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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
An enjoyable tale with twists and turns bringing the normal cast of characters into relationship with a new bunch. Walter Mosley knows how to craft a winding narrative that straightens just before the end.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Really enjoy this series set in 1960s Los Angeles
I thought Walter Mosley had retired (or, well, killed) Easy Rawlins back in "Blonde Faith". Somehow, after a hiatus of a few years, he managed to sneak out three new novels in almost as few years. I've inhaled those during the past month, and what can I say? Easy is an old friend by now, and slipping back into his skin feels almost like putting on a favorite coat. More about the time and place than the mysteries, Mosley's books evoke the same sense of witnessing history in progress as "Mad Men" did, but from the perspective of black America. Highly recommended.
The latest Easy Rawlins book was thoroughly enjoyable. Rawlins is such an interesting character. The books take place in a near past - it's 1970 in this book. LA is still highly segregated, there are no cell phones or personal computers. Needing change for phone booths is essential. Rawlins is asked to help find a young black genius physicist innocent. While he was looking for his mother, he chance upon a body. The police burst in and arrested him with very little evidence other than that he is a young black man. He's lived a sheltered life. He knows he hasn't done anything so why is he under arrest. A very dangerous man known as Charcoal Joe is currently in prison for a short sentence. Through a friend of Easy's, he offers him $18,000 to prove the young man innocent. The Rawlings books, like Mosley's other books, are meditations on racism and what it's like to live as a black man in a hostile white world. One example: Easy goes to a diner in a white neighborhood. A waitress calls the police. Sound familiar? Some things never change. Still, Easy goes on about his business. Murder, torture, mayhem and more happen in this book. At the end only a few are left standing. Luckily, Easy is one of them!
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not my favorite Walter Mosley books, but it was likeable. The beginning of the story was confusing, but it eventually cae around.
It took a few chapters before the story unfolded in a way that engaged me but once it did I was in. I have read a few of the earlier books in the series but did not really like them enough to keep up with the series. So while some characters were familiar there was definitely backstories that I contributed to the characters decision making.
Masterful writing bogged down by hard-to-follow plot and too many characters
There is no denying that Walter Mosely can write like nobody's business. In creating the main character Easy Rawlins, Mosely captures the essence of what it's like to be a black man in the 1960s, as well as what it's like to be (mostly) on the right side of the law when others around are criminal.
The lastest installment of the Easy Rawlins series proved to be too much of a good thing. There were far too many characters and I couldn't keep them all straight. I don't think I'd make a good gangster, becuase I couldn't keep track of the plot. As one other reviewer said, "At the end of the book I still didn't know who had the money."
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There is no denying that Walter Mosely can write like nobody's business. In creating the main character Easy Rawlins, Mosely captures the essence of what it's like to be a black man in the 1960s, as well as what it's like to be (mostly) on the right side of the law when others around are criminal.
The lastest installment of the Easy Rawlins series proved to be too much of a good thing. There were far too many characters and I couldn't keep them all straight. I don't think I'd make a good gangster, becuase I couldn't keep track of the plot. As one other reviewer said, "At the end of the book I still didn't know who had the money."
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence, Murder