Customer Reviews

Layer Cake

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Written back in 2000, J. J. Connolly's debut novel is receiving a lot of buzz these days because of its recent film adaptation. The movie was directed by Matthew Vaughn, producer of the British underworld capers "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". There will doubtless be many comparisons drawn between the three works based on similarities in setting and characterization. However, "Layer Cake" ultimately distinguishes itself with a more hard-boiled tone and straightforward characters.

The narrator is a mid-level player in the London drug scene who is looking to retire in one piece before his upcoming 30th birthday. However, the head of his syndicate has other plans for him - a pair of daunting jobs that will earn him his freedom to leave the crime family for good with no bad feelings.

The voice of the unnamed first-person narrator is both the strength of the book and its biggest burden. The narrator's language is slick yet credible, leading to some great dialogue scenes accompanied by well-conceived commentary in his thoughts. Being proper criminals in the London scene, everybody uses Cockney rhyming slang, which takes a while to pick up. There are times that I wished for annotated version with editor's notes - I recommend looking up rhyming slang on the Internet or else checking out the bonus material on fhe "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" DVD. For credibility's sake, there is a mountain of profanity as well, including some "strongly-worded" phrases that are apparently more commonplace in Britain than here in the States (check out the Statistically Improbable Phrases section above to decide whether or not this book is for you). On the downside, the stream-of-conscious flow sometimes hindered the plot and rendered certain action passages very difficult to follow. For example, the protagonists cycle through numerous nicknames for rival gangs with no warning, making it a real task at times to keep up with who's dealing with whom. This device has a tendency to smother the plotting more than the Cockney rhyming slang and phonetic misspellings ever could.

The plot is a straightforward stream of cons and double-crosses as each faction tries to get the upper hand and escape with the loot. I was disappointed that the initial thrust of the plot - the narrator's quest to retrieve the runaway-junkie daughter of a friend of the boss - abruptly fizzled near the end for the sake of adding yet another twist. Plot twists are dime-a-dozen in many fiction genres today, and I felt that the plot would have been better served by credibly finishing what it started rather than piling on implausible surprise after surprise for the last 100 pages.

I'm also surprised to see reviews that proclaim this a funny book. While many of the characters displayed a quirkiness that drew an occasional sly smile, I found the book's tone to be subtly very gritty, lacking any of the slapstick Benny Hill buffoonery of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or "Snatch". That tone is mercilessly reinforced by our protagonist's actions. He graduates through several levels of casual amorality by the end, casually building up his personal rap sheet for the singular goal of getting out of the gangster game with as much profit as possible. Those looking for a morality play with tearful self-examination leading to confessionals about the harm done will be sorely disappointed by our hero's selfishly blase attitude throughout.

Overall, this book is a good read, recommended for fans of crime fiction who are looking for new locales. Well-crafted dialogue and voice coupled with interesting settings manage to outshine an ultimately predictable plot.

I picked up this book on a whim during a recent trip to London and quickly became immersed in the mesmerizing 'layer cake' world of J.J. Connolly's 29-year-old nameless protagonist. It's neat to see Connolly's writing stretch to 300+ pages while artfully avoiding ever having to drop the character name in there somewhere.

And it's that writing that will keep you glued to 'Layer Cake' from the start. It takes you a bit - especially the US-raised reader - to adjust to the writing style (replete with Cockney rhyming slang - "I don't have a Scooby" you find out is "I don't have a clue"....Scooby = Scooby Doo = clue), but once you do, it's an enthralling ride.

Can't wait to see Matthew Vaughn - producer of Guy Ritchie's first two films - step into the director's chair on this one. Connolly was smart to tab Vaughn as "one of the few people in Britain who could get my movie made." It promises to be a good pairing.

This first novel gets off to a zippy start and never lets up for a moment; with devious twists and turns, a cast of great (often mercurial, sometimes downright psycho) characters, and a whole lot of detail about the drug scene in England (which may or may not be accurate but certainly comes across with authenticity). Most North Americans, however, will find it difficult to comprehend, as Cockney rhyming slang and slang in general comprise so much of the book. That said, within its own context, there's an almost musical perfection to the cadence of the writing--especially the dialogue. The editing, however, leaves a great deal to be desired. There are far too many errors in maintaining spelling consistency and in simple grammar. But once into Layer Cake, it's one of those books that's all but impossible to put down. Most highly recommended.

Realities are a zig-zaggy thing in Layer Cake. The plot, character motives and entire belief systems changed directions almost on the paragraph. If you don't pay quick attention, you might as well be reading the phonebook by the last several chapters. And I admit I got swallowed up by the multitude of thinly explained switcharoos at some points. But all these traits are complementary to the novel, whose characters are themselves desperately trying to keep up. A recurring euphemism in Layer Cake? "Don't lose the plot, brov." That's right.

I first came across Connolly through a short story of his I quite liked in the Britpulp! anthology. With his fist full novel he delivers on that early promise with the best British crime novel I've ever read. While I often enjoy traditional procedurals like John Harvey's Charlie Resnik series, have been known to enjoy Agatha Christie in my younger days, Jake Arnott's The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers, and quite like a lot of the pulpy/noirish stuff put out by The Do Not Press these days-this leaves them all in the dust. The book follows an unnamed narrator over two weeks in 1997 as he plots to end his criminal days and retire on his thirtieth birthday-of course there's just that one last job to take care of...

The thing you notice right away is the language. Nonstop patter, stories, and more slang than you can shake a stick at. The rhythms of the language, both descriptive and dialogue, is perfect and unique. The best comparison I can make is with some of Irvine Welsh's stuff-it's English, but unlike any English you or I speak. And like Welsh's stuff, it can be hard to follow for those not up on the argot (especially cockney rhyming slang), so be warned. But if you like the language, you fall in love with the characters. Finally, some honest to god smart criminals who understand that being low-key is the smoothest path to riches. There must be at least fifty characters in the novel and Connolly gives each one a distinctive voice, even if they're only around for a page.

Once you've absorbed the amazing language and characterization, you'll be swept away by the authenticity. The entire book takes place in the criminal underworlds of London and Liverpool, with details on international drug trafficking, porn shops, killings, and on and on. The book immerses the reader in that world more so than any crime novel I've come across, and you have to wonder what Connolly's been up to in his life to be able to conjure such a setting from his head. It's not a world for the faint of heart, but one that's compelling to read about-more like The Long Good Friday than Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Finally, there's the expert plotting. Built on that classic premise of a gangster looking to get out of the game, Connolly's plot twists and turns with complications that keep boxing in the narrator until the inevitable climax. From start to finish, it's the best novel about British organized crime around.

This novel comes across like a Guy Ritchie movie crossed with an book by Elmore Leonard. Very enjoyable and engaging. I'll have to check out the British movie when it hits Canada.

This was quite good, but I think I need to get a new edition of my Cockney rhyming slang dictionary, because there were a lot of terms I simply couldn't suss out. On the British edition of Layer Cake that I read, it says the author is working on a sequel. When that becomes available, I'll use my loaf and snap it up.

This is a fantastic read and escape from reality. The movie is also pretty good.

I really didn't go into this book expecting to like it because crime / drug / action mysteries are not my normal genre. A few chapters in I was completely hooked, could not put it down. There is a really great array of characters, the author does a good job of developing them (e.g. their personnas and motivations). The hero is not perfect, no one is perfect in this book. The plot moves along on its own and keeps you guessing what will come next. Be warned, the movie really pales in comparison and does not follow the intricate storyline of the book.

If you liked the movie you'll enjoy the book the movie was based on! For a US reader it takes time to get all the UK slang down, but it is well worth it.