jimmypat's review
3.0
A crime novel in the typical Willeford sense- crime takes the back seat to the characters. This was not my favorite Willeford, but still good. The shock ending was interesting, and does open up a new dimension to the novel, but I’m not sure that it is totally convincing.
paulataua's review
3.0
It might have been titled ‘When Harry Met Helen’. Harry picks Helen up and they slowly make there way down the road of alcoholic destruction. There are no upturns in the story. It’s a whisky sour, but it’s a whisky sour with a twist. Not a fun read, but one that stays with you long after you finish it. I wouldn't be surprised if I came back and upgraded to four stars at sometime in the future.
brinnet's review
3.0
The reason to read this novella is definitely for the ending. It is a gritty read, but the intense scenes are short and occasional.
Unfortunately, the narrative was not all that compelling to me, but after reading through it, I went back and re-read a few key sections.
The book is revealing, and without giving away spoilers, I can't even suggest who I think would be intrigued by it.
Pick it up if you like to question things. And if you aren't okay with reading/skimming past some graphic scenes.
Unfortunately, the narrative was not all that compelling to me, but after reading through it, I went back and re-read a few key sections.
The book is revealing, and without giving away spoilers, I can't even suggest who I think would be intrigued by it.
Pick it up if you like to question things. And if you aren't okay with reading/skimming past some graphic scenes.
jakewritesbooks's review
4.0
I don’t know what really to make of Charles Willeford’s Pick-Up in 250 words. It’s a good book but having seen another book do the same trick the author does here, and more effectively in my opinion, it’s tough to really have sentiments about it.
On the one hand, the tale itself is interesting on face value before the last two sentences. A familiar noir fable of two losers playing out the string. The art angle is interesting as Willeford’s art fascination is not something you see in his contemporaries. All of it is fine.
And then, something happens that kind of annoys me as it’s a familiar trope in crime tales. So we go through the song-and-dance with that. But it gets somewhat interesting. And then near the end, I’m wondering what all of this was for…only to be hit with the twist.
As I read this, Jason Starr’s Twisted City came to mind (no, that’s not the book I’m referencing in the first place). I don’t know how I feel about a story that pulls the rug out from under you at the very end. I think I appreciate what the writer tries to do more than how they actually do it. I like getting lost in a story and when it turns out that I should have been reading it differently all along, I often feel cheated. Which is why I appreciated the other book pulling off it’s trick earlier in the story rather than in the final words. It forced me to grapple with what I had read while moving forward with the rest of the difficult tale.
Anyway, this is still a good noir story and it would have shocked in the 50s. But I’m also annoyed with it.
On the one hand, the tale itself is interesting on face value before the last two sentences. A familiar noir fable of two losers playing out the string. The art angle is interesting as Willeford’s art fascination is not something you see in his contemporaries. All of it is fine.
And then, something happens that kind of annoys me as it’s a familiar trope in crime tales. So we go through the song-and-dance with that. But it gets somewhat interesting. And then near the end, I’m wondering what all of this was for…only to be hit with the twist.
As I read this, Jason Starr’s Twisted City came to mind (no, that’s not the book I’m referencing in the first place). I don’t know how I feel about a story that pulls the rug out from under you at the very end. I think I appreciate what the writer tries to do more than how they actually do it. I like getting lost in a story and when it turns out that I should have been reading it differently all along, I often feel cheated. Which is why I appreciated the other book pulling off it’s trick earlier in the story rather than in the final words. It forced me to grapple with what I had read while moving forward with the rest of the difficult tale.
Anyway, this is still a good noir story and it would have shocked in the 50s. But I’m also annoyed with it.
nightowlxls's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cullen_mi's review
5.0
4.5 stars
A great character study of a couple of people in the dregs of society. The writing is crisp and punchy, and the plot has excess to it at all.
A great character study of a couple of people in the dregs of society. The writing is crisp and punchy, and the plot has excess to it at all.
ericwelch's review
4.0
Pick-Up by Charles Willeford, told in the first-person tells the story of a painter who has lost faith in his abilities and is working at odd jobs in San Francisco. He picks up a girl at a bar where he is working, falls in love with her, and is drawn into her web of despair. Soon they have agreed to kill themselves, fail, try again and this time partially succeed. There is a fantastic surprise ending to this well-done novel.
inglorioustimes's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
peebee's review
4.0
It's like if L'Etranger bothered to at any point make even one goddamn bit of sense. Some crazy dark shit for an old pulp novel.
dashausfrau's review
3.0
This book raises all kinds of questions. Could you really sit in jail & smoke 40 free cigarettes a day in the 50s? Did the Red Cross really give them away? Does this qualify as a crime novel, given that we know exactly who committed the crime & why? Was it absolutely no big deal if you tried to kill someone & failed back then?
I kind of liked the noir/nihilism, but the way the author and his protagonist viewed women seemed pretty messed up - which I suppose was the whole idea in pulp fiction, but still, Ew.
I kind of liked the noir/nihilism, but the way the author and his protagonist viewed women seemed pretty messed up - which I suppose was the whole idea in pulp fiction, but still, Ew.