Customer Reviews

The Long Haul

5 star:		(10)
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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?

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.

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.

one of those books that keeps you up till 4am bleary eyed frantically turning pages while hoping that the end doesn't come anytime soon. anyone who's ever felt like they were in a totally dysfunctional relationship should read this book -- it'll keep you company, help put things in perspective, and leave you with images that will make you laugh and weep and fervently hope her next one comes out soon.

I heard Stern read at my college in Nashville. She was stellar, a total rock star. Witty, energetic, enthusiastic and utterly charming, but I hadn't read her book yet. I have since read it and can only say, more! Please! She speaks to my generation (college aged, struggling) with a vibrance and freshness that is ferocious in its orginality of language and brutal in its honesty. She's something else. A must read. A must see her read. This girl has me totally whipped.

This is a soul-stirring, heart-wringing, rock-and-roll kind of book. Reading it was super fun and sometimes totally harrowing. The dialogue is so real and the things the characters do is so fascinating. I highly recommend The Long Haul to anyone who's interested in discovering more about life. I'm already jealous of anyone who hasn't read it yet! It's quite a ride.

This book is cool. It's writing is so spare it's complicated. It's one of those books i imagine seeing stuck out of people's back pockets, bent and haggard like it's been through the wash. It's about this Alcoholic, called, just that and his damaged desperate girlfriend, who is actually likeable. Together they swamp through the bilge and actually, truly, make it out. Well, at least one of them does. That's cool they're making a movie of it. I've read this book twice already so I bet I'd see the movie like four times. A MUST READ!!

It was impossible to put this book down. I was compelled to learn more about these two tragic souls and their destiny. Life, love, tragedy and co-dependency come in so many forms and Ms. Stern has revealed them so cleverly. It was a pleasure to read something so expressively written, yet succinctly stated. It leaves you feeling so many emotions and sensations. Bravo Ms. Amanda Stern, I can't wait to read your next offering.

Amanda Stern knows how to whip her prose into a real hilarious and dark word froth. The characters might be people you actually know (or ran away from) which gives this novel a real edge and adds to the multiple chuckles of recognition (no small feat). This is one of those books that I really hope they turn into a movie...rumor has it that a representative from Hal Wilner's production company has been talking about optioning it...we can only hope.

I saw this author at a book reading and then just *had* to pick up her book. Once I got it, I never put it down (until I sat down to write this review). This collection of stories seamlessly comes together as a novel. Ms. Stern's ability to capture such complex themes/emotions as love, dependence and independence, and then wrap them together with so much humor and original writing is rather remarkable. I highly recommend this book.