Killing Johnny Fry: A Sexistential Novel

I was not prepared for this book. I must have read page 5 three times before I believed that Walter Mosley had written those words. Extraordinarily different from anything he has written this book is not for the faint of heart. Eroticism flows from each page and several times you will find yourself sitting the book down because of the intensity. Highly recommended.

If you have read some of Mosley's other novels you know that there is always an element of the erotic in them as well as experimentation across the various literary genres. Killing Johnny Fry is definitely an example of Mosley bringing to the fore both of the above and it does not disappoint you. I was surprised that he chose to write such a novel, but I liked it and read it in two sittings. He did raise a lot of issues about our dark sides, our reactions to betrayal, and what lies beneath the surface of our everyday emotional responses to betrayal, sexual encounters and our usual, mundane lives. It is a very thoughtful novel.

Walter Mosley is a writer not afraid to push his craft in new directions. In KILLING JOHNNY FRY, he writes a first person novel containing some of the most explicit sex scenes written by an established American author since Henry Miller and Philip Roth. Trying something new is not unusual for Mosley. He burst onto the literary scene in the early 1990s with the brilliant mystery series featuring a black Los Angeles private detective named Easy Rawlins. Mosley could have spent the next 30 years comfortably writing nothing but books about Rawlins. But instead he did what great writers do. He has written literary novels, science fiction books and even nonfiction works about politics. He went, in other words, where his muse and considerable talent would take him without ever abandoning Rawlins. KILLING JOHNNY FRY is a harrowing, extremely well-written story that grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. Of course, this being America, anything this sexually explicit is bound to set off all sorts of alarms in some circles. Think of our archaic movie rating system that allows a film with the most gruesome, gratuitous violence to get an "R" rating while anything that seriously and realistically depicts human sexuality has to fear being labeled "pornographic." Yet another reason why people laugh at us in Europe. Well, anybody who dismisses KILLING JOHNNY FRY as pornography or salacious misses not only the point of the book but deprives themselves of the pleasure of reading one of America's greatest writers. Yes, there is some frank, really frank, sex in this book, but it is not an erotic novel by any means. Mosley coined the term "sexistential noir" to describe this work. It is a good description because the book is not about sex. Consider the first sentence: "I decided to kill Johnny Fry on a Wednesday, but it was a week before that I was given the reason." That tells us right away that those expecting cheap thrills will be disappointed; Mosley plunges us right into the midnight world of noir. Cordell Carmel is a successful 45-year-old freelance translator living in New York City. He had one failed marriage but has been in a monogamous relationship with his girlfriend for several years. They live apart, but he spends weekends at her apartment. They are like any other successful, comfortable couple you are likely to see having brunch together on a Sunday on the upper west side of Manhattan while reading The New York Times. Life is good, if a little ordinary. Then one day he encounters a problem familiar at one point or another to all New Yorkers: being far from home and in need of a bathroom in a city that strangely seems to pride itself on not having public toilets. So he drops by his girlfriend's apartment on a weekday when he knows she will not be there in order to use the facilities. And you can guess the rest: he finds her involved in rather vigorous relations with one Johnny Fry, a fellow they met through his agent. The man cuckolded:

I was looking forward to this book when I first heard about it then I started seeing it get slammed in the reviews and I hesitated. Then I thought "Mosley doesn't usually let me down so I'll take a look anyway" and I sat down in a local Borders and read the first few pages. Of course, it being a Mosley book I got hooked immediately and ended up buying it despite the bad press. I'm glad I did because it's actually one of his better efforts. Also, it delivers exactly what it promises: Lots of sex and plenty of emotional introspection. Some of the situations are certainly over-the-top but so what, it's fiction. I suspect a lot of this book's detractors may just be a bit prudish or were expecting something different going in. I wouldn't pay attention to those negative reviews because if you like Mosley's writing (which is in top form here), and are in the mood for a real-deal erotic novel then you'll be pleased with this book.

I have read all of Walter Mosley's ER books along with his FJ books. This book is one of the best books I have ever read, regardless of authors. Mr. Mosley takes the reader down a path that even a 41 year old know it all like myself was shocked and awed. I know this is a cliche, but I couldn't put the book down! Everytime I thought the action would slow down, Mr. Mosley went in another direction just as fast. Bravo Mr. Mosley, Bravo!