[Der Boxer] is the fascinating account of one man's ill-fated struggle to come to terms with his past.

The fictional story of Aron Blank, a Jew who survived ghetto and concentration camp, is recorded in fictional interviews with a fictional chronicler. Ironically, it is precisely this contrived set of circumstances which ultimately lends credibility to Becker's novel. Italicized words and phrases in the chronicle appear to represent Aron's own choice of language. Verbal exchanges between Aron and the writer regularly disrupt and yet complement the narrative. Aron's stated purpose is erzählen (to narrate), not erklären (to interpret or explain), and the reader learns a great deal about Aron's character from these interspersed conversations. At one point, for example, Aron advises the chronicler that his story cannot be presented objectively and that he should go and describe a soccer match, if objectivity is what he is after...