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elinacre's review
3.0
a little less...just less, than i remember other books by the author being, but still funny and fast!
audrey042's review against another edition
5.0
L’auteur nous propose ici une fable des temps modernes dressant le portrait d’un homme, ni ange ni démon, qui dans une sorte de vendetta personnelle, a sacrifié un avenir prometteur, mais vide de sens, pour s’opposer à un système financier fou et hors de contrôle. Avec un cynisme à toute épreuve, l’auteur nous transporte dans une valse ininterrompue et rythmée d’événements entre courses-poursuites sur terre et mer. Endiablé et cynique à souhait, voici un roman que vous n’êtes pas prêts de lâcher !
Chronique complète sur le blog : https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/coup-de-vent-mark-haskell-smith/
Chronique complète sur le blog : https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/coup-de-vent-mark-haskell-smith/
amarj33t_5ingh's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Blown is one of those American fiction masterpieces which exploit the fact that life does not always make sense.
It is crisp, cultured and full of nymphomania as well as Wall Street corruption. The protagonist drives the story well and Smith delivers a sucker-punch ending bolstered by dizzying thrills and spills permeating his narrative.
Blown will make sense to mature readers who have screeched along the roller coaster of life. Take it from me, it's not for the faint of heart.
It is crisp, cultured and full of nymphomania as well as Wall Street corruption. The protagonist drives the story well and Smith delivers a sucker-punch ending bolstered by dizzying thrills and spills permeating his narrative.
Blown will make sense to mature readers who have screeched along the roller coaster of life. Take it from me, it's not for the faint of heart.
mwana's review
5.0
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE.
First of all, fuck this book and everything it stands for. Secondly, fuck this book sideways and everything it stands for. Thirdly, I fucking loved it.
Most importantly, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Blown is a "satire" that covers the greed, sexual desire and crimes in Wall Street.
I honestly don't know how to react to this book except to say
The book follows Bryan, a 2D man who embezzled $17 million from his clients; Seo-Yun Kim, an aspergey Korean American woman who was as heartbreakingly straightforward as she was occasionally funny; Neal a lonely gay investigative accountant type person who the author seems to have a grudge against; Chloe, the most hateful career adventurer who is more bitter than a cracked capsule and frankly the absolute vilest of these people and; Piet a 4 ft 7 in man with a condition that made his dick extra large, is a bonafide ass whisperer and also single-handedly responsible for my favourite part of the entire "satire".
Piet had a unique relationship to women's bottoms. Not only was he a connoisseur of culo, an aficionado of ass, but he felt that women's asses communicated to him, through signs and sephamores. They sent him messages, gave him instructions, told him how they wanted to be caressed or if they preferred to be roughed up a bit. They teased, they invited, they told him stories of heartache and pain, triumph and ecstasy. His ability to read an ass wasn't a superpower; it was a skill he'd developed by paying close attention.
After Bryan steals the money and runs off to the Caribbean, Seo-yun takes the opportunity to escape her smothering fiance and accompanies Neal to apprehend Bryan and get their money back. Piet- a resident of the Caymans or wherever the fuck they were- was some kind of investigator who was to provide them with additional "muscle".
Things get complicated when a clammy-handed banker who had assisted Bryan to launder the money ends up dead.
It's worth it to note that this author went to the Game of Thrones school of killing off characters unexpectedly. Thankfully, this story has no likeable characters. They all range from the bizarre to the hilarious. And Neal was somewhat pitiable. But with how much misery the poor guy endures, and the ending the writer gave to him- you wonder if he has something against gay accountants just doing their jobs. The story itself was as far removed from my life as utterly possible. Like reading a page out of the devil's diary.
It reminded me of how I felt when I attended my first air show when I was 9. Planes! Cheers! Excitement! But I had no idea what the agenda of the event was or even who won at the end of the day.
I was just along for the ride.
So should you read it? Sure.
First of all, fuck this book and everything it stands for. Secondly, fuck this book sideways and everything it stands for. Thirdly, I fucking loved it.
Most importantly, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Blown is a "satire" that covers the greed, sexual desire and crimes in Wall Street.
I honestly don't know how to react to this book except to say
The book follows Bryan, a 2D man who embezzled $17 million from his clients; Seo-Yun Kim, an aspergey Korean American woman who was as heartbreakingly straightforward as she was occasionally funny; Neal a lonely gay investigative accountant type person who the author seems to have a grudge against; Chloe, the most hateful career adventurer who is more bitter than a cracked capsule and frankly the absolute vilest of these people and; Piet a 4 ft 7 in man with a condition that made his dick extra large, is a bonafide ass whisperer and also single-handedly responsible for my favourite part of the entire "satire".
