The Long Haul [Paperback]

Amanda Stern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2003

A mismatched, codependent young couple are forced to come to terms with their static relationship as they traverse the frozen landscape between upstate New York and Manhattan. An ice storm, a kidnapping, and a break-in play key roles in their increasingly surreal voyage toward self-discovery and sacrifice. This haunting novel draws comparisons to Buffalo 66 and Jesus' Son.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stern's slim debut, centered on the tumultuous six-year affair between a needy, self-absorbed young musician referred to only as "the Alcoholic," and the unnamed, enabling narrator, paints a rich picture of mid-1990s undergraduate and postcollege anomie. Details of the Gen-X experience-drinking at dive bars; going to rock shows attended by a "United Nations" of "fraternity brothers, sorority sisters, punks, skater kids, techno freaks"-are cleanly rendered, and Stern's tone is a spot-on mix of nostalgia, sympathy and ennui. The story begins with the Alcoholic, a locally successful musician, self-destructing on stage at the unnamed college he and the narrator attend in upstate New York, a victim of his own drunken melodrama. The narrator blames herself-as she will continue to do throughout the novel-convinced that her fib about a former love caused his meltdown. Her slow slide into a depression caused by the Alcoholic's superficial, controlling love, and the Alcoholic's overwhelming need for validation are the forces that drive the narrative. Juxtaposing the couple's life upstate with their later days in New York City, Stern shows the dysfunctional relationship in its moments of light (the first blush of affection; an ill-conceived nighttime quest for a corkscrew) and darkness (fighting; a miscarriage; an attempted rape). Though the narrator is sometimes frustratingly passive, she is also articulate and skillful at telling her own sharp, dark coming-of-age story.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Amanda Stern's prose is spare and gorgeous. This tough little book is like an elegantly clad punch in the guts. -- Maggie Estep

Reading Stern is like watching polaroids materialise, the horror creeping up on you. Picture perfect writing; a compelling story.... -- UNCUT Magazine, November 2003

Soft Skull Press['s] upcoming title The Long Haul, by Amanda Stern, has earned the author comparisons to Denis Johnson. -- Las Vegas Weekly, September 4-September 10

Stern writes with an open heart...; her willingness to experiment is a lesson for novelists and readers both. -- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, October 12, 2003

Stern's tone is a spot-on mix of nostalgia, sympathy and ennui. [The Long Haul is a] sharp, dark coming-of-age story. -- Publishers Weekly, October 20, 2003

The Long Haul is a harrowing novel about the selfish parts of love....she renders...heartbreak with ease and grace. -- Victor LaValle

[Stern] has rendered a powerful impression of...regret, rage, and occasional bliss with an exactitude that is...funny, and endearing. -- Hal Hartley

[Stern] puts the right words in the right place to create a novel that is startling, wrenching, beautiful...powerfully resonant. -- Joanna Scott, author of Tourmaline

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 142 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (September 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932360069
• ISBN-13: 978-1932360066
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,122,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amanda Stern has been published in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, Swink, Venus Magazine, The Believer and St. Ann's Review among many others. THE LONG HAUL (Soft Skull Press) is her first novel. She is the curator and host of THE HAPPY ENDING MUSIC AND READING SERIES which has welcomed authors and musicians such as James Salter, Rick Moody, A.M Homes, Mary Gaitskill, Amy Hempel, Jim Shepard and Laurie Anderson. Amanda was featured in The New York Times Magazine's annual "New York" issue as a "New Bohemian" helping to keep down town New York alive. She has held residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell and is working on her next novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a sucker punch...but a good one., October 31, 2003

By 

Felicia Sullivan (New York, ny United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Long Haul (Paperback)

Amanda Stern isn't pretty and that's exactly why I love this book. She doesn't cover her narrator's co-dependency, depression, anger, rage (all the fantastic range of emotions) with cheapened exposition, precious images and sing-song prose. Rather, her prose is sharp, short and powerful and the dialogue or sometimes the lack thereof between the unnamed narrator and the "Alcoholic" really tells it all. Engaging, I sometimes winced over several scenes (the heroin needle in the stomach, the attempted rape scene in another story), however, this is the true gift of the writer...the ability to shake me and propel me forward, wanting me to read more. Far from a precious book, this novel sustains, engages and sucks the reader in. Brava! And I cannot wait for the next novel.

On a side note, why is this fantastic book paired with the horrible James Frey novel?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, well written story of our age group, July 1, 2005

By 

J. Naftali "karkarodon" (Sherman Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Long Haul (Paperback)

I have to say -- I got this book in the mail yesterday, and stayed up hours past when I really needed to go to bed in order to read it. I couldn't put it down. Amanda Stern's style is clean and crips, she isn't overly wordy, has a great vocab, and speaks of a time and era I know so well... being in your 20's in the 90's. She had he highs, but they really aren't covered in this incredible, but short, piece of work. I can't wait until the next book!

For the record, this isn't really my genre of book. I'm more into the horror book featuring zombies or some historical work from world war ii... but Stern's work was INCREDIBLE.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not another hype job, October 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Long Haul (Paperback)

What amazes me about this book is that it's gotten so little attention. In a way, I'm pleased, I'd like to keep Amanda Stern a secret for a while. Unlike the privileged and over hyped women writers in Ms. Stern's generation (you know who i'm referring to) Ms. Stern is the real thing. She has clearly written this novel from her heart. It is brave and courageous and she has guts. I too see the comparisons to Denis Johnson (this is the one article I've found on Stern floating around out there) but she is very much her own stylist and manages to imbue her novel with such substance and free-spirited language that she arguably stands in a class by herself. No comparisons necessary. She is a writer to watch and savor. Let's hope she has a lot more of this in her.