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duparker's review against another edition
4.0
Great example of Pelecanos' and his world. The start was a bit awkward, but I fell into a rhythm and really enjoyed the story, characters and pacing. Looking forward to the other books in the series.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
A World War Two vet drifts into providing muscle for a protection racket in Washington D.C. but really does not have the stomach for the work. I thought this was a very interesting look at DC after the war, especially within the immigrant community.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Joe Recevo and Pete Karras were friends since they were kids, until their boss decided he didn't like Pete and had him badly beaten, giving him a crippling knee injury. Three years later, their lives will soon intersect when their old boss decides he wants Nick Stefanos, Karras' employer at a diner, to start paying him protection. Who will be left standing after the Big Blowdown?
Here we are. Another great book by George Pelecanos, the first in his DC Quartet. In the Big Blowdown, Pelecanos paints a picture of life in DC, with two vets, Karras and Recevo, as the main characters, taking them from their teens to their thirties. As with Pelecanos' other books, the Washington DC setting is a character unto itself.
The crime elements in this one aren't as pronounced as in the previous three Pelecanos book I've read, the Nick Stefanos trilogy, Nick being the grandson of the Nick in this book. The crime elements stick to the sidelines for most of the book, namely Florek looking for his missing sister and the hooker murders. Everything comes together at the end, just in time for the Big Blowdown.
Much like Nick Stefanos in his trilogy, Pete Karras is a conflicted character, not really sure how to act with his family. Or his mistress, for that matter. I think it's partly because of his experiences in World War II and partly from his upbringing. It sure goes a long way toward explaining why Dimitri Karras acts the way he does in [b:King Suckerman|307443|King Suckerman|George Pelecanos|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1314314188s/307443.jpg|298413], the next book in the DC Quartet.
Reading this right after reading the Stefanos trilogy, it's amazing to see what direction Pelecanos' writing was going, from a hardboiled style to a more literary one.
Four stars. I will continue to preach the Pelecanos Gospel.
Here we are. Another great book by George Pelecanos, the first in his DC Quartet. In the Big Blowdown, Pelecanos paints a picture of life in DC, with two vets, Karras and Recevo, as the main characters, taking them from their teens to their thirties. As with Pelecanos' other books, the Washington DC setting is a character unto itself.
The crime elements in this one aren't as pronounced as in the previous three Pelecanos book I've read, the Nick Stefanos trilogy, Nick being the grandson of the Nick in this book. The crime elements stick to the sidelines for most of the book, namely Florek looking for his missing sister and the hooker murders. Everything comes together at the end, just in time for the Big Blowdown.
Much like Nick Stefanos in his trilogy, Pete Karras is a conflicted character, not really sure how to act with his family. Or his mistress, for that matter. I think it's partly because of his experiences in World War II and partly from his upbringing. It sure goes a long way toward explaining why Dimitri Karras acts the way he does in [b:King Suckerman|307443|King Suckerman|George Pelecanos|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1314314188s/307443.jpg|298413], the next book in the DC Quartet.
Reading this right after reading the Stefanos trilogy, it's amazing to see what direction Pelecanos' writing was going, from a hardboiled style to a more literary one.
Four stars. I will continue to preach the Pelecanos Gospel.
uosdwisrdewoh's review against another edition
4.0
A taut crime novel set mostly in postwar Washington, D.C.
I usually don't care for crime and suspense, but Pelecanos's style lifts the book above formula, with his fine eye for plotting and ability to sketch his characters quickly and effectively. His prose only occasionally lapses into the sentimentality or tough-guy-speak that one usually finds in crime novels. Overall, though, his portrait of Washington, D.C. in the 40s sings, with not a single detail ringing false. He builds suspense not through wild plot twists or intrigue (the only real mystery in the book is pretty obvious once a big clue drops), but through the gradual accretion of detail that sucks you into the story as a literary novel would (Pelecanos would go on to become a writer on The Wire, using these skills to script some of the show's most powerful episodes).
This is the first novel of his D.C. Quartet. I eagerly look forward to reading it all.
I usually don't care for crime and suspense, but Pelecanos's style lifts the book above formula, with his fine eye for plotting and ability to sketch his characters quickly and effectively. His prose only occasionally lapses into the sentimentality or tough-guy-speak that one usually finds in crime novels. Overall, though, his portrait of Washington, D.C. in the 40s sings, with not a single detail ringing false. He builds suspense not through wild plot twists or intrigue (the only real mystery in the book is pretty obvious once a big clue drops), but through the gradual accretion of detail that sucks you into the story as a literary novel would (Pelecanos would go on to become a writer on The Wire, using these skills to script some of the show's most powerful episodes).
This is the first novel of his D.C. Quartet. I eagerly look forward to reading it all.
lilkatesbooknook's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
oedipa_maas's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty straight-forward noir. A little predictable, but enjoyable in a one-day read kind of way.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Like George Pelecanos, I've transitioned from my roaring twenties phase of parties and Cool Guy mystery novels to my thirties phase of maturity and focus. This is a good historical tale: part bildungsroman, part small-scale gangster fable, part ode to post-war DC. I had an idea of what was coming given my knowledge of the children/grandchildren in the Stefanos and Karras clans but the ending still impacted me and it reminded me how Pelecanos is not a sentimental writer. Whatever dirtbag stuff he did in his 20s, he has no desire to romanticize it. One of my favorites of his.
heyhawk's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Straight noir set in the 40s and 50s featuring the parents and grandparents of some of the characters in my favorite Pelecanos novel I've read so far, The Sweet Forever. This is the first in the DC quartet.
Like Ellroy's LA Quartet this doesn't flinch. Unlike Ellroy, Pelecanos lets in the occasional ray of light, which seems more honest. It's the tone of The Wire filtered through a Bogart movie. Recommended.
Straight noir set in the 40s and 50s featuring the parents and grandparents of some of the characters in my favorite Pelecanos novel I've read so far, The Sweet Forever. This is the first in the DC quartet.
Like Ellroy's LA Quartet this doesn't flinch. Unlike Ellroy, Pelecanos lets in the occasional ray of light, which seems more honest. It's the tone of The Wire filtered through a Bogart movie. Recommended.
thomasroche's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this richly textured noirish crime novel set in the Greek community of Washington DC in the immediate postwar era. I came to it because I was so frustrated with James Ellroy's "Perfidia," and Pelecanos's DC Quartet seems to be one of the few crime series at all similar or related to Ellroy's LA Quartet. Unfortunately, from what I can tell they're not even remotely similar. The two authors have styles so unbelievably different it's pretty much impossible to compare them. Nonetheless, I loved The Big Blowdown's details about Greek-American culture, and the sights and smells of DC at the time. Sometimes Pelecanos indulges his history-nerd pop culture trivia obsession a little too deeply, but ultimately it all comes out in the wash. This is a stupendously enjoyable and yet memorably melancholy book, extremely readable and filled with crystalline moments.
ponyonmyboat's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5