You’ve heard of Rocky, right? As in Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion from the amazing actor, also known as Sylvester (Stallone?) Well, this story isn’t about him; it’s about Noki. Noki will win your heart over, just like Rocky did. (I’m biased and grew up watching all of the Rocky films with my dad, and if you didn’t watch them, I feel sorry for you!)

Noki grabbed me from the get-go – starting with an eye-catching phrase of, “Yo, look at this mother f&cker?” Not exactly your typical beginning of a book, but there you go. Honestly, there’s a lot of cursing in the book – all duly changed with symbols like above, so you’re not fully reading the word, but you know its intent.

Within the following few pages, I was hooked completely and finished the unlikely story within a handful of days. I LOVE IT! After interviewing the author via email, Douglas Farrago, I found out that this book is being shopped around in Hollywood – so fingers crossed, we may be looking at the next big boxing film! I can’t wait!

Noki book cover
NOKI: by Douglas Farrago – courtesy letnokibox.com

The nitty gritty:

Noki is a quiet, sensible, sensitive, genius, autistic character. He’s not just slightly autistic either; he’s full-blown, hardly speaks a word to anyone, autistic. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with anyone who has this disease, it can hamper one’s independence to grow and be super successful depending on where they are on the spectrum!

The whole story has so many interwoven storylines that you get pulled into more than the world of boxing. There are references to fostering and adopting children, the foster care system, the health care system, and the obvious one – people with disabilities who get abused, neglected and treated quite poorly due to their conditions. 

It’s hard to honestly describe what a wonderful book Noki is without giving too much of it away. But here goes. When you are first introduced to Noki, he’s just a part of the gym where he works with his step-dad. He cleans, helps the boxers, does chores, and takes care of himself while ignoring everyone and everything around him. Or so it seems.

A breakout character!

He chooses to become friends with a stranger who walks in off the street and even shares his secrets with him. The stranger, Bug, doesn’t quite know what to make of Noki when he meets him, but he isn’t questioning the hospitality that comes with being Noki’s new friend. He soon discovers Noki’s love of the sport. Not only his love of boxing but how he excels at it.

Noki doesn’t have his own style of boxing. He’s been studying all of the great boxers his whole life, and he can imitate any one of their moves. He steps into that ring, chooses which boxer he wants to emulate during that session, and BECOMES that boxer. It’s the most extraordinary thing that Bug has seen. (Not to mention the most fantastic thing I’ve seen – how INCREDIBLE would this be?!)

**Now, do you understand why I want it to be a movie?!

For a time while reading the book, Noki isn’t a boxer in the limelight. He boxes at night when everyone is asleep and goes back to his chores the next day. Then, lo and behold, his step-dad has a significant health scare, and he’s essentially left fending for himself; while taking care of the boxing gym and his family home. There’s not much money coming in. So, he, Bug, and another close associate form a plan.

That’s when the real book begins – at least it did for me then. You’re taken on a whirlwind journey through the highs and lows of boxing. The dark underground where dirty deals are done, and the top of the top – a few rounds in a ring and an HBO special! Not to mention the celebrity and money that come with a shot at the belt! For Noki, the entire world is confused and challenged by him.

How does an autistic, child-like man get into a ring and fully know what he’s getting into? That’s for you to read, and me to read again. Seriously, go and pick this one up – it’s a winner!

The follow up:

As I said earlier, I reached out to Mr. Farrago with some questions after I was done, and again, I was shocked! He was in the ring with Mike Tyson in Scotland back in the day!!

  • “You’re already quite accomplished with your inventions, other books, and career history – what made you want to write this book?”

This book has been in my head for years and years. I have had a lot of patients with autism in my practice of medicine over my 30 years. For whatever reason (parents talking?), they gravitated to me. It was awesome. Yes, they are ALL different, and the parents work so hard with them, but it was a great experience for me. I even had one child with a savant skill that was awe-inspiring. These patients never left my mind, and I wanted a way to tell a story about them. NOKI is an amalgam of all of them. My history in boxing is vast, and I still know a lot of people in that dark world. 

