austinburns's review against another edition
2.0
mostly boring. the idea to tell part of the story as a character telling another character what happened doesn’t work for very long. the elaine character is good, though.
lauraakersauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Elmore Leonard tackles the music industry in this book from 1999. He drops you right into a scene with Chili Palmer, a character from Leonard's book Get Shorty, and his friend Tommy having lunch, and then a guy with a bad wig and a gun changes it all. Ever the master at dialogue and mood, Leonard weaves this into a tale of music, mobsters, and mayhem.
luana420's review against another edition
4.0
Be Cool is that rare full-on sequel of Leonard’s, and oddly enough, like Stick following up Swag, I’d say its biggest drawback is Leonard falling a bit too in love with the dad fantasy of its lead; in this case Chili Palmer. He’s cool! He’s the coolest! All the ladies like him! I guess most Leonard leads have a bit of the old dad fantasy to them, but usually they’re quiet and professional, kinda “get on with things” type of guys. Chili is a slick huckster who can talk his way outta any situation, which makes him feel more overt a projection. I was bummed out that Elaine, the lady he has a professional relationship with in Get Shorty turns into a love interest here. C’mon, you can just be friends!
It’s still fun though, since Leonard can essentially do these “turn the characters loose” narratives in his sleep. I liked Elliot and Vita, and Raji the dumb fuck!
I’m wondering if this is where the turning point happens where the loosey goosey narrative takes over, cuz I had heard the typical Leonard approach starts to ramble a little bit in his old age. This was his last book of the 20th century, so let’s find out as I go along!
It’s still fun though, since Leonard can essentially do these “turn the characters loose” narratives in his sleep. I liked Elliot and Vita, and Raji the dumb fuck!
I’m wondering if this is where the turning point happens where the loosey goosey narrative takes over, cuz I had heard the typical Leonard approach starts to ramble a little bit in his old age. This was his last book of the 20th century, so let’s find out as I go along!
sadgirlrini's review against another edition
1.0
I would have never thought to pick this book up, but one of the lawyers at work lent it to me when he found out I went to school for English. I figured within the first two pages that this was a later installment in a series, since it was assumed that Chili Palmer is just a guy that we all know. While I finished this book, I can't say I really enjoyed it. Sure, a lot of the things that I didn't like about it were stylistic choices—such as the weird racist comments and characters that seemed pretty one-dimensional and were very unlikable (this is a book about 90's L.A. showbiz after all)—I just didn't feel like it worked well enough for it to add much to the story.
The intrigue that was in the book at the beginning quickly disappeared and I was left wondering on each page if the questions I had at the start would be resolved in any satisfying way. It wasn't. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to figure out what the point of this whole novel even was, but I doubt that. Even though it's a sequel in a series, it still works as a standalone story without any prior knowledge of the first book, but I still wouldn't recommend this book to any of my friends.
The intrigue that was in the book at the beginning quickly disappeared and I was left wondering on each page if the questions I had at the start would be resolved in any satisfying way. It wasn't. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to figure out what the point of this whole novel even was, but I doubt that. Even though it's a sequel in a series, it still works as a standalone story without any prior knowledge of the first book, but I still wouldn't recommend this book to any of my friends.
kamzilla's review
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
All I kept hearing about this book was that it wasn't as good as Get Shorty. Okay fine, it's not...but it's still a very good Elmore Leonard effort. His dialogue shines here even if he is a bit out of his element with the music stuff. I wish he had done more Chili Palmer novels as that is one of his better characters.
thesubmariner's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Chili Palmer returns and tries to conquer the music industry. Right off the bat this is a weird sequel because while it focuses on Chili, he seems more of a bystander rather than the protagonist. Karen Flores is not in the novel which opens a can of worms when it comes to Chili’s relationships with women. In the first novel Get Shorty we know he has an ex and by the end we are led to believe that he has turned a page in his life not just when it comes to profession, but also his love life. It's hard to see him ever settling with someone. Still even in this novel it is to escape his past as a shylock as he is really good at telling how it is and giving it to you straight. That only leads to trouble. There are a couple of vivid characters in the novel, mainly Raji and Elliot. Looking at the overall story the more you want the character of Linda Moon to be the protagonist and Chili to be a supporting character with big presents in the story. Personally, I think it's weaker than Get Shorty and probably my least favorite novel that I’ve read thus far. Looking back on it I probably rated Get Shorty a bit higher than I should have, but I enjoyed both Chili Palmer books. Not counting the western short stories my favorite novel that I’ve read thus far are in order of favorite to least favorite: Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Mr. Majestyk and Be Cool.
chilg1128's review against another edition
3.0
Another book I read because I saw the movie. And this might be the second case where I thought the movie was better (first one being 'High Fidelity'). Even though there were many instances where events were different in the book, I thought that the movie made things more entertaining.
Considering this was supposed to be a gangster style of novel, I feel like I couldn't tell when parts were supposed to be funny, and when they weren't. This could be because the movie was so ridiculous at times, but either way, it took some of the enjoyment I had away. Seeing as how this was the first book I have read by Leonard, perhaps I could try another one to see if I have the same opinion.
Considering this was supposed to be a gangster style of novel, I feel like I couldn't tell when parts were supposed to be funny, and when they weren't. This could be because the movie was so ridiculous at times, but either way, it took some of the enjoyment I had away. Seeing as how this was the first book I have read by Leonard, perhaps I could try another one to see if I have the same opinion.