The Girl You Call: A Novel [Paperback]

In this shrewd, timely novel with the allure of old-school noir, an aging boxer and his daughter fight back against political corruption and sexual abuse.

At 40, the great boxer Max Le Corre was enjoying a renaissance, back at the top of the ticket after a long absence. When he wasn’t in the ring, he worked as a driver for the mayor, Quentin Le Bars. Above all, he was a father to Laura, his 20-year-old daughter who recently returned home after trying her hand at modeling.

Quentin had helped Max when he was down on his luck, a seemingly washed-up fighter, and now Max hoped he would help Laura find her bearings in town. But Laura’s meeting with Quentin reveals a darker side to the politician, setting in motion a chain of events that will pit Max against his benefactor.

With deceptively simple, evocative prose, Tanguy Viel has crafted a brilliant takedown of the power imbalances that allow #MeToo situations to occur and fester.“Viel writes some of the sharpest, most cynical, and most insightful prose around, and his new novel is particularly dexterous and disturbing.” —CrimeReads, The Best International Fiction of the Month

“The Girl You Call is a poignant, original novel about power, its abuses, and their devastating potential. Tanguy Viel skillfully delivers a trenchant depiction of the system’s woeful shortcomings when it comes to providing justice—in France and in the rest of the world.” —Clémence Michallon, internationally bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant

“Punchy and profound. How do you describe a novel that combines the intensity of boxing with the elegance of true compassion? The Girl You Call is a look behind the curtain of power and corruption. It’l'