The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
5.0
Lush Life turned out to be every bit as good as critics say. I was a little put off by the hype when it came out, but humbly admit the praise was justified. The writing, especially the dialogue, is perfect. The cops, thugs and hipsters are carefully drawn, complex and realistic. I suppose you could say this isn't a plot-driven book. It's basically about a robbery gone wrong, and the effect it has on the people directly and indirectly involved. No plot twists, no shiny magic tricks. Yet I stayed up all night to find out in what way Billy Marcus would finally go off the rails, whether Eric would ever stop feeling sorry for himself, if Matty would give his no-good sons, The Big One and The Other One, a good talking to. Too bad there was only one female character with any kind of agency. The others were minor characters whose only purpose was to serve as objects of desire. But it's SO good, I can't get grumpy about that.
I doubt this book will lure any tourists to NYC, but it might get Price some new readers.
I doubt this book will lure any tourists to NYC, but it might get Price some new readers.
jexjthomas's review against another edition
4.0
Sagged a bit in the middle, and Price's ear for great dialogue and love of characterization sometimes outweighs his interest in plot, which can make novels like this one a bit of a slog at times. Though, in general, I do rather like the way this works more as a collection of scenes than a crime fiction novel, and it's not like it's entirely plotless. I also really appreciated Price's love for and knowledge of the Lower East Side, and this piece functions as much as a loving portrait of the city as a novel.
abrswf's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this book and the excellent narration, complete with New York accents, helped bring it even further to life. It is very well written and captures with flair, humor and irony the crazy quilt of cultures and history that now occupy New York's iconic Lower East Side. And it illuminates without sentimentality the humanity of all the players in the street robbery and murder which is at the center of the book.
itsmarkyall's review against another edition
4.0
I hesitate to say think but I think Richard Price may have dethrone Elmore Leonard as my favorite author of crime fiction. This book read like an episode of The Wire. Can't say enough about how realistic the characters were and how tangible Price made the city of New York. I feel like I could use this book as a map whenever I visit NYC. His dialogue is spot on and is there among the greats. He may be the best as hard as that is to imagine. Check this book out. It's a fantastic read.
galentorrey's review against another edition
2.0
read half of it....hard for me to get into and hard for me to pick up once i put it down....the story line was confusing and didnt pull me in
maria_klondike's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
jvendrell's review against another edition
2.0
La vida fácil es una novela que trata de un asesinato cometido en la ciudad de Nueva York. La acción sigue al elenco de personajes implicados en el asesinato y a los familiares y amigos de la vÃctima, asà como a los inspectores de policÃa que tratan de resolver el caso.
El escritor, Richard Price, aunque no es muy conocido por su nombre, si que lo es por haber escrito parte del guión de The Wire, una de las series más aclamadas por la crÃtica estos últimos años. De hecho, yo decidà comprar esta novela esperando encontrar una historia de policÃas y crÃmenes tan buena como las que se explican en la serie, pero estaba equivocado.
No quiero engañar a nadie: la novela no es del todo mala, es entretenida y se deja leer bien. Sin embargo, uno tiene constantemente la sensación de que falta algo, especialmente cuando pasas de las cien páginas y todavÃa no ha sucedido nada destacable salvo el propio asesinato al principio del libro. Se salva únicamente el impresionante y largo interrogatorio de los inspectores a uno de los testigos del asesinato, lo más reseñable de toda la novela.
Uno de los principales problemas es que ya des del principio se cuenta quién es el asesino y sus motivaciones. La persecución y la búsqueda de pruebas por parte de la policÃa no se traduce en nada intrigante o en momentos de tensión. Todo se desarrolla en una calma indefinida. El final no sorprende en absoluto y deja una sensación más bien de indiferencia, de que la novela no aporta nada relevante.
Quizá, lo más interesante, aparte de los interrogatorios, es el retrato que el autor hace de la ciudad de Nueva York, de sus calles, bares, de la gente que vive en el Bronx, en Harlem, en Lower Manhattan, de la policÃa de la ciudad... Los personajes en sà no están mal desarrollados, pero el autor no profundiza suficiente en sus vidas personales, dejando incluso algunas cosas interesantes sin concluir.
