“Teddy is in a downward spiral (think classic losers from Thelma and Louise to Richard Russo’s Hank Devereaux Jr.), but author Buxton allows him to develop as he falls, including a sexual awakening and nascent sense of purpose. These flickers of growth will keep readers rooting for Teddy even when he’s in the midst of irrational actions and complicated manipulations of friends and family members. Part satire, part wake-up call, and all openhearted perspective, this debut promises excellent work to come from its author.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review“Teddy means well despite his foibles, and Buxton gets readers to root for him even as the novel skewers the excesses of hypermasculine gym culture. This is a treasure.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review“[O]ne of the best Texas novels to come around in years. Teddy is an unforgettable character.” —Michael Schaub, Southwest Review“Do we have humorists anymore? Buxton has some of the sharpest and funniest observations, bringing clever turns of phrases and moments that make you think, ‘Oh. OH! LOL!’ Teddy is such a treat to read.” —Debutiful“First-time Texas novelist Drew Buxton might add a new hero/anti-hero to the list of favorite Southern characters with Teddy Riggs.” —Chuck Reece, Salvation South“In this raucous debut novel, Drew Buxton gets in the ring with the likes of Harry Crews, Charles Portis, and Barry Hannah. Buxton’s prose is electric, full of language that vibrates on the page. Daytona Teddy Riggs is daringly perceived, psychologically penetrating, and funny as hell.” —William Boyle, author of Saint of the Narrows Street“With Daytona Teddy Riggs, Drew Buxton delivers an unforgettable new anti-hero to the forefront of America letters. Call him a ‘roided out Ignatius Reilly, a fast-food obsessed Holden Caulfield, a madcap Joe Lon. With taut, propulsive prose, Buxton yokes himself to your eyeballs from the jump, taking a hit of smelling salts and proceeding to drag them with unstoppable momentum through this tragicomic epic toward a climax that is as much beautiful as it is violent. File Buxton between the likes of Harry Crews and Terry Southern.” —Harris Lahti, author of Foreclosure Gothic“Fall in love with Daytona Teddy Riggs of Texas and find a true home in his adventures. Root for the naive Daytona even as he does the comically unforgivable in this deeply affecting and funny novel that brings to life his determination to become the World’s Strongest Man.” —Laura Albert (a.k.a. JT LeRoy), author of Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things“[W]hat does this all really mean? To be the World’s Strongest Man? To be strong? To be a man? Buxton uses Daytona Teddy Riggs’s obsessive quest to examine these questions and illuminate the toxicity of American hypermasculinity. In Daytona Teddy Riggs, Buxton has created a character that is as sure of his destiny as he is insecure about everything from his hulking frame to his own sexuality. Though he wants to be perceived as undeniable, he is painfully aware of his failings. Due to his hubris and single-mindedness, he struggles hilariously at times to justify his desires for strength to others and to himself.” —Jace Einfelt, The Arkansas International“If characters from History of Heartache by Patrick Strickland worked out in a gym with the plot of Shome Dasgupta’s The Muu-Antiques, Daytona would be the spotter. In the tradition of A Confederacy of Dunces, this work of literary humor will make you laugh out loud as you consider the absurd. We get to be in on the joke about how ridiculous Daytona is, even though he doesn’t know he’s the punchline. While this book kept me chuckling, it still lives in the Southern Grit Lit tradition. Themes of escaping the past while struggling with naturalistic determinism, overcoming poverty, and battling classism are layered through the pages. But this book adds a few new elements to the genre. It’s likely laughter will keep you turning these pages almost as fast as Daytona Teddy Riggs can clean out a pizza buffet, but the ending is solidly literary.” —Toby LeBlanc, Southern Review of Books“A hilarious, propulsive, and wild tale of an all too familiar alpha male with all the drive and none of the brains who doggedly pursues his dream of becoming the world's strongest man, no matter the cost. So dumb, so funny!” —Seth, Carmichael's Bookstore
