Death Wish

I wonder how Brian Garfield feels about the monster that he spawned with `Death Wish'. If I'd written a beautifully spare, cerebral examination of an overweight, middle-aged, liberal New Yorker who collapses under the weight of his impotent rage at the murder of his wife, and his daughter's subsequent nervous breakdown, and then seen the character transformed into a poster boy for vigilante justice by Charles Bronson (in a movie franchise of steadily declining quality), I'd probably experience what can diplomatically be described as "mixed feelings" at best. It's a pity that most people will come to this novel with preconceptions, because its very well written and really does deserve to be more widely read; after all, the theme of a Nuclear family destroyed by indiscriminate urban violence is as timely as ever - as a glance at the front page of any major newspaper will attest.

I finally ordered a used copy of this book after having owned the movie on DVD for years. I loved the movie and always wondered about the book. It's very easy to read and keeps your attention. I was flying through it faster than most books that I read. It's always a good sign when you cannot put a book down! The book's lead character is a middle-aged man who is not in good shape, who is a liberal and who goes through dramatic change to become a vigilante because of what happened to his wife and daughter. As I read this book, I preferred picturing the great Charles Bronson as the lead character. He was so great in that movie! The book ending isn't as good as the movie ending, but it's still a good book and I recommend it.

This a must read for anyone who likes tight twisting thrillers. A Great book by Garfield. The now famous movie which it is based, is as good. Storytelling hassn't been this good in a long Time! READ IT! I do recommend this a lot!

THIS OF COURSE WAS THE SOURCE FOR THE CHARLES BRONSON MOVIE,BUT ITS A LITTLE MORE LIBERAL ,WITHOUT THE GLORIFICATION OF VIOLENCE.I READ AN INTERVIEW WITH GARFIELD ONCE,AND HE SAID THE IDEA FOR THIS CAME FROM THE TIME HE RETURNED TO HIS CAR FROM DINNER LATE ONE NIGHT AND FOUND THAT SOMEONE HAD SLASHED THE VINYL TOP.....HIS FIRST THOUGHT WAS''ID LIKE TO KILL WHOEVER DID THIS!''....THEN HE THOUGHT,''IMAGINE IF SOMEONE ACTUALLY DID THAT?''WELL,MOST PEOPLE WOULDNT GO AS FAR AS THE MAIN CHARACTER HERE,AND WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT MAKES HIM GO OVER THE EDGE.....BUT HE CANT COPE WITH THE LOSS....AND SO THE TALE OF REVENGE BEGINS......THE ENDING IS DIFFERENT,AND READERS HOPING FOR THE ALMOST SADISTIC VIOLENCE OF THE FILM WILL BE DISAPPOINTED HERE BY THE LIBERAL APPROACH GIVEN THE SUBJECT MATTER........GARFIELD WROTE A SEQUEL TO THIS A FEW YEARS LATER TITLED''DEATH SENTENCE''......BUT WASNT NEARLY AS GOOD AS THIS.......GARFIELD IS AN EXCELLENT WRITER WHO IS ALMOST FORGOTTEN TODAY......BUT HE WROTE MANY GOOD BOOKS[MY NEXT FAVORITE WOULD BE ''NECESSITY'', WITH ''''RECOIL'' AND'''TERRY CONNISTON?'',NOT FAR BEHIND].........I BELIEVE ALL HIS BOOKS ARE NOW OUT OF PRINT,BUT IF YOU CAN GET USED COPIES,I HIGHLY RECCOMMEND ALL OF THEM.......