Longshot

I largely agree with most of the other reviewers, this is a realistic minimalist account of a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight, with brilliantly spare writing. I understand Xena143 and Howard Goldowsky wanted more story -- all I can say is they picked the wrong book. Less happens in this novel than in an average short story. The point is the intensive introspection of the two protagonists, and how they react with the MMA world, which is masterfully portrayed as simultaneously sport, business, charade and timeless ritual of deeper significance than individual lives. This is a book to be read slowly, savoring the beautiful language. It should be done in one sitting if possible because a powerful mood builds slowly and subtly, assisted by the cadence of the simple, short sentences. In some ways it is more play than novel, but one that would be difficult to stage due to the amount of action that takes place in the characters' heads. The words, especially the dialog, are polished to near poetry. The style does not waver when describing the brutality of the sport and the primitive feelings it evokes. The descriptions are precise and satisfying to an MMA fan (I am one) and, despite P. Mann's comment, I think they are intelligible to a non-fan, especially one willing to spend a few minutes on Google. After you put it down, you may wonder that really found meaning in two guys inflicting serious damage on each other for money, but while you are reading, you will believe.

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.