Piet had a unique relationship to women's bottoms. Not only was he a connoisseur of culo, an aficionado of ass, but he felt that women's asses communicated to him, through signs and sephamores. They sent him messages, gave him instructions, told him how they wanted to be caressed or if they preferred to be roughed up a bit. They teased, they invited, they told him stories of heartache and pain, triumph and ecstasy. His ability to read an ass wasn't a superpower; it was a skill he'd developed by paying close attention.
After Bryan steals the money and runs off to the Caribbean, Seo-yun takes the opportunity to escape her smothering fiance and accompanies Neal to apprehend Bryan and get their money back. Piet- a resident of the Caymans or wherever the fuck they were- was some kind of investigator who was to provide them with additional "muscle".
Things get complicated when a clammy-handed banker who had assisted Bryan to launder the money ends up dead.
It's worth it to note that this author went to the Game of Thrones school of killing off characters unexpectedly. Thankfully, this story has no likeable characters. They all range from the bizarre to the hilarious. And Neal was somewhat pitiable. But with how much misery the poor guy endures, and the ending the writer gave to him- you wonder if he has something against gay accountants just doing their jobs. The story itself was as far removed from my life as utterly possible. Like reading a page out of the devil's diary.
It reminded me of how I felt when I attended my first air show when I was 9. Planes! Cheers! Excitement! But I had no idea what the agenda of the event was or even who won at the end of the day.
I was just along for the ride.
So should you read it? Sure.
almostokay's review
4.0
Bryan LeBlanc decided to trade a life as a lackey to a Wall Street bank for sailing, beautiful women, great food and a somewhat-endless paradise. However, he decides the best way to do that is to embezzle money from some of the bank's clients (~ $15 million). All he has to do is get away with it. Knowing the ins and out of how banks should make this easy, right?
This book was a quick, fun read if you don't mind lots of sex and... lots of mentioning of sex. Many may think this book is nonsensical but entertainment is entertainment and I was definitely entertained!
I did appreciate how the story was presented by different characters and how diverse they were - a Korean-American woman, a gay man, a Black man from Curaçao. Even despite the chase to catch Bryan and/or the money, it was surprisingly an interesting commentary on the lengths people would go to for money.
There's no real way to explain my experience with this book but it was a refreshing change of pace and content that I didn't realize I needed. It was a matter-of-fact situation with characters making impromptu decisions for their own happiness which seems fine by me. Money, crime, betrayal, sex positivity (surprisingly), no drugs (also surprisingly) and a common quest to find something greater in life than just the mundane.
This book was a quick, fun read if you don't mind lots of sex and... lots of mentioning of sex. Many may think this book is nonsensical but entertainment is entertainment and I was definitely entertained!
I did appreciate how the story was presented by different characters and how diverse they were - a Korean-American woman, a gay man, a Black man from Curaçao. Even despite the chase to catch Bryan and/or the money, it was surprisingly an interesting commentary on the lengths people would go to for money.
There's no real way to explain my experience with this book but it was a refreshing change of pace and content that I didn't realize I needed. It was a matter-of-fact situation with characters making impromptu decisions for their own happiness which seems fine by me. Money, crime, betrayal, sex positivity (surprisingly), no drugs (also surprisingly) and a common quest to find something greater in life than just the mundane.
rosseroo's review
2.0
This has much of the feel of the kind of breezy crime caper Elmore Leonard was so famous for, alas not quite at that level of execution. The plot is pretty straightforward, as Forex trader Bryan LeBlanc pulls the trigger on his scheme to pull out of the Wall Street rat race with $17 million of investor money, and live a life where he chooses what to do. The mechanics of this are not that interesting (the usual financial market dirty tricks leading to a bank in the Caymans), but relief comes in the form of those pursuing him. As in so many of Leonard's books, there's a quite colorful cast of characters pursuing the $17 million -- including a mopey gay investigator who works for Bryan's firm, Bryan's Korean-American boss who is fleeing her impending wedding, Curaçaoan private eye Piet Room, an Australian solo sailor, and the bank manager in cahoots with Bryan.
Various wacky antics ensure, albeit with a good deal more explicit sex than in any of Leonard's books. However, the book wants to have this kind of wacky caper plot while also trawling darker themes around fulfillment and happiness. By the end, a lot of people are dead and the book ends on a sour note that's an awkward contrast to all that came before. Not sure I can recommend this to anyone, even as a light beach read.
Various wacky antics ensure, albeit with a good deal more explicit sex than in any of Leonard's books. However, the book wants to have this kind of wacky caper plot while also trawling darker themes around fulfillment and happiness. By the end, a lot of people are dead and the book ends on a sour note that's an awkward contrast to all that came before. Not sure I can recommend this to anyone, even as a light beach read.
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