Customer Reviews

The Longshot: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a great book for fight fans who want an inside look at the swirl of emotions around a major fight. Cal, a veteran fighter, is trying to turn his career around, and Riley, his longtime trainer, has gotten him a rematch with the champion, who won their first fight but didn't knock Cal out, unlike all of the champion's other opponents. The relationship between fighter and trainer, what it's like to be on the comeback trail and the underdog, the psychology of a game plan, the weigh-in, the slow final hours before the fight, the walk to the ring (or octagon), and the chaos of the fight--all are covered with sharp nuance and detail. Katie Kitamura must have spent a lot of time around fighters because she really understands them. I've been a boxing fan since I was a kid and a hardcore mixed martial arts fan since the first UFC in 1993 and I loved this book. Note to mma fans: I'm guessing that Rivera, Cal's opponent, is based on the younger, Pride-era Vanderlei Silva. Cal could be based on any of several American wrestlers.

But it's also a great book for anyone, fight fan or not, who wants to understand some of what it means to feel scared and numb but to fight anyway, to want to protect a friend, to be brave, to not be able to let something go because it's the only thing you're good at and because it's in your blood, to want, against the odds, to be at peace--in short, some of what it means to be a man.

Kitamura has a wonderful eye for kinetic detail. Her writing is so taut and specific in its descriptions of movement and physical action and her feel for the psychology of fighting is so sure that the reader actually feels what it must be like to be in the ring with an MMA fighter. Remarkable.

It doesnt matter if you are not a fan of Mixed Martial Arts, describing the Longshot as a work about fighting is like saying Fight Club is about boys beating each other up. I havent been this excited about a debut novel since Craig Davidsons, The Fighter. This gem of a book stays with you after you've finished reading it, something that unfortunately doesnt come around too often. The taut sharp prose is as economical as punches from a veteran fighter and its hard to believe at times that this is the first offering from a promising new writer.

Excellent debut worthy of its 5 stars.

A fantastic debut - you don't need to be a fan of fighting to appreciate this book. Although the novel is set in the world of mixed martial arts, it is really about friendship, vulnerability, hope and disappointment. It is spare and beautifully written; both the action and dialogue feel completely authentic. The book goes into the hearts and minds of Cal and Riley (his trainer) in the three days running up to a crucial rematch in Tijuana. This fight is Cal's chance to restart his stalled career. But it's also a stress test of his relationship Riley. The descriptions of the training and the fighting are visceral and gripping; the psychology of the fight and the fighter utterly convincing. I read this book in one sitting. Highly recommended.

Kitamura writes a beautiful story that captures the intricacy and nuances in human action, and in how people relate to one another. The dialogue ranges from simple to charged with emotions, and the author's descriptive detail paints image upon image as the gritty story unfolds. The story reminds us of the accidents in life -- how we fall into paths, activities, and careers, and these are merely settings for human relationships, struggle, and victory. Kitamura's writing is like a current carrying you along, page after page. Yet, when you stop and re-read a dialogue, or a description, you appreciate the complexity and vivid detail present. Kitamura has achieve a remarkable feat by writing a story about MMA that I think anyone can relate to and draw inspiration from.

MMA is a fairly new sport so there really hasn't been that much fiction written about it. Sure Rocky is still an icon but boxing has been losing momentum for years and I was really excited to get to read something about MMA. MMA is a very hard sport and requires months of training for a single match. The Longshot revolves around the rigorous training for a single match, specifically a rematch. Cal is a fighter who has just lost a match to a very tough competitor named Rivera. Cal receives mentorship from his coach Riley. The book is more about the days leading up to the fight itself but focuses a lot of the relationship between Cal and Riley who reminded me of The Karate Kid despite having little in common.

The Longshot is a quick read and probably isn't going to go down in history as one of the all time great sports novels. However, this book is a great read for MMA fans who really don't have a lot to choose from in terms of entertainment revolving around the sport other than watching it on TV. Sports fans who aren't familiar with MMA can find something to enjoy with this book as well.

Cal is an MMA fighter attempting to make a comeback after losing to the overpowering Rivera a few years back. However, Cal is the only fighter that Rivera has not knocked out. Cal's coach, Riley, has arranged a rematch. In the intervening years, Rivera has gotten stronger and more invincible.

