Preview of Flesh and Blood Summary:

The hero's development is the major theme of Hamill's novel. Bobby moves from a blind, confused state of adolescent selfsabotage to a more considered, self-aware vantage point. From here, he, although putatively defeated, is able to triumph over the dark forces of his father and the Darwinian world of the fight game. He becomes the type of Celtic warrior embodied most fully in the story of the hero Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, with his legendary thirst for battle, fame, and fits of anger, in which he literally "sees red," destroying whatever blocks his path.

Bobby's struggle is an emblem not only of his own solitary quest, but also that of all immigrants—the dispossessed newcomers in every land who must fight to establish their dominance in the streets and in society at large. Bobby, whose green fighter's robe is emblazoned with a shamrock, inspires Irish pride...