Falling Angel
by William Hjortsberg
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Book Summary Information
Author: William HjortsbergIntroduction: James Crumley
Foreword: Ridley Scott
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-01
ISBN: 1933618086
Number of pages: 302
Publisher: Centipede Press
Book Reviews of Falling Angel
Book Review: Falling Angel
Summary: 5 Stars
Over Halloween I took the time to rewatch one of my favorite horror movies, Angel Heart which I hadn't watched in while. Seeing it again I decided to remedy the fact that I've never read William Hjortsberg's source novel. Of the plot movie or book I won't reveal much but to say both are very similar despite following vastly different plots.
The plot as it is concerns Harry Angel a P.I. in 1959 who's hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre to find missing singer Johnny Favorite. As Angel begins his search He comes into contact with an assortment of characters and learns that Favorite was big into Voodoo. Soon though someone starts murdering witnesses in graphic ways and Harry is wondering about the true identity of Cyphre.
Its easy to see reading the book that Hjortsberg was heavily influenced from the pulp writers like Hammet and Chandler. Harry the ever present narrator has the hard bitten charm of a Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade. Plot wise theres also the femme fatale in Epiphany who conducts Voodoo rituals late night in a New York Park while Ethan Kruesmark is the Noah Cross of the title. The chapters are relatively short and the title moves fast.
Comparing it to the movie I found it strange that the film was set in New Orleans. The voodoo setting is more effective in the book with late night devil worship in abandoned subways, and the scene in a park with chanting and music which is more effective than setting the scene in a swamp. Theres also a bit with Coney Island where Harry drives out looking for leads that I liked where He seeks answers at a freak show and wax museum. Theres also a bit more scenes with Cyphre showing him influencing others as a stage act where He changes his name and dress while performing what could ammount to magic tricks that I liked.
In the end its a really good story, tightly plotted and written. The only complaint I could have against the book is that if You've seen the film you know the truth on Johnny Favorite takes away the ending. I still ike story as a whole but its lost some punch.
A word on this edition. Theres an afterword, a foreward, and bit by Stephen King in appreciation for the novel. There is also a very amusing Western story called Sidekick where the mocked partner of a gunslinger finally has his revenge with the ultimate prank at the end of the story. I wasn't expecting to read it but I'm glad I did. Its an amusing quick read just as good as Falling Angel. For twelve bucks picking up this book might just make you a Hjortsberg fan.
Summary of Falling Angel
"A terrific book-what might have happened if Raymond Chandler had written The Exorcist."-Stephen King
"Falling Angel combines the best of the classic detective story . . . with elements of the occult with surprising humor and wit. . . . This is the literary love-child of Raymond Chandler and Stephen King. . . . Not for the faint-of-heart."-from the foreword by Ridley Scott
Falling Angel pits a tough New York private eye against any detective's most fearsome adversary. A routine missing-persons case soon turns into a fiendish nightmare in which the shadow detective Harry Angel chases seems to be his own.
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