This was one of the best books I've ever read.

I normally go for crime novels, with plenty of twists and turns, exciting plot developments and so on. This book had none of that, and what a breath of fresh air it was to read.

It's simply the sad story of a down-and-out MMA fighter struggling to find himself & getting caught up in some bad stuff. I have no interest in MMA, so don't let that put you off reading it. Anything you need to know to set the scene is explained perfectly.

I absolutely loved the internal monologues, the writing style was utter perfection. The story builds you up, then tears you down, an emotional rollercoaster that you feel you're riding right next to Xavier.

Not only does Xavier struggle with who he is, and life in general, he struggles with racial prejudice, crime, family, friends, bad decisions, good decisions...

I can't help but feel a lot of John Vercher's personal struggles have gone into this book, and you can feel it. I absolutely cannot wait for his next book and for the first time ever, I'm signing up to newsletters!

Well done, Mr Vercher. Well done.

I loved John Vercher’s debut novel,’Three-fifths, review of that one here. It was immediate and moving, with deeply memorable characters. I found his essay in Lithub very compelling, about the complete absence of boxing narratives centring Black protagonists-something I had never realised, though I’ve read a couple of novels set in the boxing world (A stone for Danny Fisher and Matilda by Paul Gallico), it should be glaringly obvious that there should be a lot more books with Black protagonists! So it was a disappointment when this book fell quite short of my expectations.
Xavier is an MMA fighter, who used to be a contender. Now he contends with a career on the wane, a father who’s losing his mental faculties and causing trouble in his care home, and his own health issues and head trauma problems, from the injuries he’s sustained over the years. He’s trying to get his life on track, through his job as a trainer at his cousin, Shot’s gym, who he hopes will also line up fights for him. That’s the basic pot through which Vercher explores the toll that violent sports have on the body, the difficulties of running a small business ( there are some funny, but also wince-inducing parts where Shot complains about how hard it is to turn a profit with his gym when his clients expect it to be stocked with fancy smoothies!), corruption in the world of MMA fighting, and ever-present racism. I’m very impressed with Vercher’s descriptions of the quality of affordable care available to senior citizens with mental health issues,and I’m practically in awe at the competence and patience exhibited by the professional carers. Vercher makes some excellent points about the foundational beliefs that people tend to revert to, when their inhibitions and social filters are off, to reveal some pretty horrific truths about America. Given that Xavier is biracial, he constantly faces microaggressions where he isn’t “Black enough” for some, but too Black for others when a nosy neighbour calls the cops on him because he feels he doesn’t “belong” in a predominantly white neighbourhood. There’s also some excellent writing where Xavier ruminates on the sport of MMA fighting and the way it operates at the intersection of sport and gladiatorial spectacle, his training, with some lovely writing about how he feels running in the open is amongst the best endurance exercises there is. However, I found the bits of good writing few and far between. The book has too many unnecessary scenes-an entire segment involving a dog that added nothing to the character or the story, some soap operatic sequences with Xavier’s mother, a constant repetition of self-destructive acts that become progressively more irritating when they should have been serving as a character arc, and too little of his cousin Shot who seemed to have the most interesting arc of the book. I could see the dramatic denouement coming for miles ( the same one as in ‘A stone for Danny Fisher’), and when it actually happened, it lacked any power to move me, and merely felt shoehorned in to give the book profundity-it hadn’t really lacked that! Given the tight control over plotting, structure and writing that Vercher exhibited in his debut novel, where there was not a single superfluous sentence or character, it was disappointing to me that this book fell so short of my expectations. When Vercher writes well, his writing is powerful and thought-provoking, so I will continue to read his books.

After the lights go out I first found it difficult to get into the first few pages and was abit unsure because i thought it was all about fighting but I was so wrong and glad I read this book. I felt so sorry for Xavier and this book got to me emotionally. Poor Xavier on rollcoster of unhappiness, emotional, pain and sorrow. I really liked John Vercher writing , after the lights go out is beautiful written and you can really feel the pain and is at really good pace you can keep up with. You can really connect with the characters and Xavier was really easy to like and I just wanted give him hug and wished for him to be happy. I never expected the ending to end like that I felt very emotional. Xavier has one last chance to come back as a fighter but he also struggling with his brain which he slowly is getting dementia but it’s now affecting his life, his dad has Alzheimer’s but he is now to turn nasty and not being nice to Xavier. This book is brilliant and will definitely reading more of John Vercher books in the future. 5 Stars. Thank you Kate Wilkinson for letting me read this book.

3.5* After the Lights Go Out is the second book from John Vercher, following in from his fantastic debut Three-Fifths.

Xavier is a mixed-race MMA fighter counting down to the end of a period of suspension and hoping he still has what it takes to keep in the game. However, years of fighting and untreated concussions have left Xavier as a shell of his former self, struggling with short term memory. Mirroring Xavier’s difficulties are those of Sam, Xavier’s father who is suffering from advanced dementia and living in a home.

John Vercher’s writing is sublime and the book throws up a lot of important issues. The theme of mixed race is carefully handled, as it was in Three-Fifths. The issues of Sam and Xavier’s struggles with memory and anger are often difficult and raw.

I would struggle to say I enjoyed After the Lights Go Out. I was rooting for Xavier but didn’t really like him. There is little light to balance out the darkness. It may appeal more to those who enjoy MMA or similar sports.

Thanks to Pushkin and Netgalley for an ARC.

4/5 Very Good

John Vercher is a special talent. Last year’s ‘Three - Fifths’ was an extraordinary book. A crime Noir of the highest order.

This time around the story is again something of a Noir but it’s not crime. its a sports based noir. It’s the character driven story of Xavier ‘Scarecrow’ Wallace. A bi-racial MMA fighter at the end of his career.

The story is of Xavier’s battles not just with a career coming to and end, but with a dying father who he thought he knew, with failing health and to add to that he finds himself being asked to throw his final fight.

There is so much to this story. Xavier will pull you through a gamut of emotions as does the story.

It’s a slow, immersive read, whilst it’s not massive in length, it’s huge in story and Vercher is simply a superb author.

I haven’t gone to 5* as to be critical i found myself just a couple of times feeling the slow pace. But this is Immense and it’s highly recommended.