baggman's review against another edition
3.0
Two & one half stars for this one. Started strong, the author's style had me intrigued. Soft finish, rather disappointing. For a while I thought that I had come across a new favorite story teller. Oops, not so fast there Bucko.
rosseroo's review
3.0
One of the central themes of noir film and literature is that the past is inescapable, and that's certainly the dominant theme in this long-awaited novel from an acclaimed, but not widely known, writer. The story is narrated by Handy, the sensible one in a trio of three high school friends who lived a life of petty crime back in late '70s Los Angeles. Spurred by an incident involving a girl and some drugs, they decide to step up their game and rip off a local drug dealer. Bad things happen (although what exactly that was isn't laid out until well into the book), and three friends agree to split up and never meet again.
Twenty-five years later, one of the friends is found shot to death in a car, a murder which reunites Handy with the third friend and reopens that closed door to the past. As Handy pokes around a little, looking into the murder, it spurs a reassessment of the trio's friendship and the dark events that led to his moving to Minnesota those decades ago. The chapters alternate between the past and present, slowly revealing what went down years ago, and how it might or might not relate to the present. Handy is a sad middle-aged man with nothing to show for his life other than some deft mechanical repair skills and an estranged daughter. In attempting to solve his old friend's murder, he's also trying to bring some kind of closure to the past that's haunted him for so long.
The story has plenty of twists, turns, and startling revelations, but at the same time, isn't particularly memorable. What I really took away from the book is a keen sense of the weight Handy carries with him, and the sense of melancholy revisiting the past can bring. Oddly enough, what it reminded me most of is the Dennis Lehane book Mystic River, and like that book, I could see it making a good film.
Twenty-five years later, one of the friends is found shot to death in a car, a murder which reunites Handy with the third friend and reopens that closed door to the past. As Handy pokes around a little, looking into the murder, it spurs a reassessment of the trio's friendship and the dark events that led to his moving to Minnesota those decades ago. The chapters alternate between the past and present, slowly revealing what went down years ago, and how it might or might not relate to the present. Handy is a sad middle-aged man with nothing to show for his life other than some deft mechanical repair skills and an estranged daughter. In attempting to solve his old friend's murder, he's also trying to bring some kind of closure to the past that's haunted him for so long.
The story has plenty of twists, turns, and startling revelations, but at the same time, isn't particularly memorable. What I really took away from the book is a keen sense of the weight Handy carries with him, and the sense of melancholy revisiting the past can bring. Oddly enough, what it reminded me most of is the Dennis Lehane book Mystic River, and like that book, I could see it making a good film.
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