Reviews

Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard

martyfried's review against another edition

5.0

A fun book, and if I remember correctly, a fun movie. I didn't remember the details of the movie, only that I liked it, and it had a great cast of characters. I like John Travolta's movies, in spite of his Scientology affiliation. I'm not the type of person to turn against someone because of their beliefs unless I know their beliefs have harmed others. I'm not much good at supporting the cancel culture that is so popular on social media. Anyway, I think of Travolta in the book, which probably helped make it better.

The dialog is fast and furious, humorous, and clever. I think that's one of Elmore Leonard's strong points. But the ending was a little strange and a bit confusing. I probably didn't quite understand it as well as I should.

woltram's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

luana420's review against another edition

5.0

I had never seen the movie, so it’s kinda funny that I go into this one not knowing anything about it besides “Hollywood gangsters maybe?” It’s actually great and certainly deservedly one of the more famous Leonard stories; the character work is wonderful, the plot is twisty without becoming labyrinthine, and the conflict is straightforward and effective. Leonard’s frustration with Hollywood is apparent in this, and literally every non-woman affiliated with Tinseltown is a big fucking baby here. I’m quite curious about the movie now!

amandelirium's review against another edition

5.0

The story's great. The plot's great, the movie's great, but that's not why I loved this book.

Here I am trying to plot out my next book and along comes this gem which is basically a meta-exploration of story-telling, from that first glint of a good idea, to the way it falls apart on you, again and again, but can be bolstered with flashes of insight and workshopping with others.

This scene kills me, where a shylock asks a drug dealer if he knows how to write a screenplay, and the dealer responds,

"Do I know how to write words down on a piece of paper? That's what you do, man, you put one word down after the other as it comes in your head. It isn't like having to learn how to play the piano, like you have to learn notes. You already learned in school how to write, didn't you? I hope so. You have the idea and then you put down what you want to say. Then you get somebody to add in the commas and shit where they belong, if you aren't positive yourself."

I need to print this out and hang it up in my office. Thanks for that, Elmore.

feedingbrett's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Self-awareness is the driving factor of Get Shorty’s narrative, also, it is the impressionable aspect that intrigues and entertains its readers. Elmore Leonard’s trip through Los Angeles is not all about bright lights and fame, ironically it is rather the clamour for such successes and the deprived state that the landscape could often lead its citizens to that feeds this story, all emphasised through the revealing of social threads that shape and gate-keep this system and how it’s manipulated for their gain. While that may seem like a story that breeds and fosters despicable characters, Leonard maintains our sympathy through the peeling of their motivations, opening the rationales that allow them to be identifiable and worthy of our attention. There is a captured feeling of life’s improvised moments, a “one step at a time” mindset that eventuates towards something, whatever that something is we don’t know, but throughout we have an idea of what we want or hope it would be.

binswaggin's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

srchief's review against another edition

4.0

Really good story that pokes fun at Hollywood from an outsider's point of view. In this story Chili Palmer who is a loan shark from Miami traces a loan jumper to LA. Once he is there he discovers that his love of movies could become his new career. He meets up with a movie producer and former actress to produce a movie. He also has to track down the loan jumper, deal with his past issues (that follow him to LA) and some shady producers. It is a faced paced story with a mix of humor and drama.

cbwheelz's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

zzzrevel's review against another edition

4.0

This was a re-read. I have been re-reading several
of Leonard's books and this one struck me as not
quite as up to par. The sparkling dialogue the
author is known for is not as evident in this
one. However, it is a good plot with the normal
types of antics. Recommended as usual for
an Elmore Leonard book.

bracken405's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

4.5

As soon as I saw Dannt Devito was a character in the film all I could do was his voice when reading.