Resumiento, no es que sea un mal libro, pero le falta un poco de todo, tensión, violencia, acción, drama, profundidad argumental...
No la recomiendo porque seguro que hay novelas policÃacas mucho mejores que esta.
El escritor, Richard Price, aunque no es muy conocido por su nombre, si que lo es por haber escrito parte del guión de The Wire, una de las series más aclamadas por la crÃtica estos últimos años. De hecho, yo decidà comprar esta novela esperando encontrar una historia de policÃas y crÃmenes tan buena como las que se explican en la serie, pero estaba equivocado.
No quiero engañar a nadie: la novela no es del todo mala, es entretenida y se deja leer bien. Sin embargo, uno tiene constantemente la sensación de que falta algo, especialmente cuando pasas de las cien páginas y todavÃa no ha sucedido nada destacable salvo el propio asesinato al principio del libro. Se salva únicamente el impresionante y largo interrogatorio de los inspectores a uno de los testigos del asesinato, lo más reseñable de toda la novela.
Uno de los principales problemas es que ya des del principio se cuenta quién es el asesino y sus motivaciones. La persecución y la búsqueda de pruebas por parte de la policÃa no se traduce en nada intrigante o en momentos de tensión. Todo se desarrolla en una calma indefinida. El final no sorprende en absoluto y deja una sensación más bien de indiferencia, de que la novela no aporta nada relevante.
Quizá, lo más interesante, aparte de los interrogatorios, es el retrato que el autor hace de la ciudad de Nueva York, de sus calles, bares, de la gente que vive en el Bronx, en Harlem, en Lower Manhattan, de la policÃa de la ciudad... Los personajes en sà no están mal desarrollados, pero el autor no profundiza suficiente en sus vidas personales, dejando incluso algunas cosas interesantes sin concluir.
Resumiento, no es que sea un mal libro, pero le falta un poco de todo, tensión, violencia, acción, drama, profundidad argumental...
No la recomiendo porque seguro que hay novelas policÃacas mucho mejores que esta.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
While I enjoyed this--it is a tad too loose and full of too many characters to build on any kind of tension and suspense. Too bad as it has a lot of positive elements to it that could have really raised it to another level.
Price can write dialogue like nobody's business and that is the strength of the novel--the conversations the characters have. The range of characters is all over the place--cops, murder suspects, grieving parents, gangstas, teenagers, males, females, damaged victims of crime--as the story unfolds on the Lower East Side area of Manhattan. It's good but with Price working full steam I wanted it to be better than that.
Price can write dialogue like nobody's business and that is the strength of the novel--the conversations the characters have. The range of characters is all over the place--cops, murder suspects, grieving parents, gangstas, teenagers, males, females, damaged victims of crime--as the story unfolds on the Lower East Side area of Manhattan. It's good but with Price working full steam I wanted it to be better than that.
paulataua's review against another edition
4.0
It’s a police procedural of a different kind. It’s one in which the interrogations go on and on without bearing fruit, where the detectives are frustrated rather than helped by the system, and where crimes are solved by happenstance more often than investigative work. We are left with a detective’s dogged perseverance in the face of a murder that looks likely never to be solved. Awesome dialogue writing but it’s sometimes a little dense and it shifts from one part of the story to another with little signposting. It just means you have to keep focused all the time. You also need to power through the first couple of chapters trusting that things will become clear. Enthralling read!
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
The Lower East Side of New York City has multiple faces. Two are explored in this book. "Bohemers" live in pricy apartments surrounded by popular bars and trendy restaurants where the night life draws in a wealthy crowd looking for some excitement. The poor live in run-down projects just a few blocks away where crime and drug-dealing is part of a normal day and where it seems almost impossible to break out of the poverty cycle. These worlds collide late one night when a drunk, young white man who is walking with two friends from bar to bar is shot and killed on the street by a kid from the projects in a robbery that went horribly wrong. While this book is the story of the investigation of this crime, it is so much more. Readers are introduced to all of the people who are impacted by this crime--the police detectives, the family of the victim, the friends, the young men involved in the shooting and their families and each individual is given such a full story that the reader can identify and sympathize with each. A slow moving account that reflects the reality of life, the writing in this book keeps the reader totally involved as the story unfolds.