Pullers by Tom Graves

Pullers, the first novel by author Tom Graves, defines the genre of Southern Grit Lit. Readers who admire the gritty worlds of authors such as Harry Crews, Larry Brown, Elmore Leonard, and Carl Hiaasen will find Pullers' look behind the curtain of professional arm-wrestling at least as wild and bizarre as anything those other authors have written. With a slate of wild and woolly characters with names like Steve Strong, Scud Matthews, and Snack Pack Harris, Graves puts you right across the table from the strongest men on Planet Earth each of whom wants to destroy you at the wrestling table. The psych-out stunts of these characters make Pullers a cross between Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Wide World of Sports. Graves warns readers that Pullers "is not for the faint of heart."