Reviews

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg

bananalord's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

etakloknok's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

the_ratking's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

mindycat84's review

dark mysterious tense

4.0

coleycole's review against another edition

2.0

I kinda don't even know what to say about this book? Big twisty end that would have paid off more if the rest of the book had presaged it a bit...? The magic/voodoo/devil worshipping bits are...? There's a lot of hard boiled detective writing that I enjoy, but I am very, very over male writers acting like relationships between 17 yos and adult men are nbd.

watsy17's review

dark tense slow-paced

3.5

brisamar's review against another edition

4.0

Muy entretenido y al final la vuelta de tuerca no la vi llegar, cada capítulo quedaba en suspenso lo que motivaba a seguir leyendo.

aluminumbird's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

When I was in high school, I remember there was a news cycle about Angel Heart being an x-rated film with explicit sex. Surprisingly, I never thought about it again. Then recently I watched it on a streaming service for the first time and really liked it. Which led me to this book. 

I really like the NYC landscape in the book. I think he spans Harlem to Coney Island? 

Feels like an old Raymond Chandler shaggy dog mystery - kinda pulpy and self-consciously trashy - but more focused and literary. 

I basically picked this up to fill in the world of the movie, but I ended up liking the book on its own. Very fun read!

vandermeer's review

1.0

Kann auch nach 17% kein Interesse aufbringen.

beefmaster's review

4.0

Okay believe it or not I figured it out with the first dream Harry Angel has on page 77 in my edition. He sees his twin in the dream. Combine that with the former fiance claiming to be a twin led to conclude correctly that the person Harry is looking for is himself. Couple of clues cemented it for me: Harry serving in the war, his wax nose, the astrology chart being tbe exact same. I'm giving this 4 stars because I liked knowing what happened ahead of time and the pleasure I got knowing I outsmarted the book