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Rum Punch
The inimitable Elmore Leonard follows up his bestseller Maximum Bob with a punch--Rum Punch--where a gun dealer, a flight attendant, and a bail bondsman make interesting bedfellows. When Jackie gets caught smuggling her boss's gun money on the airline she works for, she hatches a plan with her bail bondsman to walk off with the money.
Hardcover, 297 pages
Published
July 1st 1992
by Delacorte Press
(first published 1992)
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I finally made it over to my winter stockpile of Rick Bass and was settling in. Getting used to the rhythms of it again (which takes no getting used to at all, for me). Letting the slow, deep, calm, quiet solitude fill up my soul. Then I was housesitting for a few days. There, I watched Jackie Brown. Then, I had to pull out Rum Punch.
I thought, oh boy. This can’t work. Rick and Elmore, Bass and Leonard? My two favorites but, so so different. I thought, what if one taints the other? What if one m...more
I thought, oh boy. This can’t work. Rick and Elmore, Bass and Leonard? My two favorites but, so so different. I thought, what if one taints the other? What if one m...more
Jackie Burke is forty-four years old, married three times, and stuck in a dead-end job as an airline stewardess for Islands Air. Jackie begins bringing money from Freeport to California for Ordell Robbie, the man to see about getting a gun in Palm Beach. ATF agent Ray Nicolet and FDLE agent Faron Tyler want to bring in Ordell Robbie. Ordell wants to be sure that his business isn't threatened in any way so he goes to see bail bondsman Max Cherry about bonding out one of his associates. Ordell hop...more
When I bought this book and then started to read it I was repeating in my mind not to think about the Tarantino film version. I know writer's vision and director's vision can be a lot different, plus I hadn't read anything by Leonard yet so I didn't want to picture him in my mind as "the literary clone of Quentin Tarantino". At first there were also some things to help me, like the fact that Jackie ISN'T Brown at all - neither by name nor "by skin" - but after some chapter I gave up. I just coul...more
I picked this up the other day in a pawn shop for 1€ in English and reread it in a day. The book is brilliant with dialogue so authentic that it barely qualifies as English at times. Elmore Leonard has the ear of a great musician when it comes to writing dialogue from the street. I used to live down in this area of south Florida so I appreciate his eye for detail in his descriptions of this tacky suburban hellscape.
I read this book many years ago and when I saw Quentin Tarrantino’s shitty film...more
I read this book many years ago and when I saw Quentin Tarrantino’s shitty film...more
I read this, mostly because its the novel that inspired one of my favorite movies...1997's "Jackie Brown", so beautifully adapted and directed by Quentin Tarantino. In most cases, the book is superior to the movie. In this case, I'll say the movie outweighs the book...but only a smidgen! Turning the white "Jackie Burke" into the black "Jackie Brown" and casting Pam Grier was genius, as was turning the Ordell Robbie character from lighter skinned to darker skinned so he could be portrayed by Samu...more
Really entertaining.
Colourful characters, great dialogue, lots of twists and turns, cracking pace.
Jackie Burke is a glamorous airline stewardess bringing undeclared cash into the country for arms dealer Ordell 'whitebread' Robbie - cocky, violent, and totally unscrupulous.
When Jackie is caught with 50k of dirty money in her flight-bag, she is forced to do a deal with the police to stay out of jail. Enter Max Cherry, bail bondsman and ex-cop, whose attraction to Jackie gets him into some serious...more
Colourful characters, great dialogue, lots of twists and turns, cracking pace.
Jackie Burke is a glamorous airline stewardess bringing undeclared cash into the country for arms dealer Ordell 'whitebread' Robbie - cocky, violent, and totally unscrupulous.
When Jackie is caught with 50k of dirty money in her flight-bag, she is forced to do a deal with the police to stay out of jail. Enter Max Cherry, bail bondsman and ex-cop, whose attraction to Jackie gets him into some serious...more
this is the....17th...18th...from leonard for me...
dedicated for jackie, carole, and larry
story begins:
sunday morning ordell took louis to watch the white-power demonstration in downtown palm beach.
"young skinhead nazis," ordell said. "look, even little nazigirls marching down worth avenue. you believe it? coming now you have the klan, not too many here today. some in green, must be the coneheads' new spring shade. behind them it looks like some bikers for racism, better known as the dixie knigh...more
dedicated for jackie, carole, and larry
story begins:
sunday morning ordell took louis to watch the white-power demonstration in downtown palm beach.
"young skinhead nazis," ordell said. "look, even little nazigirls marching down worth avenue. you believe it? coming now you have the klan, not too many here today. some in green, must be the coneheads' new spring shade. behind them it looks like some bikers for racism, better known as the dixie knigh...more
I had this one hanging around forever. I'd tried to start it a couple of times and couldn't really get into it for some reason. Anyway, I made a go of it this time.
The book, as you may know, is the basis for the movie Jackie Brown. I apparently forgot/didn't know that (I didn't see the movie), and it wasn't until the end that I said to myself, "hey, isn't this the plot of Jackie Brown?"
