Nobody Move

Part time barbershop quartet singing gambler and full time loser Jimmy Luntz is leaving a gig in Bakersfield when he's picked up by a guy named Gambol, who is an enforcer for a loan shark named Juarez, who is passing as Mexican, but is not. It seems Mexicans get more respect in the loan shark biz than Arabs. Back to Luntz and Gambol. Jimmy has been late paying Juarez one to many times and Gambol is taking him for a ride, but Jimmy gets the upper hand, shoots Gambol in the leg and steals his Caddie and now he's on the run and while he's running he comes across Anita Desilvera, a beautiful Native American femme fatele with a drinking problem, who has been framed by her prosecutor husband for embezzling 2.3 million simollians. She wants revenge. She wants the dough, too. And what a coincidence, Jimmy could use a bit of cash himself. Plus, it doesn't take much for a guy like Luntz to fall for a dish like Anita. In the normal scheme of things a gal like her would have nothing to do with a loser like Luntz, but once drunk she happily falls into the sack with him. Is it any wonder that he likes to keep her that way? And, of course, there is there is all that loot to consider. And you'd be doing yourself a favor if you consider this novel. This is noir taken to a whole `nother level. Fine writing, witty and gritty and oh so good, with an ending unlike anything those hard boiled mystery writers you've come to know and love would ever have considered. At first I was ticked off, then I smiled, shook my head and muttered, "Brilliant."

in that the action that drives the plot takes place out of sight. A chapter will lead the reader toward a situation, and the next chapter begins with its aftermath. I never ran into that before. I absolutely loved the book.

What Gene and Dean Ween are to rock music Denis Johnson is to crime writing. Hell, make that just writing, period. The man is an uncommonly fine scribbler any way you slice him. I've read Nobody Move literally about seven or eight times now, in serial form you understand, and honestly think the guy a miracle of farking nature. That's why I got myself Nobody Move in book form too--reading Playboy on the subway is something of a faux pas apparently. Right at the end of page four, for instance--the actual second page of this stupendously funny and entertaining story--Johnson types up the following short description of Jimmy Luntz: "A shave, a haircut, a tuxedo. He was practically Monte Carlo." Hysterical. A little later when Anita sees Jimmy toss his gun into the river, Johnson notes the following about the gambling warbler: "A slouchy guy, a skinny guy. He wasn't wearing a Hawaiian shirt at the moment but undoubtedly possessed several." Or what about the bookie's collector and shooting victim Ernest Gambol? This dude with the impossibly large head is lounging in Mary's gaff after that laugh-your-pants-off phone call from Juarez, just sitting there staring into space with his wounded leg out on the ottoman, and here is what Johnson has to say: "His brow looked even heavier than usual. He kept his lips clamped together. It didn't seem possible, but maybe he was thinking." See, this is exactly why I'm reading for the umpteenth time this nifty and explosive little noir. Some folks complain about the seemingly abrupt and inconclusive ending but for me the only problem with the ending was that it was in fact the end and I didn't have any more of Johnson's scintillating prose poetry to feast on. Let's hope some dope doesn't get the bright idea of turning this pitch-perfect novel into a movie--some books are just too dang good for the routine blandishments of the silver screen.

It's pretty amazing how the description of such marginal criminals could be so entertaining. That is until you realize that Denis Johnson has infused his story with the soul of a poet. When I finished I had to go back to re-read Tree of Smoke. I'm now looking for more of Mr. Johnson's work.

Denis Johnson follows his award-winning masterpiece, TREE OF SMOKE, with a little noir novel. This is narrated by actor Will Patton who did such a wonderful job with the author's previous novel. He does the author's deadpan humor especially well. It reminded me of Ray Bradbury's DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS, James Jones's A TOUCH OF DANGER, and Cormac McCarthy's NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Literary novelists turning to genre with a touch of parody, while still not abandoning their own style or core beliefs. A five-starred romp.