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kelseymckim's review
4.0
The Long Firm was very engaging and, as cliche as the phrase is, a page-turner. Not overly gory or anything like that, gore gets to me, but a lot of psychological exploration of different people who happened to get close to a major gangster. I recommend it!
rosseroo's review
Arnott uses a variety of first-person voices to tell the story of the rise and fall of a '60s London crime boss in this largely entertaining trip back in time. "Mad Harry" is a charming, but mentally unstable gay East End thug, contemporary to, and sometimes mirroring the famous Kray brothers. His story unfolds though the voices of several people his life has impacted, each of which gets its own section: a kept rent-boy, a debt-ridden fading member of Parliament, an aging washed-up actress, a freelance thug (easily the best section), and a hippie sociologist. Each tells how they became enmeshed in Harry's world, and in telling their tale, reveal a little more about him and his enterprises. The sectional narrative leads to an uneven novel, but compelling nonetheless. There are all kinds of cameo appearances, and according to the Times Literary Supplement, in addition to these, many of the characters are thinly veiled depictions of real people. Arnott does a nice job of recreating some of the seedier side of swinging London (including a bit of mod and skinhead subcultural stuff as well!), along with the argot of the times. Well worth it if you're into British crime movies like 1980's The Long Good Friday, 1971's Get Carter, or even the recent Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.
lnatal's review
2.0
Terry's chance meeting with 1960s gangster Harry Starks in a London nightclub changes his life. Read by author Jake Arnott.
zefrog's review
3.0
The Long Firm is Arnott's first novel and quite a tour de force. It is the indirect portrait of 1960's London gangster, an amalgamation of the Kray brothers.
Although Harry Starks is the true subject here, the book is divided into 5 parts that present the various points of view of people that gravitate around Starks and know different facets of his personality. There's a rent boy, a lord (based on real life Lord Boothby), Jack the Hat (a historical personage though he story is not quite accurate, I believe), a failed actress, and a sociologist. The Krays themselves make a fleeting appearance as well as, Judy Garland or music producer Joe Meek and there are a number of other smaller cameos from real people.
Arnott artfully weaves those stories to conjures up a vivid impression of the London underworld of the swinging 60's and and a no less lurid portrait of his main subject, to that point that, although Starks is objectively a very nasty piece of work, Arnott manages to convey the magnetic charm he ascribes to his character. The reader can't help liking him.
It's clever and it's fun.
The book and its follow-ups were made into a TV series.
Although Harry Starks is the true subject here, the book is divided into 5 parts that present the various points of view of people that gravitate around Starks and know different facets of his personality. There's a rent boy, a lord (based on real life Lord Boothby), Jack the Hat (a historical personage though he story is not quite accurate, I believe), a failed actress, and a sociologist. The Krays themselves make a fleeting appearance as well as, Judy Garland or music producer Joe Meek and there are a number of other smaller cameos from real people.
Arnott artfully weaves those stories to conjures up a vivid impression of the London underworld of the swinging 60's and and a no less lurid portrait of his main subject, to that point that, although Starks is objectively a very nasty piece of work, Arnott manages to convey the magnetic charm he ascribes to his character. The reader can't help liking him.
It's clever and it's fun.
The book and its follow-ups were made into a TV series.
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