Get Shorty
by Elmore Leonard
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Book Summary Information
Author: Elmore LeonardEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-02-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 304
Book Reviews of Get Shorty
Book Review: Great characters in the Damon Runyon tradition
Summary: 5 Stars
Another reviewer pointed out the Damon Runyon influence and it definitely is there and is indeed an enhancement to this classic crime novel. The small time loan shark, Chili Palmer is the principle character here and he well carries the story, yet is ably assisted by other indelible players such as horror film producer Harry Zimm, superstar actor Michael Weir, former scream queen Karen Flores, wise guy RayBones, and "investor Bo Catlett who's willing to kill if necessary in order to protect his investments. The author's knack for snappy dialogue and profound insight of what makes both major and minor hustlers tick bring these people to life and enables each to impact the plot which strongly affected by each individual's actions. And each of these characters each act and interact in front of a finely tuned Hollywood background which is as skillfully painted as Elmore Leonard's portraits of such cities as Detroit, Miami, Atlantic City, New Orleans, etc. If you're totally unfamiliar with Leonard, this is a great starting point, and if you have already discovered him, this is a must read to experience him in top form.
Summary of Get Shorty
In a novel filled with his signatures--nerve-shattering suspense, crackling dialogue, scathing wit--Elmore Leonard shows once again why he sets the standard against which all other crime novels are measured. In Get Shorty, he takes a mobster to Hollywood, where the women are gorgeous, the men are corrupt, and making it big isn't all that different from making your bones: you gotta know who to pitch, who to hit, and how to knock 'em dead.Nobody writes openings like Elmore Leonard. Case in point: "When Chili first came to Miami Beach twelve years ago they were having one of their off-and-on cold winters: thirty-four degrees the day he met Tommy Carlo for lunch at Vesuvio's on South Collins and had his leather jacket ripped off." You need to know about this because you need to know why there's bad blood between Chili Palmer and Ray Bones, the guy who stole his coat and is now his boss--and has ordered him to collect $4,200 from a dead guy. Except the guy didn't die; he went to Las Vegas with $300,000. So Chili goes to Las Vegas, one thing leads to another, and pretty soon he's in Los Angeles, hanging out with a movie producer named Harry Zimm and learning what it takes to be a player in Hollywood.
Get Shorty is classic Elmore Leonard: While other people write "crime fiction," Leonard's come up with a masterful social comedy that happens to be about criminals (and other fast operators). He's a master of snappy dialogue and dizzying plot twists. The best parts of Get Shorty move along so briskly you almost forget there's somebody with a firm control over the story. And you'll be rooting for Chili to get the money, the girl, and the studio deal. --Ron Hogan
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