George Pelecanos and David Simon are both gods in my eyes on account of their massive involvement (writer/producer)with 'The Wire.' So, I was interested to see how Pelecanos's latest novel panned out. (I've never read anything by him before.)
And it wasn't at all what I expected.
The story, a crime novel, set in America, has a basic plot, which centres around a family in crisis. Other characters come into play but the plot revolves around the family and in particular, Chris Flynn, a teenage tearaway.
Both that basic plot and minimalist writing style reminded me a lot of the two novels that Linford Barclay has written. (Since Pelecanos has written loads of crime novels, I'm not for one minute suggesting he has copied Barclay or the other way around.)
So, it's very different in style to 'The Wire', with its multitude of scenes in one episode and a barrel full of strong characters.
But there are hints of 'The Wire' in some of the dialogue and the disfunctional backgrounds that so easily turn young men towards crime.
Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did, although there were times when I longed for more to happen. However, I still turned the pages/allowed myself 'just one more chapter' so he's a writer I would read again and recommend - just don't expect the full blast of 'The Wire'.
Monday, 12 April 2010
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