Stephen Florida

Winning. After I finished racing through Gabe Habash’s novel titled, Stephen Florida, the one word that came to mind was “wow.” The first-person narrator, Stephen, is a college wrestler and the novel is set mostly in the final season of senior year that culminates in a championship match. Habash’s finely written prose draws readers into the complicated and troubled mind of Stephen as he focuses obsessively on winning. What appears on one level to be a common coming of age story shifts to a study of a person’s descent into madness. At another level, it is a story of loneliness and love. On one level this is a character study of a loner; on another level, it as an exposition of the complexity and depth inside each of us. On one page Stephen is a jerk and on the next page Stephen is you and me. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Stephen Florida from amazon.com.