Unraveling Desire and Danger: Why ‘Rough House’ Will Keep You Turning Pages Late Into the Night
Miller’s overarching theme in Rough House is that we must take pro wrestling seriously. To her, it is both a wildly-lucrative industry that rewards the beautiful and the ugly so long as they can sell their story — no matter far-fetched or self-obsessed — and an elevated art form that embodies the never-ending bloody battle that is The American Dream
The author certainly takes pro wrestling seriously. She spent five years researching the history of pro wrestling and delving into the professional and personal lives of her subjects. Within the first few pages, she telegraphs her sincere and respectful concern for the “backyarders,” the working-class folks who devote their dwindling free time “banging and bouncing each other on trampolines illuminated by construction work lights, dreaming of World Wrestling Entertainment or All Elite Wrestling ring glory.” Miller’s prose is at its most lyrical and laudatory when she explores the hardscrabble roots of pro wrestling:
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