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,... Read Full Review

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... Read Full Review

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... Read Full Review