Ladies' Man (Contemporary American fiction) [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992 | Series: Contemporary American fiction

Kenny Becker just dumped his girlfriend--the reasons are a little complex. Young and newly unemployed, his main assets at the moment are six-pack abs and a healthy libido--he’s ready to get out, find a little action, and maybe find himself too. But New York is no place for the lonely, and with one meaningless sexual encounter after another, Kenny begins to wonder if the singles scene is not itself a complete con job, with his heart and his future at stake. Raunchy, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, this 1978 clubland slice-of-life displays Richard Price in gritty good form.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A novel of passion and depth, written with great precision and control.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Price knows the language, mores, herding instincts, and hunting habits of the bottom-class urban young just about as well as Margaret Mead got to know those who come of age in Samoa.”—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

“Ladies’ Man brilliantly portrays the dark side of youthful passion seeking release in a big-city environment.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard Price is the author of seven novels, including Lush Life, Clockers, Freedomland, and Samaritan. He wrote the screenplays for the films Sea of Love, Ransom, and The Color of Money, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He won the 2007 Edgar Award for Best TV writing as a co-writer for the HBO series The Wire. Price was also awarded a Literature Award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in New York City.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (May 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140083464
• ISBN-13: 978-0140083460
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books you will ever read in your life!, February 6, 2000

By 

Dean McDermitt (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ladies' Man (Paperback)

This is Richard Price's third novel. It's so incredibly funny! You will laugh, and laugh... It's great to read a book where someone gets it right about what it's like to be man in this day and age.

He's also written "The Wanderers", "Bloodbrothers" and "Clockers." He's even admitted in interviews that this is his favorite book (It's also his shortest).

I would put Richard Price in the same league as Hubert Selby, Jr. (Last Exit to Brooklyn) Very New York, very insightful and loves to tell good stories. The truth is I'm amazed this book was never made into a film.

Price has since gone on to become one of Hollywood's most gifted (and highest paid) screenwriters. His scripts include: "The Color of Money", "Sea of Love", "Ransom", "Mad Dog and Glory", and many others...

You gotta read it to believe it. I've loaned my copy to several friends and they've told me that sometimes they were kissing the pages--it was that brilliant. The "Swapline" scene is priceless! So is "Kenny makes a move." The author takes you through, day-by-day, the life of a regular guy in Manhattan. Kenny Becker loses his job, his girlfriend, and by the end .... discovers himself and a new meaning of life.

Here's a clip from the book - page 5 - about his high maintenance (difficult) girlfriend:

"...and she was human and I loved her. She needed me. I knew she needed me. And I wasn't stupid or shallow. I knew all about sexism, and productive relationships and growth, but I'm talking about love. I'm talking about irrational, illogical passion. And you can go to all the forums on meaningful concepts, you can have all the shared interests you want, but the bottom line with what I'm talking about here was how her arms felt wrapped around my neck when she was coming, how she looked at me when I made her laugh. And how I knew she needed me, how in my heart she needed me. The rest was all good and well, but it wasn't from the gut and it wasn't love."

Anyone who doesn't like this book just doesn't get it. It's so real. And it's laced with so much humor. Real zingers. He puts his soul on the page--and you feel his life flow through you.

Enjoy!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wrenching look at urban loneliness, June 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ladies' Man (Paperback)

Kenny Becker, the protagonist of Richard Price's "Ladies' Man," will appeal to some readers and exasperate others. He had both effects on me, simultaneously.
As the novel traces one grueling week in this 30-year-old New Yorker's life, it becomes clear what his problem is: He seems to have a near-pathological aversion to any kind of commitment. His love life is a series of depressing affairs that invariably end badly; he's lost touch with his old school friends; his job is a bad joke; he practically has to have a gun to his head just to call his parents. This book contains one of the most heartbreaking paragraphs I've ever read: After reminiscing fondly about the bonding he did with his fraternity brothers back in college, Kenny concludes, "Of course, after three months I lost interest and dropped out of the fraternity, but that's just me, Cut-and-Run Becker."
We watch through Kenny's eyes as one life-changing event after another hits him during this week. As he gives voice to his restlessness, loneliness and longing, one thing keeps the story from becoming too whiny or self-involved: Price's nearly anthropological familiarity with the details of modern urban loneliness. It's all here -- the excruciating singles-bar scene, the daydreams about other paths one might take, even the feeling that when you come home at night the newspaper on the doormat is mocking your lack of plans for the evening.
One thing is for sure: If you have healthy, sustaining relationships with other people, you'll never take them for granted again after reading "Ladies' Man."

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to speed, January 11, 2007

By 

M. Granger (Barcelona, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ladies' Man (Paperback)

I have read almost all of Richard Price's books, and I really feel this one is his weakest; poor characterization and plot. Highly recommend the rest, especially Freedomland and Samaritan!!