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Drive (Movie tie-in) [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

James Sallis
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)

List Price: $12.95
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Book Description

August 30, 2011
Much later, as he sat with his back against an inside wall of a Motel 6 just north of Phoenix, watching the pool of blood lap toward him, Driver would wonder whether he had made a terrible mistake. Later still, of course, there’d be no doubt. But for now Driver is, as they say, in the moment. And the moment includes this blood lapping toward him, the pressure of dawn’s late light at windows and door, traffic sounds from the interstate nearby, the sound of someone weeping in the next room . . .
 
Thus begins Drive , the story of a man who works as a stunt driver by day and a getaway driver by night. He drives, that’s all—until he’s double-crossed. Powerful and stylistically brilliant, Drive has been hailed by critics as the "perfect piece of noir fiction" ( The New York Times Book Review ) and an instant classic.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. I drive. That's what I do. All I do." So declares the enigmatic Driver in this masterfully convoluted neo-noir, which ranges from the dive bars and flyblown motels of Los Angeles to seedy strip malls dotting the Arizona desert. A stunt driver for movies, Driver finds more excitement as a wheelman during robberies, but when a heist goes sour, a contract is put on his head and his survival skills burn up the pavement. Author of the popular six-novel series set in New Orleans featuring detective Lew Griffin (The Long-Legged Fly, etc.) and such stand-alone crime novels as Cypress Grove, Sallis won't disappoint fans who enjoy his usual quirky literary stylings. Reading a crime paperback, Driver covers "a few more lines till he fetched up on the word desuetude. What the hell kind of word was that?" Lines such as "Time went by, which is what time does, what it is" provide the perfect existential touch. In this short novel, expanded from his story in Dennis McMillan's monumental anthology Measures of Poison, Sallis gives us his most tightly written mystery to date, worthy of comparison to the compact, exciting oeuvre of French noir giant Jean-Patrick Manchette.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Critics agree that James Sallis, author of the Lew Griffin mystery series, "may be one of the best mystery writers that most readers have never heard of" (Knight Ridder Tribune). In Drive, he combines murder, treachery, and payback in a sinister plot resembling 1940s pulp fiction and film noir. Told through a complex, cinematic narrative that weaves back and forth through time and place, the story explores Driver’s near-existential moral foundations while revisiting its root cause: his hardscrabble, troubled childhood. Dark and gripping, Drive packs a powerful punch.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Mariner Books; Mti edition (August 30, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0547791097
  • ASIN: B0064X79JC
  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars a marvelously dark read! September 10, 2005
Format:Hardcover
Readers who delight in noir have a treat in store.

This short novel moves back and forth in both time and place, following a few weeks in the life of Driver - a character who provides no other name. He has a double career - first as a stunt driver for the LA film industry, self trained and among the best in the highly skilled group of specialists. And in the evenings and between film jobs he drives for thieves and con men. But that is all he does - drive. No burglary, no guns, no other participation.

A moonlighting venture goes wrong and sends Driver in search of those who double crossed him. In spare prose, important people in Driver's past and present life are clearly drawn and believable, some presented only as traces from Driver's memory. Although fragmentary, these brief references provide perfect motivation for Driver's actions as he moves toward his moments of revenge. He is a man not always on the right side of the law, or even of a just society, yet in Sallis' hands he becomes a man worthy of respect.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Every word counts February 28, 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Every word counts in this "sunshine noir" by noted mystery writer James Sallis. Drive is that rare thing, the proverbial novel you cannot put down. Yet, Sallis never cheats by loading up on worn plot devices. Instead, this slim volume pares the story down to its barest essestials, just plot and character, stripped of artifice. And drive. Yes, the story hurtles along, moving fast, but always under control. Do you think you have seen it all with noir? If you think so, then you owe it to yourself to pick up Drive. Sallis uses some familiar devices, but the story he tells and the character he tells it through, the "Driver," are new. Drive will keep you hanging until the last sentence. That's drive enough for anyone.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Noir classic: short, dark, lingering. January 17, 2006
Format:Hardcover
A few paragraphs in and you can smell the musty 40s. Gooseneck lamps, gently rounded cars, double-breasted suits. Everyone smoked. Everyone drank. Everyone ate steak.

But it's the modern day in LA. Driver leaves his foster home at 16. Makes it to L.A. Becomes a stunt driver. Along the way he develops a sideline of driving getaway cars.

A robbery goes wrong. Driver escapes with the loot and a woman robber. Someone tries to kill Driver: doesn't succeed, but takes out the woman.

Driver is a gentle soul. I drive, that's all is his ethic. But someone wants more and Driver doesn't like anyone on his trail.

Sallis is a master of noir. In 158 pages, he bangs out a complete morality play in which there is no good, no bad: just is, just what is there. Driver doesn't have a past or a future. Just a moment that demands certain things be done. Rootless, but not souless, Sallis paints his portrait in subtle strokes, all the more telling for that.

Sallis dedicates this work to Ed McBain, Donald Westlake and Larry Block, three great American writers. Sallis is, in my opinion, matched only by Block. McBain was great, but Sallis is better at noir.

"Drive" is a pleasant escape into a different reality, a true gem.

Jerry
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A fast journey, but not like the film
If like me you saw the movie first, you might find yourself jarred when events and characters do not synch up to the film. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Megan Giles
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
It is similar to the film in that it is dark and stylish. It gives a nice noir feel and does not dissappoint.
Published 6 days ago by Juan Ventura
1.0 out of 5 stars Just boring
Very rarely happens, but I just quit from reading this nonsense at half way through. It claims to be noir but it just pieces of fragmented sentences piled up on each other with no... Read more
Published 9 days ago by M. Norbert
3.0 out of 5 stars Something's Lacking . . .
I saw the film before the book, guilty as charged. The film was majestically dark, elegantly offbeat, with beautiful cinematography and it had the best soundtrack of 2012. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JCStreetSoldier
5.0 out of 5 stars Sallis best work to date!
I love this book and I love the movie based on it! A good read, a must read!! If you love cars, and noir, you will love this story!
Published 1 month ago by I. Jozsef
5.0 out of 5 stars Goodie
I really liked this book.
It's very fast-paced, every chapters is a different scene and gives you a different perspective in the story. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Vania
3.0 out of 5 stars Too easy
I liked the movie and decided to read the book, it was very comparable. It was a little too easy of a read.
Published 2 months ago by Brittany Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Machine Becomes Man
You can learn just about everything you need to know about this story through understanding why Sallis never chose to bestow the protagonist with any other moniker than "Driver". Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jonathan D Allen
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Quite different from the movie. This book paints a deeper picture of driver. I'm looking forward to reading the next book, driven.
Published 2 months ago by matthew
2.0 out of 5 stars Is this a first draft?
I appreciate the idea behind this story but the execution failed severely. It needs editing. It is so flawed that I think the author may have not even proofread. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Oliver M Shabram
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