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.