PortadaGruposCharlasMásPanorama actual
Buscar en el sitio
Este sitio utiliza cookies para ofrecer nuestros servicios, mejorar el rendimiento, análisis y (si no estás registrado) publicidad. Al usar LibraryThing reconoces que has leído y comprendido nuestros términos de servicio y política de privacidad. El uso del sitio y de los servicios está sujeto a estas políticas y términos.

Resultados de Google Books

Pulse en una miniatura para ir a Google Books.

Cargando...

God Save the Mark (1967)

por Donald E. Westlake

Otros autores: Ver la sección otros autores.

MiembrosReseñasPopularidadValoración promediaMenciones
4031762,112 (3.64)9
* mark n. An easy victim; a ready subject for the practices of a confidence man, thief, beggar, etc.; a sucker.-Dictionary of American Slang, Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1960 That's the long definition of a mark. But there's a shorter one. It goes: * mark n. Fred Fitch What, you ask, is a Fred Fitch? Well, for one thing, Fred Fitch is the man with the most extensive collection of fake receipts, phony bills of sale, and counterfeit sweepstakes tickets in the Western Hemisphere, and possibly in the entire world. For another thing, Fred Fitch may be the only New York City resident in the twentieth century to buy a money machine. When Barnum said, "There's one born every minute, and two to take him," he didn't know about Fred Fitch; when Fred Fitch was born, there were two million to take him.Every itinerant grifter, hypester, bunk artist, short-conner, amuser, shearer, short-changer, green-goods worker, pennyweighter, ring dropper, and yentzer to hit New York City considers his trip incomplete until he's also hit Fred Fitch. He's sort of the con-man's version of Go: Pass Fred Fitch, collect two hundred dollars, and move on.What happens to Fred Fitch when his long-lost Uncle Matt dies and leaves Fred three hundred thousand dollars shouldn't happen to the ball in a pinball machine. Fred Fitch with three hundred thousand dollars is like a mouse with a sack of catnip: He's likely to attract the wrong kind of attention.Add to this the fact that Uncle Matt was murdered, by person or persons unknown, and that someone now seems determined to murder Fred as well, mix in two daffily charming beauties of totally different types, and you have a perfect setup for the busiest fictional hero since the well-known one-armed paperhanger. As Fred Fitch careers across the New York City landscape-and sometimes skyline-in his meetings with cops, con men, beautiful girls, and (maybe) murderers, he takes on some of the loonier aspects of a Dante without a Virgil. Take one part comedy and one part suspense and shake well-mostly with laughter.… (más)
Cargando...

Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará.

Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro.

» Ver también 9 menciones

Mostrando 1-5 de 17 (siguiente | mostrar todos)
The main character, the “mark” of the title, is constantly being conned and never learning—until miraculously midway through this novel he starts to catch on. While there might be some merit to that premise, having that apply to the main character was more annoying that amusing. Thankfully, that annoying naivete falls away fast enough to let the rest of the novel shine through. My second Westlake after reading and thoroughly enjoying THE HOT ROCK. Humor is quite sly in parts and the female characters are particularly vivid and funny creations amidst the amusing mayhem and smart plotting. The ending was abrupt and a bit of a last minute information dump. I enjoyed the ending of THE HOT ROCK so much that I may be tad harsh concerning this work but that’s where we find ourselves. ( )
  KurtWombat | Jan 8, 2023 |
Donald Westlake can bring to life some very funny people and situations. When I spotted the fact that this one bagged the 1968 Edgar I eagerly awaited delivery to my local library branch. I found it funny for about ten pages. Using a learned technique I skipped to about the last fifty pages. I was glad I had not decided to plow through it. I fear this plot has not held up over time. Fortunately Westlake was prolific and talented. I'd steer you away from this one, though. ( )
  danhammang | May 16, 2019 |
When I first opened this book, I saw that there were 47 chapters in it and groaned. That seemed like a lot of chapters. Fortunately, they are short and snappy and immediately draw you in to the world of Fred Fitch, who is a lucky charm of sorts to con men. As one summary of the book says, he's like a human version of the Go space on the Monopoly board -- pass Fred Fitch, collect $200. Imagine, then, the danger he feels at learning that he's inherited a fortune from his long-lost uncle. The vultures will be circling. He'll have to learn to be suspicious and figure out who, if anybody, he can trust if he wants to keep his money.

