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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Shortlisted for the Man Booker. Loved it from beginning to end. A fantastic tale of a Canadian WWII veteran called Walker who is traumatised by what he has seen and done during and after the D-Day landing and wanders through New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, watching America fall apart around him as he remembers snippets of the war and his pre-war life as he soaks himself in booze and empathises with the down and outs of Skid Row. He loves the movies and witnesses the filming of various film noir classics (dutifully footnoted by Robertson). Beautifully paced and modulated.
Walker is a veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after the 2nd world war. Drifting alone from the East to the West Coast of America, he gets a job for a paper documenting the homeless in the cities whose histories are being torn down to make space for the new.
Robertson’s poetry is beautiful, though his images are terribly sad and often revolting. He really captures the desperate situation of these traumatised young men, who have seen horrific things and are now being left to drink in gutters by a world which is moving on without them.
The book looks at the powerlessness of the poor, the way progress is performed (the performance in fact often masking the lack of progress), the evil all men are capable of, the loneliness of the post war generation and of course the history of the United States.
The insidious evil and decay present throughout are terrifying and yet there are moments of lightness and beauty here which create flashes of hope: two men stopping their van to watch whales, some others sharing a Christmas together and Billy who despite having nothing works to help others who are homeless.
Robertson’s poetry is beautiful, though his images are terribly sad and often revolting. He really captures the desperate situation of these traumatised young men, who have seen horrific things and are now being left to drink in gutters by a world which is moving on without them.
The book looks at the powerlessness of the poor, the way progress is performed (the performance in fact often masking the lack of progress), the evil all men are capable of, the loneliness of the post war generation and of course the history of the United States.
The insidious evil and decay present throughout are terrifying and yet there are moments of lightness and beauty here which create flashes of hope: two men stopping their van to watch whales, some others sharing a Christmas together and Billy who despite having nothing works to help others who are homeless.
5 stars
Deeply moving and melancholic, The Long Take is an inventive piece of historical fiction, weaving a multi-faceted tale of urbanization in America, through the eyes of a disillusioned war veteran. True to its subtitle, 'A Noir Narrative', its free verse paints cinematic vignettes, juxtaposing the destruction of psychological innocence to the concrete jungle that is relentless for change.
While The Long Take's post-war America subject matter might restricts itself to a niche audience, the execution is razor sharp; the deliberately slow pace focuses more on exquisite mie-en-scene, rather than a constantly progressing plot. Which is not to say the book is all style and no substance; the protagonist, Walker, (love the double meaning behind his name) is fully fleshed out and closely felt; we experience alongside him as he copes with the recurrent of PTSD, attempting at normalcy in a world that's more than eager to leave him behind.
As someone who studied architecture and have an interest in old Hollywood cinema, I thoroughly enjoyed Robin Robertson's fact-based storytelling; accompanied by a labeled map and old photographs, the journey feels extremely immersive and authentic.
The Long Take is a somber, yet immersive tale about a time and place that was obsessed with newness and the image of perfection (urban modernization, movie magic), that it was willing to demolish anything in its way, including the humans. Even though it took me 3 months to finish a 220+ pages book, binging feels like the wrong approach; instead, like fine wine, I took sips at times, and let its flavor lingered. Definitely one of the most memorable reading experience I've had so far.
Deeply moving and melancholic, The Long Take is an inventive piece of historical fiction, weaving a multi-faceted tale of urbanization in America, through the eyes of a disillusioned war veteran. True to its subtitle, 'A Noir Narrative', its free verse paints cinematic vignettes, juxtaposing the destruction of psychological innocence to the concrete jungle that is relentless for change.
While The Long Take's post-war America subject matter might restricts itself to a niche audience, the execution is razor sharp; the deliberately slow pace focuses more on exquisite mie-en-scene, rather than a constantly progressing plot. Which is not to say the book is all style and no substance; the protagonist, Walker, (love the double meaning behind his name) is fully fleshed out and closely felt; we experience alongside him as he copes with the recurrent of PTSD, attempting at normalcy in a world that's more than eager to leave him behind.
As someone who studied architecture and have an interest in old Hollywood cinema, I thoroughly enjoyed Robin Robertson's fact-based storytelling; accompanied by a labeled map and old photographs, the journey feels extremely immersive and authentic.
