Kerouac meets Seamus Heaney - now there’s a combination! Robertson’s book is a long wonderful poem describing his hero’s harrowing experiences during and after the War. His travels take him from the seedier areas and characters of New York to the same environs in Los Angeles and SanFrancisco. He describes powerfully and with great sympathy the travails of ex servicemen, the homeless and the inner city poor. He contrasts this with the rampant exploitation by the developers and the corrupt officials benefitting from their payoffs and kickbacks.

The book is like nothing I have ever read before. The narration through poetry takes a little getting used to. After the first couple of chapters I found that it added significantly to the reading experience.

Masterful and so difficult to pull off!