In my defense, the main character in the book is named Jackie Burke, and her physical description is more Bridg...more
The book, as you may know, is the basis for the movie Jackie Brown. I apparently forgot/didn't know that (I didn't see the movie), and it wasn't until the end that I said to myself, "hey, isn't this the plot of Jackie Brown?"
In my defense, the main character in the book is named Jackie Burke, and her physical description is more Bridg...more
Pretty working-girl Jackie Burke is in a tight spot. She's just been picked up at Palm Beach International with fifty grand and some blow stashed in her flight bag. Lucky for her, the Feds want something Jackie's got: the inside track to Ordell Robbie, the notoriusly slick arms dealer. And they're ready to deal--Ordell in exchange for her freedom. But Jackie's got another ace up her sleeve. . .Enter Max Cherry, bail bondsman. Big, tough, basically decent Max is on the verge of divorce and tired
...more
I wouldn't have even thought of picking this up if it wasn't on the cheap rack at a book store, and if it didn't say on the cover that it was the film that inspired Quentin Tarantino's film 'Jackie Brown.' To say that inspired it is understating the significance of the book slightly. If I didn't know better, I would think it was actually just a novelization of the film.
In the end this gives me a positive view of Elmore Leonard and lessens the significance of 'Jackie Brown' the film, because pret...more
In the end this gives me a positive view of Elmore Leonard and lessens the significance of 'Jackie Brown' the film, because pret...more
Another adventure of pure escapist glee, Elmore Leonard's novels continue to be a refreshing break from more intense reading...like Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America. I started the book on the flight home for Thanksgiving, and in addition to a few over-served late night reading sessions of questionable merit (accompanied by equally questionable amounts of salty snacks) I finished it on the flight back to Houston -- excellent symmetry for an excellent trip home. I can't say that the story was...more
Like many others, I read Rum Punch because I adore Jackie Brown and was curious to see how Quentin Tarantino had adapted Elmore Leonard's material. Anyone who has seen a Tarantino film will understand that I was surprised to find that he had made the story, or at least one of its subplots, sweeter than Leonard's novel. The world of Rum Punch is mean by comparison; everyone is crooked (even the philandering cop). I actually found it a little disorienting to be involved in a story with almost no d...more
I read this because Jackie Brown is my favorite Tarantino film, and I just generally enjoy the crime novel genre. The dialogue is very authentic, for the setting, I think Elmore Leanord is able to capture how people speak in the criminal world in a way that not many writers can. Jackie's character is complex, she exudes sexuality like that of the damsel archetype, but she has the gall and wit necessary to survive in the criminal world— traits we usually associate with men. Unlike the film, Bail...more
This book has the distinction of being the first book I checked out from my public library on my Kindle.
I really like the movie "Jackie Brown," which uses "Rum Punch" as the source material, so of course, I wanted to read for comparasion.
Is it weird that I like the movie better? I've never read Elmore Leonard and I wasn't as blown away by his writing as I thought I would be. His style was just okay to me. What's interesting is that the one character who didn't jump off the page for me was Jackie...more
I really like the movie "Jackie Brown," which uses "Rum Punch" as the source material, so of course, I wanted to read for comparasion.
Is it weird that I like the movie better? I've never read Elmore Leonard and I wasn't as blown away by his writing as I thought I would be. His style was just okay to me. What's interesting is that the one character who didn't jump off the page for me was Jackie...more
I walked into the library hoping to get _Dead Babies_, which my odd friend thought was the best book he'd ever read, and came out with this one, not knowing it was the book _Jackie Brown_ is derived from. It'd been long enough since I'd seen the movie, and was different enough from what I remembered, that I was still able to really enjoy this.
Leonard does all the things you know he does-- funny washed up characters, beat-up romantic losers as his heroes, comedy capers that go wronger than that....more
Leonard does all the things you know he does-- funny washed up characters, beat-up romantic losers as his heroes, comedy capers that go wronger than that....more
I'm not really sure that this book had a point to it. Yeah, Elmore Leonard has a way with words that makes him uniquely appealing, but this book is at best a plot outline that goes nowhere yet is filled with great dialogue. Full of selfish and petty spiteful characters who seemed intent on using and double crossing each other, I had little to no regard for any of them. The prose and the detailed settings help redeem a story that was inane at best. There was no great intellectual insight, no char...more
Dry as dust. I'm given to understand (this being my first Elmore Leonard novel) that the dryness is a selling point, but it has its upsides and downsides here. While the book moves at an admirable clip - sparse in detail but still clear - you never really get invested in the characters. Why should I care what happens to any of them? If I hadn't known this was later adapted as Jackie Brown, and therefore been able to cast the major characters as their actor counterparts, I wouldn't have been able...more
Yet another fine Elmore Leonard novel. I don’t think he can write a bad story, but most people already know this. You’ll find the usual slightly discordant collection of characters, situations, twists and turns. Read it if you haven’t already, then read it again, just for fun.