This was a very funny book, if a bit embarrassing at points because of Fred's gullibility rearing its head. "Fred, stop DOING that! He's out to -- oh, you just signed the cheque, didn't you. Dammit!" Because it's so hard to figure out who to trust, the story twists and turns like mad, leaving you unsure of where you stand (other than with Fred). It may not be a laugh-out-loud novel, but it is certainly fun. ( )
  rabbitprincess | Apr 25, 2016 |
Oh, this was fun! I admired Westlake after reading [The Ax}. Now, I am absolutely in love! ( )
  BookConcierge | Feb 10, 2016 |
If you looked up the word 'gullible' in the dictionary Fred Fitch's picture would surely be there. There is not a con man in New York City who hasn't tried and succeeded in bilking Fred and separating him from his money. Fred's Uncle Matt, of whom Fred has never heard, has been murdered and in his will he left all of his money to Fred -- a tidy sum of over $300,000. Along with the money Uncle Matt apparently also left Fred his amply endowed girlfriend/stripper Gertie Divine. Apparently Uncle Matt came by his money in some rather illegal ways and whoever whacked Matt is out to get Fred. Fred, tired of being such an easy mark, has no idea who he can trust anymore as he begins getting hang-up calls, black cars slowly follow him down the street, someone starts shooting at him and Gertie is kidnapped. He realizes that he will need to solve Uncle Matt's murder case himself because he can't even trust the police anymore.

The subtitle of this book is "A Novel of Crime and Confusion" and it is absolutely right. I was very confused through most of the book though highly amused at the hapless Fred and the parade of quirky characters. It all makes sense at the end of the book so Westlake definitely did the job he set out to do. His books are old-fashioned as Westlake started writing in the late 50's but they can be a lot of fun with some of the zaniest characters a reader is likely to ever have the pleasure of meeting.
( )
  Ellen_R | Jan 15, 2016 |
Mostrando 1-5 de 17 (siguiente | mostrar todos)
sin reseñas | añadir una reseña

» Añade otros autores (3 posibles)

Nombre del autorRolTipo de autor¿Obra?Estado
Donald E. Westlakeautor principaltodas las edicionescalculado
Grimaldi LauraTraductorautor secundarioalgunas edicionesconfirmado

Pertenece a las series editoriales

Debes iniciar sesión para editar los datos de Conocimiento Común.
Para más ayuda, consulta la página de ayuda de Conocimiento Común.
Título canónico
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Título original
Títulos alternativos
Fecha de publicación original
Personas/Personajes
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Lugares importantes
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Acontecimientos importantes
Películas relacionadas
Epígrafe
Dedicatoria
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
To Nedra
Primeras palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Friday the nineteenth of May was a full day.
Citas
Últimas palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Aviso de desambiguación
Editores de la editorial
Blurbistas
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Idioma original
DDC/MDS Canónico
LCC canónico

Referencias a esta obra en fuentes externas.

Wikipedia en inglés

Ninguno

* mark n. An easy victim; a ready subject for the practices of a confidence man, thief, beggar, etc.; a sucker.-Dictionary of American Slang, Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1960 That's the long definition of a mark. But there's a shorter one. It goes: * mark n. Fred Fitch What, you ask, is a Fred Fitch? Well, for one thing, Fred Fitch is the man with the most extensive collection of fake receipts, phony bills of sale, and counterfeit sweepstakes tickets in the Western Hemisphere, and possibly in the entire world. For another thing, Fred Fitch may be the only New York City resident in the twentieth century to buy a money machine. When Barnum said, "There's one born every minute, and two to take him," he didn't know about Fred Fitch; when Fred Fitch was born, there were two million to take him.Every itinerant grifter, hypester, bunk artist, short-conner, amuser, shearer, short-changer, green-goods worker, pennyweighter, ring dropper, and yentzer to hit New York City considers his trip incomplete until he's also hit Fred Fitch. He's sort of the con-man's version of Go: Pass Fred Fitch, collect two hundred dollars, and move on.What happens to Fred Fitch when his long-lost Uncle Matt dies and leaves Fred three hundred thousand dollars shouldn't happen to the ball in a pinball machine. Fred Fitch with three hundred thousand dollars is like a mouse with a sack of catnip: He's likely to attract the wrong kind of attention.Add to this the fact that Uncle Matt was murdered, by person or persons unknown, and that someone now seems determined to murder Fred as well, mix in two daffily charming beauties of totally different types, and you have a perfect setup for the busiest fictional hero since the well-known one-armed paperhanger. As Fred Fitch careers across the New York City landscape-and sometimes skyline-in his meetings with cops, con men, beautiful girls, and (maybe) murderers, he takes on some of the loonier aspects of a Dante without a Virgil. Take one part comedy and one part suspense and shake well-mostly with laughter.

No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca.

Descripción del libro
Resumen Haiku

Debates activos

Ninguno

Cubiertas populares

Enlaces rápidos

Valoración

Promedio: (3.64)
0.5 1
1 2
1.5
2 7
2.5 1
3 19
3.5 9
4 40
4.5 1
5 14

¿Eres tú?

Conviértete en un Autor de LibraryThing.

 

Acerca de | Contactar | LibraryThing.com | Privacidad/Condiciones | Ayuda/Preguntas frecuentes | Blog | Tienda | APIs | TinyCat | Bibliotecas heredadas | Primeros reseñadores | Conocimiento común | 202,665,304 libros! | Barra superior: Siempre visible