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A review by petermcdade
Swimming with Bridgeport Girls by Anthony Tambakis
5.0
As other reviewers here have said, don't be put off by the gambling angle. Like a great book about baseball, or ballet, or cooking, the particular obsession/addiction of the character is not the Thing: the character is the Thing. That said, the gambling details are just right, and the moments in the casino and at the blackjack table are utterly convincing. Tense and depressing and exhausting and full of all kinds of (good and bad) possibilities: just like Vegas.
For me, this is the kind of novel that works best in the first person, and if the voice of the narrator is just right. Ray's voice is spot on, funny and engaging, while also delusional and completely screwed up. The humor carried the first half of the book: casinos, and bookies, the best and worst characteristics of ESPN and celebrity culture, and even a cameo by Tommy Lee. When the pathos of the last act arrives--the way you knew it would, even as you root for Ray to somehow survive taking one more card when he gets to 17--it hits hard. There are few things more satisfying than a book or movie that finds the perfect closing shot, and _Swimming_ nails it.
For me, this is the kind of novel that works best in the first person, and if the voice of the narrator is just right. Ray's voice is spot on, funny and engaging, while also delusional and completely screwed up. The humor carried the first half of the book: casinos, and bookies, the best and worst characteristics of ESPN and celebrity culture, and even a cameo by Tommy Lee. When the pathos of the last act arrives--the way you knew it would, even as you root for Ray to somehow survive taking one more card when he gets to 17--it hits hard. There are few things more satisfying than a book or movie that finds the perfect closing shot, and _Swimming_ nails it.