Quentin Tarentino directed an equally fine film adaptation titled Jackie Brown, starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Robert De Niro, and others.
Published in paperback by Dell.
Quentin Tarentino directed an equally fine film adaptation titled Jackie Brown, starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Robert De Niro, and others.
Published in paperback by Dell.
Great stuff, but this time round I prefer the ending in the book. I don't know what Tarantino was thinking making Max Cherry go all distant with Jackie with the phone call he took. It just didn't work for me. He should've stuck with the book's ending with Max asking, "where would we go?"
"I don't know," Jackie said, and he saw her eyes begin to smile. "Does it matter?"
The characters were very real and believable even if the plot got a bit difficult to follow at times.
Looking forward to more Elm...more
"I don't know," Jackie said, and he saw her eyes begin to smile. "Does it matter?"
The characters were very real and believable even if the plot got a bit difficult to follow at times.
Looking forward to more Elm...more
After reading some serious literature for a while, there's nothing better than taking a break and reading an Elmore Leonard book. His despicable characters fly off the page, cause reason to chuckle, and are just plain fun 'listening' to--there's no better writer when it comes to dialogue and silly perverted scheming. I've been up all night the past few nights--and Rum Punch was the perfect medicine for another all-niter.
If you like the movie "Jackie Brown", then you have to read this book! Its a bit different than the movie, but all the great characters and plot elements are there.
I'm just starting to appreciate Elmore Leonard's writing, especially the dialogue. In this book and in the prequel to it ("The Switch") the dialogue is amazing and I have no idea how he does it.
This would make a great airport/beach book.
I'm just starting to appreciate Elmore Leonard's writing, especially the dialogue. In this book and in the prequel to it ("The Switch") the dialogue is amazing and I have no idea how he does it.
This would make a great airport/beach book.
Jackie Brown is the only Tarantino film that he didn't write the story -- he wrote only the screenplay. It's a gritty novel. One of Leonard's stated writing maxims is to cut everything, readers might skip and the result is a very tight read, full of dialogue. What I like best in Tarantino's films are the character studies. I learned a lot about the Jackie Brown characters from reading the book.
I read this book as part of my mystery book club. I have always put Elmore Leonard in the same catagory as Carl Hiaason. So I had very low expectations of this book. As it ended up I really liked it! Good Characters, interesting plot overall well worth reading. This book was the basis for the Quenton Taratino's 1997 movie Jackie Brown. (Also a good movie starring Pam Grier.
I would recommend this book.
I would recommend this book.
I wanted to read the book that inspired one of my favorite movies, Jackie Brown. I have to say, much is similar, but I liked the changes in the movie. A rare time when I think the movie was better than the book. The book was still good, but Jackie was a white woman, Louis worked for Max Cherry for a while, and there was a bit more back story with the cops who picked up Jackie.
Another classic crime fiction novel from one of the best in the business. One of the things that sets Leonard apart from other contemporaries is his gift for dialogue. This book would become the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's excellent film, "Jackie Brown". I highly recommend that if you haven't read this book or seen that film... that you do both ASAP!
Finished at 2.15 AM. Even with all those dead bodies at regular intervals the book was nice relaxing read. A page turner. Jackie Brown is as in the Movie by Quentin Tarantino the original book was called Rum Punch, and Jackie Brown was Jackie Burke a white woman. Good plot , must say after a long time enjoyed a thriller. May be want to see the movie.
So far, so good. Sleazy characters abound. Just my cup of tea. :-)
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Finished it. The rating of '2' seems harsh, but the words are right ... 'It's okay.' And that's a fair appraisal. The book had some interesting characters, but the plot was very ... vanilla. Nothing in the least bit exciting or thrilling. Very run of the mill. Not Leonard's best.
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Finished it. The rating of '2' seems harsh, but the words are right ... 'It's okay.' And that's a fair appraisal. The book had some interesting characters, but the plot was very ... vanilla. Nothing in the least bit exciting or thrilling. Very run of the mill. Not Leonard's best.
Elmore Leonard's strong point is his characterization. This is one of his best. As I started reading it, it began to seem familiar. Then I realized that it is the basis of Quentin Terantino's film "Jackie Brown". In the book, her name is Jackie Burke. And she's white. And the book isn't about her, specifically.
Loved this book. As perfect as a story can get. I have become an Elmore Leonard fan! This is the book that became Quentin Tarrentino's Jackie Brown.
can't believe how many of his books became movies--great movies.
my ebook contains a list of the movies and The Ten Rules...If it sounds like writing...
can't believe how many of his books became movies--great movies.
my ebook contains a list of the movies and The Ten Rules...If it sounds like writing...
A pretty solid Elmore Leonard effort, though I far prefer the prequel "The Switch" to this one. I think it's one of his more popular works due to the fact that it influenced the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown. It's a good read to be sure but it wasn't one of my favorites of his.
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Elmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into m...more
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Feb 18, 2013 09:43am