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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Well, that was a great running start on my 2023 reading. This is simply on another level of storytelling to most writers. The early chapters do so much, and with such economy, that I was grinning as I savoured the style of it all. The skill and wit were apparent right from the off. Chili Palmer is a gem of a character too. Watching the plot unfold around him was a pleasure. Chili - a loan shark with a love of movies - arrives circuitously in LA and coolly, adeptly, dips his toe into the movie business. To say more would risk spoiling the fun of watching Chili’s evolving journey, but, suffice to say, it’s well worth a read.
This was a fantastic book, and I'm very glad I found it in a library during a sale. I think I got I paid around 5 dollars for a paper grocery bag filled with books, and this was one of them. Definitely worth the price, and now am a little disappointed I don't have any other Elmore Leonard books.
This rating is coming from someone who has already seen the John Travolta movie, and the show, and I would rank it right in between those two. I also saw the sequel movie, Be Cool and I'm not so sure I'm going to check out that book.
I don't know though. Maybe the book is a lot better than the movie, and I'll just never know because I don't want to give it a chance.
This rating is coming from someone who has already seen the John Travolta movie, and the show, and I would rank it right in between those two. I also saw the sequel movie, Be Cool and I'm not so sure I'm going to check out that book.
I don't know though. Maybe the book is a lot better than the movie, and I'll just never know because I don't want to give it a chance.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Short and snappy, entirely relies on dialogue and characters are so unique and specific. This book is such a quick and engaging journey about the movie business and organized crime. Very Tarantino. I’ll definitely be reading more of Leonard.
Fuckin endings, man, they weren't as easy as they looked.
Being a huge fan of the movie, it was risky for me to read this book. If the book is better, the movie is tainted; if the movie is better, then it's a bummer and waste of time. Fortunately the book is just as good, funny, and exciting as the movie.
Three disconnected thoughts on Get Shorty:
-It's a surprisingly experimental crime thriller, flirting with meta-fiction as it explores movie people who can't quite tell the difference between make-believe and reality. Everyone who comes into contact with Hollywood begins to experience this dissolving border between real and fake almost immediately - they start re-scripting the scenes of their life, imagining the different camera angles from which they could be captured, and are never sure if they're being themselves or playing a part. At one point four chapters go by, and a good deal of plot is developed, and you realize the characters have been sitting at the kitchen island the whole time.
-A good crime writer takes a bunch of cliches and makes them interesting again. Elmore Leonard is a very good crime writer. There's an airport locker in this novel for God's sake - nobody but drug dealers in books and movies ever use those things. I'm surprised there aren't federal agents watching all airport lockers at all times, just arresting anyone who opens them. (In this novel, actually, that's exactly what happens.)
-Conventional wisdom is that Elmore Leonard is really good at dialogue, and it's true. One of the reasons he's so good is that he never lets a character answer a mundane question. A chauffeur holding a name placard at the airport asks his client, "How was your flight?" 99/100 crime writers out have the client say, "Not bad," or "It was a flight, how do you think it was?" Leonard's guy says: "I hope you drive better than you fuckin spell." Genius.
-It's a surprisingly experimental crime thriller, flirting with meta-fiction as it explores movie people who can't quite tell the difference between make-believe and reality. Everyone who comes into contact with Hollywood begins to experience this dissolving border between real and fake almost immediately - they start re-scripting the scenes of their life, imagining the different camera angles from which they could be captured, and are never sure if they're being themselves or playing a part. At one point four chapters go by, and a good deal of plot is developed, and you realize the characters have been sitting at the kitchen island the whole time.
-A good crime writer takes a bunch of cliches and makes them interesting again. Elmore Leonard is a very good crime writer. There's an airport locker in this novel for God's sake - nobody but drug dealers in books and movies ever use those things. I'm surprised there aren't federal agents watching all airport lockers at all times, just arresting anyone who opens them. (In this novel, actually, that's exactly what happens.)
-Conventional wisdom is that Elmore Leonard is really good at dialogue, and it's true. One of the reasons he's so good is that he never lets a character answer a mundane question. A chauffeur holding a name placard at the airport asks his client, "How was your flight?" 99/100 crime writers out have the client say, "Not bad," or "It was a flight, how do you think it was?" Leonard's guy says: "I hope you drive better than you fuckin spell." Genius.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a good read. As with most Elmore Leonard novels the characters are intriguing and the action is paced just right.
This was a fun change of pace! Wonderfully written fight scenes. Chili is a great character. Who knows? Maybe I’ll pick up another Leonard book in the future.