This may sound like another Rocky-type story, but it's much more than that. The match is actually beside the point; at its heart this is a story about the relationship between coach Riley and Cal, his fighter. There is much of what seems to be mundane pre-fight activity; the trips between the Tijuana hotel room and the gym, eating in coffee shops, etc. It's obvious that Riley cares very much about Cal. It's also obvious that Riley sees the writing on the wall and sees that Cal, at an "old" 29, is on his way out, and he is trying to scout out the "next big thing," whom he finds at Rivera's new gym in San Diego.

There is a point where Riley and, likely Cal, realize that a victory in this match is impossible. Or is it?

The sharp prose and the characterizations make this a book worth reading.

One thing you should know before reading "The Longshot" is that if the sentence "Once he got the takedown, Cal kept him tight in his guard" does not make much sense to you, this book is probably going to present some difficulties. For those, however, who understand terms like "ground and pound," "the clinch," and "armbar," "The Longshot" is a realistic tale of an MMA fighter seeking to get his career back on track.

When Riley, a mixed-martial-arts trainer, finds Cal, he thinks he may have found the real deal. Cal proceeds to win fight after fight until he encounters an up-and-comer named Rivera, who wins a decision. Now, four years later, Cal and Riley travel to Tijuana, Mexico, for the rematch. The difference is that Rivera is now an undefeated star who has knocked out every one of his opponents except for Cal, and Cal's career has gone south, so to speak. As they prepare for the fight, we learn more about the ties that join Riley and Cal, their pasts, and what it means to be an MMA fighter whose glory may be behind him.

Author Katie Kitamura apparently has the credentials to write this novel. (The back of my copy of the book identifies her as "a journalist who has followed MMA for years.") The writing style--short, clipped sentences reminiscent of those of Hemingway and an effect similar to that of Camus--seems appropriate for the characters, especially as they spend three days in Mexico while clearly preoccupied with the forthcoming fight.

Readers who are looking for a rip-roaring tour through MMA complete with graphic descriptions of knockouts, armbars, and the like will not find what they want here. What they will find instead is a slow prelude to a match and a chance at redemption that often captures the tedium of the wait, complete with a somewhat seedy hotel, mechanical meals, and a fair amount of introspection and reflection. In short, this brief novel is as much about character (of the fighter, the trainer, and, to a lesser degree, the sport) as anything--a decidedly different view of the sport from that seen on UFC or Pride DVD's.

The book says "he cleared his throat" so many times that I wondered what the author was trying to get at. You read it...and count the number of times that phrase is used...it is weird.

This was an ambitious book in one respect - it was entirely built around one fight -the build up and the fight itself. I don't know much about kick boxing - but I certainly know more now.

The author was able to build the suspense and to create the atmosphere of a fight night, with all of its electrifying momentum. I was mesmerised. As the fighter walked to the ring - I had butterflies in my stomach - my hands were shaking with anticipation and excitement. I can honestly say that the book had me gripped in a way no other book has ever done.

The book conveys such a love for the fighters and respect for what they do. I don't know whether our fighter died after the fight - such was the brutality of the encounter. But I certainly felt a renewed appreciation of what fighters at the high levels go though.

A superb book and a very compelling account of a fighter's art and his struggle.

A few pages into the book this reader was reminded of John Huston's 1972 film "Fat City" starring Jeff Bridges as a lonely, journeyman boxer without a manager, travelling by bus from fight to fight, living wherever the promoters decide to dump him.
This book's heroes are Cal, once an unbeatable, natural-born fighter and Riley, his manager for the past ten years. Cal engages in a mixed form of martial arts, whereby boxing, wrestling and the use of low and high kicks, and knees are allowed. Cal is portrayed as the best in this type of fighting, until he loses on points from his two years-younger challenger Rivera, after three terrible rounds, four years ago. Since then Rivera has knocked out every contender in a matter of seconds or minutes, netting 8- or 900.000 USD per fight. Since the points decision, Cal has lost from opponents he should have blown away.
The rematch with Rivera is scheduled in Tijuana, Mexico. Cal and Riley drive to the venue by car and are billeted together in a cheap room (USD 46 a night) in a shabby hotel and advised to take their meals in the restaurant next door... Some manager, Riley.
The author never comments. Cal's and Riley's deep thoughts (often repeated)and their spoken words, always terse, push this curious and compelling book slowly forward. At three quarters into the book, readers still know little about Cal and Riley, except for some clues strewn around by the author. But by then they should really perk up and anticipate quantities of awesome drama... The best quarter of the book!
Ambition, rancour, doubt and fear are only a few of the feelings guiding the main protagonists in this debut novel written in the simple English fighters and their managers are expected to use. Deep book.