Lush Life: A Novel
by Richard Price
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Book Reviews of Lush Life: A Novel
Book Review: this man taught writing at yale ?? and nyu ?? oh my lord -
Summary: 1 Stars
i have never read a book with so many unlikeable characters- so many CLICHE characters -
the father of the victim in this book was downright HATE-able.
the only interesting character was the killer ... and he was a one dimensional cliche also-- i can imagin Price listening to his students trying to pick up the slang of the day. oh how pretentious for an rich white man to make the the dialogue of a inner city projects kids.
a total miss.
i will say- that price has done lots of research- but the details become a distraction- yes yes, you name all the streets in the lower east side as you drive by.. ( i know cause i work down there ) admirable mr Price- but unneccesary.
how this guy can be a teacher who taught writing at nyu and yale and colombia... frankly im shocked - its more like the writing of a fresh out of school kid from the suburbs trying to write "city cool" lad lit.
[...]
sorry to sound like a hater - i have no personal stake in slamming this guy. just my thoughts on the matter
Book Review: cool talk, not that much to say
Summary: 3 Stars
As a first-time reader of Richard Price, his rippling dialog was certainly the highlight. His story is a vehicle for talk, not for mystery and plot twists. Some scenes are so crisp and brisk, done almost entirely through dialog.
We know who committed the crime early, and the incident isn't much of one on which to hang a story. Instead, we go behind the scenes for police process and for character development of the main detective, the parents of the victim, and assorted others. From a safe perch in suburbia, contemplation of street life in turbulent city neighborhoods can be quite entertaining in the hands of a guy like Mr. Price.
With no real mystery or surprises of any magnitude, the story eventually loses momentum, given that the characters are not that interesting and some relatively superfluous subplots sap some energy. Billy Marcus and Boulware were rather tedious and caused me to skim some sections.
Tristan was a freshly drawn character and perhaps could have been developed further.
Book Review: Virtuosic - lyrical and dazzling
Summary: 5 Stars
The only bad thing about this book is that - as an aspiring writer - it tempted me to give up on my novel. It's that good. The dialogue is truly stunning, overwhelming, exposing multiple intersecting characters caught in lives and circumstances sundered by a single unexpected act. The plot drives a larger narrative that I read as a metaphor for a greater perspective on life, the universe, and everything. This is not a typical mystery/thriller - it's realistic. The characters are human - which is to say, flawed - and interested in acting in ways that justify their feelings. Good guys aren't all good - which doesn't mean they have quirky flaws that really makes them more appealing or sympathetic - and bad guys aren't all bad - which doesn't mean that they secretly long to be good guys. As "Hill Street Blues" and "Homicide" changed the way you think about cop shows, this book will change the way you think about mystery novels. I can not recommend Lush Life more highly, and look forward to tracking down Price's other books.Book Review: Masterful - I hated to leave.
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't understand why reviewers here did not appreciate this book for the masterpiece it is. It never lets up. I hated to "leave" the scene - was actually sorrowful when the (audio, read by the great Bobby Carnevale) was finished. Perhaps it is better listened to - I don't know. But I was thrilled by it. And there are moments that made me laugh so hard, I had to run and write down the dialogue, as in: "He's so zonked, he's gonna need a past life regression therapist to remember his name," and (divorced father to his ex): "What does he like to eat?" Ex: "Eat? He's a kid, not a tropical fish!" Anyway, the one-liners come fast and furious, and it all adds up. I enjoyed "Samaritan," by the way, but this book, which is similar (themes: the road to Hell is paved with good intentions; some basically good but weak poor guy getting screwed over by the system) - is better. The dialogue is priceless. I did think of "The Wire," that gritty series written, in part, by Price. If you love New York, you gotta love this book.Book Review: Gritty & Entirely Engrossing
Summary: 4 Stars
Lush Life centers on the shooting death of a young man and the subsequent investigation. Price delves into the minds and lives of the police officers, witnesses, perpetrators, suspects, family members of the victim, and residents of the neighborhood.
Richard Price is a master of dialog and is able to incorporate both street and police vernacular with (what I trust is) uncanny precision. His portrayal of life and crime in New York City's Lower East Side is so in depth and descriptive that I was surprised to learn that he neither grew up in the neighborhood or worked as a police officer there.
Lush life is compulsively readable throughout the first half of the book and again at the end, unfortunately, it drags a bit in the middle.
Despite the somewhat unnecessary length of the novel and lull in narrative force in the middle of the novel, I highly recommend Lush Life and plan on reading more of Richard Price's work in the future.