Official Review: My Life With The Third Man in the Ring

RussetDivinity · Post by **RussetDivinity** » 15 Dec 2014, 16:18

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "My Life With The Third Man in the Ring" by Barbara Stolfi-Maggio.]

2 out of 4 stars

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The story Barbara Stolfi Maggio tells in her biography of her father, the boxer known as Teddy Martin, is a fascinating one. It gives details on Martin’s childhood and early adolescence, along with telling about Dolly, the woman who would become his wife and Barbara’s mother. Teddy and Dolly came from remarkably disparate backgrounds, the former being raised poor while the latter coming from a much wealthier family, and with their different approaches to life, it was no wonder that they often clashed in their marriage, leading to a tumultuous childhood for Barbara and a difficult life for them both. Maggio also goes into some details about the boxing world of the time, in the 1920s to the 1950s, showing me a different section of a part of history I don’t often think about. However, though the story itself is enjoyable, I can only give the book 2 out of 4 stars.

Maggio does an excellent job of turning her parents into characters for the story. Her father was often described as a tiger, a man whose very nature is to fight, and I could well believe the way he reacted to dealing with his difficult wife. Her mother, however, consistent though her characterization was, felt very one-dimensional, as though Maggio was still carrying a lot of unresolved tension toward her mother and hadn’t managed to get over it before writing this book. There were times when Maggio would make reference to her mother’s demons and seek some explanations for why her mother would act in such destructive ways, trying to tear down her husband and later her daughter, but those sentiments often felt tacked on and insubstantial compared to the wealth of pages treating her mother as the villain of the piece.

The historical aspects of the story were what drew me to this book, and I was not disappointed in that regard. The parts I found most riveting were those set in the 1920s, when Teddy Martin was growing up and getting involved in the mafia. One thing that Maggio is very good at doing is illustrating the differences between her father’s time and our time, though as someone who has grown up in this time, I felt that she was a bit harsh on the present, talking a lot about how people had more respect in the past. I was also interested in seeing what boxing was like back then, but most of the historical details about that were excerpted from other books, while I would have preferred to see it through either her eyes or her father’s.

My main complaints about the book are concerned with the tone. It often felt scattered to me, jumping from story to story rather than having a steady arc, and I had some trouble following Maggio’s storyline as she went from writing about how her parents would fight to suddenly telling us about her college years. While her voice was no doubt meant to come across as conversational and perhaps a bit confessional, there were times when it felt bitter and strident. There were also a few typos throughout, and (while this may just be a pet peeve of mine that doesn’t bother many others), Maggio frequently had multiple exclamation points and question marks, along with overlong dashes and ellipses. If any one of these things had been better, I would have given the book three stars, but I felt the combination of all of these distracted too much from the story.

In short, while I enjoyed the book, it took a lot of patience to get through. I would recommend this to fans of boxing, particularly historical boxing, though I do think anyone with an interest in history or an enjoyment of peeking into the lives’ of others will like this book as well, though they may have some trouble with the tone.

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Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 23 Dec 2014, 15:27

Very interesting. I hope the author does the revision, because I would definitely be interested. And I would wager my husband would be too. Thanks for writing the review!

zoedecicco · Post by **zoedecicco** » 24 Dec 2014, 04:17

There were also a few typos throughout, and (while this may just be a pet peeve of mine that doesn’t bother many others), Maggio frequently had multiple exclamation points and question marks, along with overlong dashes and ellipses. If any one of these things had been better, I would have given the book three stars, but I felt the combination of all of these distracted too much from the story.

You are fully justified in your 'pet peeve'. Language and punctuation should be impeccable in a published work, no excuses! I totally agree that bad formatting distracts from what the author is trying to say. Good for you for being a stickler! I am the same, and proud of it!

Post by **bookowlie** » 31 Dec 2014, 10:10

I enjoyed reading your review. I agree with you that numerous typos are annoying. As a another poster mentioned, punctuation should be error-free in a book. Hopefully, authors take this as constructive criticism.