Rum Punch

Love it

Get Shorty and Jackie Brown are two of my favorite movies, and after the success I had with the book version of Get Shorty, I had to check out Jackie Brown's book, Rum Punch. In both cases, my appreciation of the book was greatly enhanced by my ability to picture the outstanding actors in the movies. It almost seems like Leonard wrote the book with the actors in mind, because the descriptions in the book so closely match the visual on the screen. The exception, of course, is Jackie Brown, who was a blond in the book and a black woman in the film, but similar in almost every other way in both the book and the movie. The plot has tons of twists and turns and double crosses, but I found I was able to follow it fairly well. I recommend this as a companion to the movie. Fans of the movie should definitely check out the book, and vice versa.

Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch" (which was the basis of Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown") is a page-turner in the truest sense of the word - it's hard to put down. Leonard's has crafted a novel with his usual ear for fantastic and witty dialogue and fast, descriptive and fluent prose. Add a well-crafted and surprising plot and we have one of Leonard's finest works.The story revolves around Jackie Burke (changed to Jackie Brown in the film), an airline stewardess who smuggles money between locations for Ordell Robbie, an arms-dealing hot-talking crook who uses everyone he comes in contact with for his own gain. The plot takes off when Jackie is caught by the police with the money for a delivery (along with some drugs she didn't know were in there) and Ordell is forced to bail her out through a bail bondsman, Max Cherry. Jackie sets up a sting operation which has the appearance of involving everyone -- the police, Ordell, even Ordell's discontented callgirl. In the end... well, you'll have to read it for that.What makes "Rum Punch" a pleasure to read, like all of Leonard's novels, are the fringe characters which seemingly only he could dream up. The relationship between Louis, Ordell's dim-witted and short-tempered right hand man, and Melanie, Ordell's primary callgirl, is amusing, as are scenes like Ray Nicholette's bravado-style shootout with one of Ordell's arms-shipping lackeys. Leonard also intersperses interesting bits of character introspection, things like Max Cherry's contemplation about his relationship with his wife (with whom he's separated) and Jackie's three ex-husbands (although she only usually says there's two, because two of them were so similar, even in name, that they're hard to tell apart).The plot itself goes off without a hitch. There's nothing profound, and probably nothing new, but the execution is suspenseful and works because of the strong characters involved.Heartily recommended.Matthew D. Johnston

For obvious reasons, I say that this is so much better than the movie. First of all, it gives you actually FEELINGS the characters are experiencing. And thanks to Leonard's wonderful way of changing the point of view, you never lose interest. The events are fast and quick, the dialogue so good I wondered why Tarantino did a thing to it. The story is very simple, and the scenes drawn out mostly by the dialogue and a few descriptive terms to let your mind fill in the details. All I can say now is that the movie, if you have seen it, is nothing compared. This is a must-read for anyone who likes action and love and guns and a very intense ending. The last forty pages run through your fingers like sand. Vintage Leonard!

I love Elmore Leonard and I think that this is his best novel. Everyone is a bad guy underneath, even the law enforcement officers. Again, Leonard writes excellent dialogue for all of his characters and writes a very entertaining story. If you liked the movie Jackie Brown then you should definately give the book that inspired Tarantino to make the movie. If you like stories where everything gets messed up and nobody really wins then give Rum Punch a read.

If you've never read an Elmore Leonard book, you better get your ass up and get reading! For a man in his seventies it would be suffice to say that he isn't an out of touch old man, but quite the opposite. He's so observeant of peoples traits that his casts personas never miss a beat. The plot in this novel comes secondary to the sharp dialogue and the querky characters- as in all Elmores stories. He captures beautifully, the walk and talk of every character. A slow ex-con, a disenchanted bail bondsman, a cowboy ATF agent, a street smart gun dealer, a hopped up beach babe and last but not least-Jackie Burke; an air stewardess with brains, balls and panache to help get her through her problems with the ATF and the hip-cat killer Ordell Robie. So trust me on this, Elmore's one of the master writers out there today that deserves every word of praise he can get. And oh yeah if you're thinking of getting 'Jackie Brown' I'd advise you to get 'The Switch' first as it is the first story about Melanie, Ordell and Louis Gara.