegan. Before their match begins, Jason assaults Mitch in the hallway, hoping for an easy victory later on in the ring. Despite the brutal beating, Mitch wins the match via pin fall after his finishing move, a variation of the superman punch, accidentally kills Jason. Legal issues aside, Mitch finds himself embroiled in a plot to have his newly won KDW World Title taken from him by science-fiction-like creatures hired by Keegan Day, the owner of KDW. A world title is a symbol of excellence for not only the wrestler holding it, but for the wrestling industry as a whole. Mitch will be damned if his oppressive corporate master is going to take it from him that easily.

  

What did you like most about this novel? 

I really enjoyed the writing. It was well constructed and had a nice flow that made it readable, even if the story and characters weren't my favorite.
 

What did you think of the combination of wrestling and the supernatural? 

I definitely thought this was a unique concept. I've never read a supernatural novel set in the world of wrestling (or any novel set around wrestling, for that matter) so it was an intriguing concept.  

  

After reading, was this similar to what you expected or very different? 

I don't know that it was very different, but I suppose it was some different than what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting it to be supernatural beings involved in wrestling and not so much demons being brought in to take over the sport.   

Was the conclusion satisfactory? Why or why not?
This is a tough question. While I think that in some ways it was satisfactory, it was kind of lacking for me. I was never able to fully connect with the characters, which made it difficult to appreciate what happened to them by the end of the story.