first things first, it's interesting to see that from the previous year, the booker prize judges are nominating the books which are mostly experimental, daring, and even challenging. previously, i used to think booker prize as something of a shitshow. anyway, i should've guessed this outcome when i got to know that appiah is the head judge. i was familiar with his distinguished name when i was in university. now, i have read this one which is a refreshing read, but almost difficult.

why difficult? this book actually felt like a long poem with some gaps, but i'm not quite sure about its genre. is it a poem-novel, or a narrative poem/poem-narrative, or a long poem (even)? i'm still not sure but this book is experimental as fuck. i love reading experimental books, but since i'm new to this kind of book, i found it hard to concentrate sometimes. it took me at least 1st 100 pages to get into the groove. so, this is why it felt difficult for me, otherwise reading this book is surely a refreshing experience. the protagonist of the book, walker, is WWII veteran who is having PTSD. after war, he got a job in a newspaper company where he's to report about gruesome events happening in a city which is unknown to him. he's trying to settle down in that unfamiliar, unknown city named los angeles. and very frequently, this book presents the anatomy of a city from the eyes of a troubled protagonist, walker. walker meets with his WWII veteran friends. they talk about adjustments living in a new city where walker finds something new and mysterious everyday, like a flaneur does. this is where the city becomes a character and it feels like he's become its observer, and later, a reluctant admirer.

this book also presents a noir atmosphere of an unknown city (to the protagonist). so, to connect with this particular atmosphere, there are many references to 30s-50s noir films (this book is based on late-40s to early-50s) found in the book. the war-veteran characters show their indignation to the then american political landscape. their expectations turn into despair -- they feel affected with the politically turbulent times like how america takes the centrestage of the global political power being the free world, mccarthyism, the socio-economic meltdown and alarming criminal incidents in the city they're all living in. so, they find the solace to the noir films through watching and discussing them in order to give relief their troubled minds.

overall, i'm glad that i've read this experimental book with a different taste. i liked reading it because it was a challenging book to me with a new kind of reading experience.

Oh, another gem from this year's Man Booker longlist. In this novel length poem, a Canadian WWII veteran is trying to rebuild his life while haunted by the fear that he has lost part of himself forever. From New York, to L.A., to San Francisco, he finds a country that seems to believe it has moved on from the war that he can't forget, but there is clearly fear at the root of all of the consumerism and commercialization. A beautiful, brooding book that I would recommend to anyone. Even if you think you are afraid of poetry! Booker 8/13

Välskrivet versepos om krig och kapitalism, filtrerat genom författarens passion för film noir - nattliga strövtåg genom Los Angeles, hemlösa veteraner längst gatorna, ett paket cigaretter, minnen från kriget i Europa, whiskey, rivandet av Bunker Hill. Bing Crosby på radion.

"The Long Take" is a 200-page fusion of poetry and prose, and a very stylish epic of 20th century America. Nostalgic depictions of New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco during the golden age of jazz and film are mesmerizing.

Walker, a Canadian veteran who survived D-Day, has been traumatized by war, thinks that he is no longer what he used to be. He doesn't return home where his family and lover wait for him, instead wanders around New York alone.

Cities in America after the war are vibrant. It is the golden age of jazz with Charlie parker, Bud Powell, and Chet Baker playing at live music clubs. Many masterpieces are being shot in Hollywood. The era also has the dark shadows of the rampancy of gangs and imposters such as Benjamin Siegel, Mickey Cohen and the storm of McCarthyism.

Walker can't find solace in the busy, boisterous, and money-worshipping America. As he loves writing, he lands a job of reporting at a Los Angeles-based newspaper company, and eventually transfers to the San Francisco branch to write features about homeless people's lives. Despite his successful career, he still suffers from guilt, emptiness and frequent flashbacks of battles.

In 1946-1953 Los Angeles, as many film-noirs are being shot, the shooting scene often appears in the story, and Walker mingles with his friends in Hollywood. It reminded me of James Ellroy's "LA Confidential" or Tom Wait’s Tom Traubert's Blues; dark, hard-boiled, and cool.

3.5, so maybe I should give an extra star. I was wnated more of the city planning/social justice thread that ran through, really enjoyed his use of space (and the map), and how he connected these to film, although my appreciation was hampered by lack of knowledge about the films referenced. I was frustrated/annoyed with the introduction of the prisoner of war massacre by the Hitlerjungen. Suspect I was missing something, but found that final chapter really frustrating as a result.

Closer to a 3.5. This book - as a kind of “WW2 fiction” - pleasantly surprised me. It follows a soldier suffering from PTSD in postwar Los Angeles.
It is told mostly as a kind of poetry, with a mix of narrative and lyrical sections. There were few beautiful lines in here, and the photographs included really added to the vibe and mood of this book - they, including the cover, are so aesthetically pleasing. However, many sections of this felt kind of pointless, with endless descriptions of place or street names that meant nothing to me.
The themes covered in this were the winner for me: gentrification, poverty, urbanisation, modernity etc. I personally liked such a cynical look at America - LA in particular - and the death of the postwar promise. I was less interested in the war flashbacks but i think they were done really well and provided a great point of comparison for gentrification and the protagonist’s present.
Part of the issue i had with this book was the disconnect. The emotional distance really suited this book, but the disconnect from what was actually happening sometimes left me feeling a little lost - especially when there wasn’t any lyrical writing, thoughts or introspection to make up for it - certain sections throughout felt literally pointless.
Overall, this is a very smart/literary type book; and i loved the discourse and writing style.

I am pleasantly surprised by this! Highly recommended

"I will make my city here."

2.5 stars.
The Long Take is a piece of cross-genre prose poetry (basically an embodiment of identity politics) that is all about belonging and, specifically, not belonging. It’s undoubtedly an accomplishment for Robertson (I particularly loved the depiction of post-war America and all its gritty faults) but the poetics failed to resonate. What clinched this for me was Robertson’s attempt to structure dialogue into a poetic form - it became monotonous, tricky to follow, which was a shame because the language at the start had been so strong. I wanted to love this! But in truth I just couldn’t follow it. I didn’t know what was happening 70% of the time. The ending was more confusing than Atonement.
He managed to retain some absolutely gorgeous glimmers of writing in the diary entries, but all in all, I would much prefer to read Anne Carson or the Beats.
Despite all this,I wouldn’t be surprised if it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and even won the Goldsmiths Prize later this year.