The Pugilist Poets of Venice (Unabridged‪)‬

A boomer, an xer, and a millennial walk into a book...

Meet Hammerhead Hirsch, a charismatic middle-aged boho known in the '60s as "the pugilist poet" for his Golden Gloves boxing crown and beat poetry chops. Thirty years later, Head has become a first-time father, and his joy is immense...until the mom bolts.

Can Head last 15 rounds as a single dad with a paltry income, scanty prospects, biting demons, and a "ball-and-chain" kid?

The tale is told by a worshipful youth who accompanies Head and his son every step of the way on a 10-year-long, three-way journey of struggles, missteps, love, and growth.

What other authors say:  

"This is a rollicking, big-hearted tale, full of laughter, bravery and unflinching humanity. The touch is light, but the questions are big: family, loyalty, art, and love are the rightful subjects of Sindell’s troupe of misfits and raconteurs, each of them a poet and each of them a pugilist too in this deeply funny and deeply felt novel." (Emily Kiernan, author of The Great Divide)   

"The Pugilist Poets of Venice is author Jon Sindell’s big fat juicy love letter to literature, Los Angeles and, most of all, love. Disguised as a novel about free-spirited parenting, boys becoming men and men becoming, well, grown-ups, The Pugilist pulls no punches. With prose that zings, swings and frequently sings, Sindell tells a tough yet tender tale of brazen heartbreak amid ’90s bohemian hipsters." (Tracy DeBrincat, author of Hollywood Buckaroo and Troglodyte)

"Funny, sad, relatable, and engrossing" (Stephen D. Gutierrez, American Book Award winner)  

"With unflinching honesty, humor and a keen eye for detail, Sindell brings unforgettable characters to life in all their flaws and virtues. Page after page, they kept surprising me; I couldn’t put the book down." (Martin McCaw, author of The Low Road, finalist in the International Book Awards)