The Long Take is a somber, yet immersive tale about a time and place that was obsessed with newness and the image of perfection (urban modernization, movie magic), that it was willing to demolish anything in its way, including the humans. Even though it took me 3 months to finish a 220+ pages book, binging feels like the wrong approach; instead, like fine wine, I took sips at times, and let its flavor lingered. Definitely one of the most memorable reading experience I've had so far.
Generally have never been a big fan of poetry, but loved this style of writing so much. Being centred around a veteran suffering with PTSD this novel was moody, atmospheric and an absolute joy to read! It gave a really interesting insight into what it was like to not only be in the war and coping with returning to 'reality' but also what it was like to live in New York and especially LA at the time.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Kerry Shale’s narration is pebble-voiced and compelling. When I hit a line, “This is day. A never ending rehearsal with a cast that changes all the time but never gets it right …” I’m invested, I’m all in.
Walker is a returned soldier - a Canadian who served in Normandy and other European countries late in the war and who is now in the USA. Initially in New York, he crossed the country and sets himself up in Los Angeles, a growing city that is carving itself by road networks into divisions separated from each other, destroying the orange groves to create concrete deserts. Strangling itself, as a friend of Walker’s puts it.
The writing is cinematic. An assembly of brief scenes at times. Descriptions are pithy and evocative. There are lists of places in a streetscape, lists of items in a deli, in a market stall, that are somehow better than mere lists. Walker is pursuing work in newspapers and as he is taken around, various stimuli bring back his war experiences, overwhelming him.
And post-war US history unfolds. Eisenhower, HUAC, Emmett Till and Rosa Parkes, Humphrey Bogart’s death and, recurringly, the increasingly accelerating transformation of LA from a city to a road network. And there is Walker’s reappearing friend Billy - always a bit worse for wear from the interim period and always speaking some everyman truth.
The book is said to be a form of narrative poetry. In a physical form that may be far more evident than it was as audio, where its descriptions were vivid but not discernibly poetry.
There is a form of illustration where many distinct images are reduced in size, say to that of a small postage stamp, and then they are carefully assembled with thought to their tonings. The final work, when seen from a distance where the details of the “stamps” are indiscernible, reveal another image altogether, commonly a face. I found myself pondering that as I read this book of vignettes.
I found it compelling if not deeply satisfying. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#areadersjourney
The Long Take moves between cities like it's shrugging off bodies, but NYC felt like the cleanest fit to me. More heart, more mood, more mystery. Once the protagonist hits California, his trauma falls into a stasis, and we linger there until the surprisingly blunted end.
There's no denying Robertson's gorgeous prose, and the sun bleached shadows make for stylish noir, but my heart stayed in the first 50ish pages of the book, even if my mind enjoyed the ride to the final page.
This kind of epic poem is a perfect format for the modern novel - here's hoping people carry it forward, across all genres.
4 +or- .01
There's no denying Robertson's gorgeous prose, and the sun bleached shadows make for stylish noir, but my heart stayed in the first 50ish pages of the book, even if my mind enjoyed the ride to the final page.
This kind of epic poem is a perfect format for the modern novel - here's hoping people carry it forward, across all genres.
4 +or- .01
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
"We're back to circling the wagons
This is our fear of 'the other'
- Indians, blacks, Mexicans, Communists, Muslims, whatever -
America has to have its monsters,
so we can zone them, segregate them,
if possible, shoot them.
They call this patriotism, Nativism,
but it's racialism, pure and simple. And paranoia." p. 109
Beautifully rhythmic account of a man's struggle with his ghosts in a country in the midst of change. Walker's PTSD accompanies him like his shadow, always there and affects his post-war life. He is unable to go back to the life he had in Canada before the war and lives in New York before moving to Los Angeles.
This is our fear of 'the other'
- Indians, blacks, Mexicans, Communists, Muslims, whatever -
America has to have its monsters,
so we can zone them, segregate them,
if possible, shoot them.
They call this patriotism, Nativism,
but it's racialism, pure and simple. And paranoia." p. 109
Beautifully rhythmic account of a man's struggle with his ghosts in a country in the midst of change. Walker's PTSD accompanies him like his shadow, always there and affects his post-war life. He is unable to go back to the life he had in Canada before the war and lives in New York before moving to Los Angeles.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated