The Longest Fight

Emily Bullock Press Reviews

'The Longest Fight tells a gripping and nuanced story about boxing and London in the 1940s and 50s. Emily Bullock brings a new sensibility to the way the sport is evoked and has produced a boxing novel that is both compelling and original.'- Kate Pullinger

'Emily Bullock's punchy prose vividly describes a world of hard knocks and high hopes in post-war London. The Longest Fight is a wonderfully compelling, atmospheric first novel.' - Andrew Cowan

'Emily Bullock's writing is like a finely honed weapon that plunges you into the depths of London's 1950s world of boxing and the underbelly of a society struggling to survive. Full of characters so realistic, colourful and heartbreaking with a story that never fails to surprise. A brilliant debut novel by a writer from whom you'll want to read more.' - Sandy Lieberson, producer of Performance

'Atmospheric and elegant storytelling with a strong sense of authentic detail - The characters are rich and alive, including the unforgettable Jack Munday, whose youth and adult years are expertly interwoven in a taut exploration of how or how much an individual can overcome a damaged past. An intimate and original view of the world of boxing and the men and (importantly) the women involved in it.' - Linda Anderson

'Fights, families, all the twisted dramas of love, this gives you 1950s London as lived by its boxing families. Theirs is a rich and unknown world, and The Longest Fight is a raw beauty of a book.' - Martin Goodman