The Killer [Hardcover]

Patricia Melo (Author), Clifford E. Landers (Author, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Maiquel is a young used car salesman from the mean streets of Sao Paulo. He remembers a bit of poetry, he cares for his victims' loved ones, he ponders the soul of man. Definitely not your average killer. But Maiquel's life in crime escalates to stunning heights. Brutal infidelities are committed, mafia-style dealings are conducted, and civic honors are bestowed . . . until the fall.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Brazilian screenwriter and playwright Melo has combined the anomie of Quentin Tarantino and her country's landscape to create a highly readable little study of a killer for hire. When the main character and narrator, Maiquel, loses a bet and has to dye his hair blond, he kills a lowlife who laughed at the transformation. Instead of having him arrested, however, residents of his crime-ridden neighborhood, starved for an effective vigilante, hire him to rub out other criminals. He marries a salesgirl, takes up with the ex-girlfriend of his first victim, and fathers a child. As his world falls apart, he kills his wife, his girlfriend leaves him?taking his daughter?and, haunted by an image from his past, he kills an innocent teenager on a skateboard. The authorities, who had turned a blind eye to Maiquel's activities, then pursue him with a vengeance. Purchase where anomic literature is in demand.?Harold Augenbraum, Mercantile Lib. of New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From The New Yorker

The jolts that this Brazilian thriller delivers come not from the repeated instances of gore but from Maiquel's recurrent longing for basic human needs--love, salvation, a spiffy pair of shoes.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: Ecco Pr; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880015748
• ISBN-13: 978-0880015745
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent writing, May 6, 2004

By 

Karin S. Chenowith "kharoe" (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Killer: A Psychological Thriller (Paperback)

i think the reviewer who gave this book 3 stars missed the point of this book. this is not a crime novel. it is literature! this book has a lot of different levels- the Library Review comparing it to Tarantino is right on in that it has that surreal, making-fun-of-itself quality. its not meant to be realism! i found her writing really refreshing and the main character fascinating (especially knowing that this book was written by a woman).

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flat Hard-Boiled Wannabe, January 3, 2001

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Killer: A Psychological Thriller (Paperback)

From the very beginning this struck me as a movie masquerading as a book. The transformation of a knockabout used-car salesman in suburban Sao Paolo into a respected killer-for-hire takes all of a chapter or so in this deadpan story. The killer starts his newfound career by shooting a local bully in the back, and quickly works his way up in the world (a la Scarface) by be drawn into spearheading a neighborhood protection racket. He's a rather unpleasant guy,..., and pretty much bullying people who get in his way. Although he keeps making noises about wanting to settle down, it's never clear what that means to him, or which women that means being with. The distanced tone makes the whole story sort of flat, and it fails to connect with the reader in any meaningful way. It's a decent attempt at Brazilian hard-boiled-...--but it doesn't quite work.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O matador, April 17, 2000

By 

nathaliapaccola (Brasil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killer (Hardcover)

Para as pessoas que sabem curtir a adrenalina, este é, sem dúvidas, um exelente livro. A vida de um cara normal que de repente se torna um serial killer é retrada com dinamismo, fazendo com que o leitor questione se o personagem principal é um bandido. Tive a oportunidade de conhecer pessoalmente a escritora, que me recebeu com os bracos abertos mesmo sem nunca ter me visto antes. Ela é tão marcante quanto o próprio livro, se identificam simultaneamente. Entreterimento parecido com os livros de Rubem Fonseca só que com uma dose extra de seducão.