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A lean little crime novel, that I'm giving 5 stars (genre rating). No big messages here (though I toyed with the idea that Johnson was saying something regarding Mercy, but then backed away from that, since such pondering messes with the mean fun of the novel). It is what it is. A cast of (well drawn) losers, all hooking for the big score. Not one ounce of fat, and great dialogue throughout. It reminded me a lot of a really good Leonard novel. Anita Desilvera is a great character (with some of t
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The title of this lean, mean, exemplar of modern noir comes from a lyric its protagonist overhears -- "Nobody move, nobody get hurt." (It's not clear to me if he overheard the original 1984 Yelloman song, or the 1988 Easy-E version off Eazy-Duz-It -- most likely the latter). Of course, in noir, even if protagonists are existentially stuck in their lives, they are always trying to move. And of course, they get hurt. Here, that role is played by Luntz (a name that in and of itself, tells you prett
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I don't know what it is about Denis Johnson stories, but they just work for me, especially when they are about substance abusing lowlifes, especially especially when they are read by Will Patton.
This is like a novelette fulll of non-sequiturs (punctuation is on me, since I've transcribed this from the audiobook).
This is like a novelette fulll of non-sequiturs (punctuation is on me, since I've transcribed this from the audiobook).
Juarez called. He told Gamble, "A really funny thing happened."...more
" I'm not in the mood for funny."
"This is a really funny thing, but it's not for this kind of phone. This is a payphone-
A nice novella noir -- neat. If only everyone listened to the title -- everybody kept moving and getting hurt. Johnson's writing brings it with the dark side of humanity while pulling out the shadowed, but lighter more humane side of even his most jaded characters.
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Feb 03, 2018
Keeley
marked it as to-read
Jul 02, 2020
Edel
marked it as to-read
Feb 18, 2025
Stephanie
marked it as to-read
