Lush Life: A Novel by Richard Price
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Book Reviews of Lush Life: A Novel
Book Review: Neither Lush nor Lively
Summary: 2 Stars
Is it fair to review a book that one hasn't finished? As a good friend of mine has said, "You don't have to finish an apple to know it's rotten."
I'm not sure what Richard Price intended this book to be. It's not a mystery: We know who the murderer is less than halfway through the novel. It's not a thriller: The plot--what little there is of it--is thin and boring. It's not a character study: The characters are interchangeable and forgettable.
The novel centers on one Eric Cash, wrongly accused by the police of murdering his fellow bartender. A promising beginning--but then, after pages and pages of minute description of the cops interrogation of Cash, he is released after the evidence against him collapses! So now the cops have to search for the real murderer--but we already know who he is: a would-be gangster adolescent who probably shot Cash's friend by accident. (I'm not giving anything away here--this is all revealed less than halfway through the book).
I don't know why this book has received the accolades it has--a dull, dull effort. Read Stieg Larsson's novels if you're in the mood for a relentlessly gripping mystery with fully realized characters.
Book Review: Better as a film
Summary: 2 Stars
I read this book with high expectation because it was highly recommended by a book critic I respect. I had many problems with this book. I have never before read a book full of such lame, hackneyed characters such that you just do not care what happens to them. The characters were not even of those that you like to hate. I was hoping that the author would linger a bit more on the despair and desperation of wanna-be artists, but this was just barely touched upon. I understand that the author was trying to portray "real-life" repartees, but this was completely lost on me due to ineffective utilization of police and street jargon. There are authors out there who use this similar type of literary device but are more effective because you understand what is going on even if you are not familar with detective speak or street hustler banter. The book reads more like some sort of a screenplay, which does not work in print media. Maybe this book will get made into a movie and more people will like it. The description of the hum and din of New York and its inhabitants was well done.Book Review: a little disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
Price's dialogue is very entertaining, but it reads like a television screenplay. Some characters, particularly the cops, exist for no other reason than to constantly snap off witty one-liners.
The biggest problem was that the story is emotionally lifeless. I never felt any sympathy for Eric Cash, Ike or Billy Marcus, Matty... The only compelling thread is the relationship Yolonda creates with Tristan, but it receives very brief treatment.
I used to spend a lot of time in the LES and Price's version of it doesn't seem quite right. Not sure why, but it's less alive. Entertaining read but I agree with the other reviewers that it can get quite slow.
Book Review: The nostalgia wore off.
Summary: 2 Stars
I was born and raised in New York City's Lower East Side in the "union built coops that flanked the east side of this grubby vista like siege towers" before the neighborhood was gentrified. The nostalgia was refreshing, but Richard Price came across as a James Baldwin / John Steinbeck wannabe. I got to page 364 and couldn't take any more contrived and pointless descriptions. It was as if he tried to make deep points with trivial events, which came to resemble an over the hill boxer who's only chance of victory were a series of unintended hay makers. The entire book was written with lines like that.Book Review: Not Price's best
Summary: 2 Stars
Although there are some wonderful characters in this novel as well as a profound sense of place, it's not one of Price's better efforts. I found the writing to be labored and a bit self indulgent. Also, the book went on too long and would have benefited greatly from a better editor. That said, if you're a die-hard Price fan, Lush Life still may be worth a read.