With the holidays rolling around, I was in the mood for a good Christmas tale and I thought it would be a great opportunity to read another Tom PiccirWith the holidays rolling around, I was in the mood for a good Christmas tale and I thought it would be a great opportunity to read another Tom Piccirilli book before the year was out! And because it's Tommy Pic, let me tell you, if you're looking for a heartwarming holiday tale of good tidings and cheer, go look somewhere else, because You'd Better Watch Out is definitely not for you. It's a brooding, hard-hitting Brooklyn "noirella" about an unnamed man who, as a child, witnessed his corrupt, abusive cop father brutally murder his mother. He grows up a foster child, learns violence at an early age, and becomes muscle for a prominent New York crime outfit, waiting patiently for the moment when his no-good Pops gets out of prison.
It's a simple tale, but as usual in the hands of Piccirilli, it stands out for it's storytelling economy, dead-eye prose, no-holds-barred depiction of violence, and how quickly and intuitively he can find the beauty and emotion in such dark and nihilistic material. This is my fourth novella so far by Piccirilli and he's really mastered that length and structure. I can't wait to jump into his longer work and see what he can do when he has more pages to impress me with!...more
High on my list of favorite authors, the late Tom Piccirilli was known for writing some dark shit. This novel is no different as it's one of those dowHigh on my list of favorite authors, the late Tom Piccirilli was known for writing some dark shit. This novel is no different as it's one of those downer noirs that we wrote in the last half of his career. It's narrated by Jenks, a man who's lost everything in the recession, now homeless on the streets of Manhattan and searching for answers in the wake of his old friend Hale's violent death, a man who shared the same economic fate.
The worst thing about having a wife and kids and dog was trying to keep it all. Once it was gone, Jenks had to admit, so was the pressure of fighting for it. You were never so free.
Prepare yourself for a dreary and gut-wrenching odyssey through the grimy streets of New York, from homeless shelters to hooker alleys, as Jenks not only trolls for answers about his friend's death but seems like he's aching to vent his frustrations through violence. In an interesting look at how destruction can be contagious but also possibly destined, we watch as Jenks flirts with bloodshed everywhere he goes. No one does true modern noir quite like Piccirilli. And this is a prime example.
He would listen to the sound of the blade opening and shutting, the way he was listening to it now, and he would discover in that last moment what the next page in the great book of life, written in God's own hand, would have to say about his sins.
She had an ass like a heart turned upside down and torn in half, and that's what you call foreshadowing, friend.
Holy Hell This Book Is Awe
She had an ass like a heart turned upside down and torn in half, and that's what you call foreshadowing, friend.
Holy Hell This Book Is Awesome. STUNNING writing.
That's the first thing that kept running through my head while reading this stellar collection of dark crime stories. The five next thoughts were:
1) Who is Jordan Harper? 2) Where did he come from? 3) Where has he been all my life? 4) What book is he releasing next? 5) Where can I do more damage to my wallet to buy said book?!
Harper's mastery of prose is completely evident all throughout this collection. He is one of those writers that wastes no words, but is always creative with choosing the right ones with awesome efficiency. At times his writing is growling and brutal and other times it's just plain lyrical. Every story here is a beauty of a read.
Here's an excerpt where the author describes a death:
First there was fear and then there was pain and then there was knowing and then there was nothing.
At times, I found myself reading out loud, so I could appreciate the story's rhythm and the cadence in the writing. If anyone wants to record a random audiobook for this thing I would contribute just out of the pure fun of it!
There are some standout stories though:
"Plan C" and "Your Finest Moment" are hilariously violent bumbling crime tales and they both look at what we all know about best laid plans
"Prove It All Night" is a beautiful little twist on the cliched Bonnie and Clyde tale, with a great ending.
"Beautiful Trash" is a melancholy and romantic story of finding love among all the decadence and manufactured romance of Hollywood. Great characters. If any of these stories was to be fleshed out and extended, I would vote for this one. It could be like Ray Donovan, or Scandal set in Tinseltown with better writing and bigger balls.
"Playing Dead" is a well-told little tale of survival and vengeance in Brooklyn.
I also really enjoyed the tragic ambition in "Heart Check."
And finally, what seems to be the crowd favorite, "Lucy In The Pit," is a tender but savage tale of a dogfight medic and handler trying to save a fight dog that just became a legend in the pit.
The fight is a pit dog's highest purpose. We have bred them to not feel fear or pain. We have bred them to have wide jaws and a low center of gravity. A pit dog wants the fight the way a ratter wants the rat, the way a bloodhound wants the scent. A dead-game dog wants it more than it wants life.
And while there are standouts, it's hard to pick those out because every story was enjoyable, with great characters, creative developments, callbacks to other stories in the book, and recurring players. And each tale is about a varying group of individuals around the country living mostly on the fringes, who find themselves at a crossroads in their lives of violence. I can't wait to see what Jordan Harper can do with a full-length novel! As you can tell, I REALLY enjoyed this book (definitely one of my favorites released so far this year, along with Bull Mountain and The Whites), and if you enjoy great stories, you'll love this one too.
Tommy and Nikki had been all fireworks—Roman candles pointed at each other's faces. They had raged. Lived hard, drank hard, fucked hard, fought hard. He needed the fireworks for the heat they gave him. Everything else in his life felt cold.
"I was three days into my life as a homeless loser drifter when they broke my nose and dropped me on the street in front of a nameless pawn sh
"I was three days into my life as a homeless loser drifter when they broke my nose and dropped me on the street in front of a nameless pawn shop. I hit like two hundred pounds of failed dreams."
This sad and heartbreaking book is essential psychological noir stripped of any flair or excess. Anyone interested in writing a portrait of despair and anguish and exploring a character at their lowest point should give this a look. It follows a mid-level writer who is critically-praised but could never find commercial success, and after dwindling sales, the collapsing economy, and the loss of his wife and belongings, is on the verge of (or in the middle of) a nervous breakdown and decides to take a roadtrip to visit his brother in Long Island. And to make matters worse, some dumbass actually sells him a firearm at the beginning.
There's something so honest about everything in this book that it was a little uncomfortable to read it. Piccirilli managed to pull out more emotion in me in a few paragraphs of this noirella than some writers do in 600 page novels. Every page of Every Shallow Cut is filled with what everyone loves about David Goodis's writing when he was firing on all pistons. I believe that anyone that has a passion in the creative world will be able to relate with this main character whether you want to or not. Benoit Lelievre, my Goodreads buddy and succinct writer in his own right, said it best on his blog review for Every Shallow Cut: "You can't turn your back on its protagonist because you're the only thing he has left, the reader of his tormented masterpiece and you can't really bond with him either as he's stuck in a place you don't want to be." That's one of my favorite quotes ever from a book review and such a great summary of what real noir is.
And this book is even more heartbreaking once you realize how meta and biographical it might be; when you think of the fact that Piccirilli himself was a prolific, award-winning writer that passed away before finding real commercial success. When you think of him writing this out of his own frustration and during particularly dark times, it takes on even more meaning. Instead of dedicating the book to a friend or loved one, here's Piccirilli's dedication:
"For everyone with an unfulfilled hope, a mediocre dream, a half-forgotten love, a vague regret, a thorn of disappointment, an average fantasy, a fear of failure, a ghost that walks the midnight corridors, Every Shallow Cut is for you—"
Read this if you're looking for amazing writing and an affecting story. Don't read this if you're not ready for some dark, heavy material, although your missing out on really great work. And if you're looking for a happy ending, you won't find it here.
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