Pulse en una miniatura para ir a Google Books.
Cargando... El Escándalo del 44 (1974)por Andrew Bergman
Ninguno Cargando...
Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Jack LeVine is a detective in wartime New York, who gets sucked into a dangerous case that revolves around blackmail and stag films--at least at first. The plot gets a lot more involved than that, and the next thing he knows LeVine is in a room full of military brass, then gets to meet Republican Presidential nominee Thomas Dewey. If all this sounds a bit far-fetched, it is, but Bergman pulls it off. There is a point about midway through when it isn't clear that he is going to succeed, but then (as Mac Davis would have said) it gets weird. Bergman does a good job of portraying the feel of wartime New York, although it isn't ever explained why his 38 year old hero isn't in the Army somewhere. He also does a nice job of breaking stereotypes. The people who help and hinder Jack in his determined quest for the truth (even while being shot at) don't play to type, and this is a real strength. One unlikely ally, a very rich banker, is especially amusing. LeVine himself is Jewish, and a couple of characters remark on the fact, but other than that it doesn't play a role in the novel. And "amusing" is a key word here. Despite one cover blurb from Jack Higgins (who must have been drunk or high or just never read the book at all) that this book "is the nearest thing to genuine Chandler I've ever come across", Bergman's book bears very little resemblance to Chandler (or Hammett for that matter). Unlike Philip Marlowe, Jack Levine can't go two sentences without a wisecrack or a one-liner. And while Bergman is a good writer, he never gives us the incredible sentences and paragraphs that spring out of Chandler's work. In fact, Bergman is better known as a screenwriter, although I didn't know it until I looked it up on the Internet. (He wrote the original story Blazing Saddles was based on and collaborated on the screenplay with Mel Brooks. He also wrote the original In-Laws, one of the all-time great movies.) The pithy dialogue in this novel would fit very well into a screenplay. And the book, while not exactly R rated, is certainly a bit more explicit in its language than Chandler. But Bergman really doesn't need to be compared to someone else for you to have an excuse to read him. I'm not sure if the other two books in the series are as enjoyable, but this one, especially the opening part and the last one-third or so, will have you turning pages as fast as you can. Very well done. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
Pertenece a las seriesJack LeVine (1) Pertenece a las series editorialesEtiqueta Negra (9) Perennial Library (P673) SaPo (274)
Searching for a chorus girl's stag film, Jack LeVine stumbles on a sinister political plot Like all chorus girls, Kerry Lane yearns to get her name on the marquee. After years of high-kicking, she lands a bit part in a Broadway smash hit which should lead to better things. The only thing holding her back is her past: specifically a series of stag films from her days as a struggling wannabe film starlet. When a blackmailer demands a payoff to keep them out of the public eye, Kerry comes to Jack LeVine. Stocky, sweaty, and bald, LeVine is a Jewish private detective who makes a living by being polite. But underneath his smile lies a bulldog. Lured by long legs and a roll of crisp twenties, LeVine takes Kerry's case. But before he can speak to the blackmailer, the crook turns up dead. As LeVine hunts for Kerry's pictures, he finds that the heart of this case is even uglier than greed, lust, or murder. It's politics. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
Debates activosNingunoCubiertas populares
Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
¿Eres tú?Conviértete en un Autor de LibraryThing. |
While some of the quotes refer to this as a parody, I found it to be hard-boiled detective fiction, albeit, with a great sense of humor
An interesting side note, at least to me, Harry's office view point from his window is echoed in Parker's Spenser books. ( )