Tomorrow Pamplona, by Jan van Mersbergen, translated by Laura Watkinson, Peirene Press, RRP£8.99, 180 pages

On the run from Amsterdam after some unspecified unpleasantness, boxer Danny thumbs a lift at a petrol station. In the car he waves down is Robert, a paunchy, middle-aged wage-slave who is on his way to run with the bulls at Pamplona as he does every year. Before you can say The Sun Also Rises, Danny agrees to join him. Slowly the secret of what Danny is fleeing is revealed.

Flawlessly translated from Dutch, this account of thwarted and self-destructive masculinity is as punchy and lean as a gym-honed welterweight, although it’s a shame van Mersbergen doesn’t spend more time exploring the interior life of family-man Robert. It’s also hard to feel as sympathetic to the taciturn Danny as the author would perhaps like.

A book that is likely to divide readers, possibly along gender lines. Where many may find a brutal beauty in the restrained emotions, others will simply smell macho bull.