  • “In your years of working in the boxing world, you mentioned working with some great ones – who were they?”

I worked with five world champions during my years in that world. It was a long time ago, so people may not know them. The list includes Frank Tate, Orlando Canizales, Roger Mayweather (Floyd’s uncle), Carl “The Truth” Williams, Iran Barkley, Calvin Grove, and Lou Savarese, to name a few. Lou Savarese fought Mike Tyson in Scotland in front of 40,000 people. It was a mess. https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/53082998. Picture attached of me jumping into the ring to try and stop it. 

THE PICTURE:
Douglas Farrago in the ring in Scotland with Mike Tyson – photo courtesy of Mr. Farrago
  • “Do you have any other upcoming books you’re planning on trying to write?”

At this point, no. I have ideas, but my son and I (mostly him) wrote the screenplay for NOKI, and it is being shopped around in Hollywood. I think this would be an incredible movie. I don’t write like others. I see images and pictures and write stories as if it was a movie. People will see that when they read NOKI. 

  • “What do you think could be done about the poor state of affairs that seems to be the boxing world right now? Proper rules and regulations for all gyms? Worldwide? How big is this problem?”

The problem is huge. There is NO governing body in boxing. There are organizations, mostly corrupt, with corrupt promoters. The gyms where people train have poor oversight. Anyone can jump in the ring with anyone. There is an example I use in the book. There needs to be proper medical oversight & care for these fighters. But I don’t see things changing. In NOKI, I show a lot of the terrible things that go on in the sport. If you think I exaggerated anything, then you would be sorely mistaken. 

I had to know a bit more about what we can do!

“When people go from being poor, out in the streets to the top of the totem pole in boxing, and then basically get chewed up and spit back out; where can they go for assistance? Especially if they have long-term damage done from their boxing days?”

My brother, Matt Farrago, was a top ten Jr. Middleweight pro boxer in the 80s. He now runs Ring 10, and he has done an incredible job trying to help these fighters. Many world champions of the 80s, 90s, and even later are literally on the street and need medical and financial help. He does that, and I am really proud of him. https://ring10.org

  • “What else would you want people to know about this book, or what they could do to help out regarding boxing?”

Noki offers a reminder that what appears on the surface as “simple” is often much deeper and more meaningful than first assumed. It shows that we as a society put limitations on others, knowingly or not. This is especially true with people who have autism. More importantly, I hope it shows the possibilities of human potential in everyone. Noki is not a caricature of someone with autism. I hope the book shows that. He is who is he is, and he has much more power and control than anyone thinks. I love that, and I hope others will as well. As far as boxing, who knows. The book does pay homage to the legends in the sport, but it also shows the dark underbelly. People, like my brother, are trying to help, but maybe this book will give awareness to that as well. 

****people can get the book on Amazon. They can also check out www.letnokibox.com to get some more information.

Finally:

A big shout out to Susan with Ascot Media News for getting in touch with me about this book! I definitely enjoyed this one and would absolutely read a follow-up!

One of the first book reviews I did was about Paige VanZant, a professional MMA fighter, and I highly recommend her book, too! Check that one out here if you’d like! I’ve also posted a few other times about autism, and I’d appreciate you checking those out if you have a moment or two – if not, no worries!

If you do happen to read this book, drop me a line and let me know what you thought! I’d love to hear about it! Or, if you want to talk about Rocky sometime, too, I’d be down for that! 🙂

Love to you all,

Kelly Ann

Some hashtags for ya: #boxer #boxing #ringside #rockybalboa #noki #book #books #bookreview #story #hbo #possiblemovie #yes #amazing #autism #asd #autistic #savant #genius #loveonthespectrum #highfunctioningautism #autismawareness #reviews #livinglovingandexploring 

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