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A review by kandicez
Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I admit to ordering this only because I was halfway through the Justified television series and couldn't remember the details of Fire in the Hole. At least not separately from what rang as familiar on the screen.
This time as I read I couldn't help populating this book with the actors from Justified. Leonard has such a sparse style that it is easy to dismiss his work as simple, but that is a disservice. His words may be simple, but each seems perfectly chosen with economy. There is broiling tension in so many of his scenes, that the welcome respite of the calm description of a Kentucky sky or hillside is sweet relief. Leonard allows the reader to fill in the blanks. Maybe allows is too passive a word. Leonard INSISTS the reader fill in the blanks.
This time as I read I couldn't help populating this book with the actors from Justified. Leonard has such a sparse style that it is easy to dismiss his work as simple, but that is a disservice. His words may be simple, but each seems perfectly chosen with economy. There is broiling tension in so many of his scenes, that the welcome respite of the calm description of a Kentucky sky or hillside is sweet relief. Leonard allows the reader to fill in the blanks. Maybe allows is too passive a word. Leonard INSISTS the reader fill in the blanks.