A review by ben_miller
Legs by William Kennedy

3.0

Marked by Kennedy's wit, charm, and smooth prose, but not as engaging as "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game." I felt the book was a little too long and had to drag myself through the end as the author gets verbose about what it all means. Marcus Gorman, the narrator, begins the story as the reader's surrogate, but by the end has been (in my opinion) corrupted and twisted by what he's seen and done, so that by the end he's constantly apologizing for Jack Diamond and condescending to the "self-righteous moralists" who condemn him. I couldn't quite tell if Kennedy wanted us to agree with Marcus's assessment, or to feel the way I did, which is that Marcus has degenerated and his view of things can't be trusted.

But at any rate, I liked the book, and having already read "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game" I'll look forward to finishing the trilogy with "Ironweed."