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A review by daiya
The Long Take by Robin Robertson
3.0
"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.
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.