Customer Reviews

The Long Wait (Signet)

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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The Long Wait is not a part of Mickey Spillane's classic and infamous Mike Hammer series. Instead, its the story of an amnesiac who invades a corrupt small town in order to avenge the death of a friend. Unsure of who he even is, our "hero" finds himself trapped in a brutal world of violent criminals, evil rich men, and sexy femme fatales -- in short, every classic element of pulp fiction is included in this often ludicrous yet strangely intriguing book. Obviously, anyone who begins a Spillane novel looking for a cohesive, logical plot is already starting off on the wrong foot. However, the plot of the Long Wait defies any and all logic even by Spillane's standards. However, Spillane so credibly creates this absurd world of his that only the most analytical of readers couldn't be swept up into it. Make no mistake about it, this is not a book written for "our time." The violence is brutal, the portrayal of women is defiantly sexist, and we never forget that our hero is really a bit of a jerk. And, though it might not be fashionable to admit, there's a great release to reading Spillane's delightfully amoral prose. He might not be describing a life we'd ever chose to live but that doesn't mean his world isn't occasionally fun to visit.

Even amongst afficianados of pulp fiction, Mickey Spillane doesn't ever quite seem to get all the credit that's due to him. Maybe its because, unlike Raymond Chandler, academia has never embraced him. Unlike Dashiell Hammett, Spillane has never had any pretensions beyond being a pulp writer. Along with a healthy dose of unfashionable right-wing politics, most of Spillane's books carry an undercurrent of casual sadism. Whereas most pulp heroes did what they had to do in order to survive in a newly cynical, postwar world, Spillane's heroes always seemed to be violent for the sake of being violent. Spillane once bragged that he wrote most of his books in two days and never wasted any time with second drafts. Certainly, the fractured, make-it-up-as-you-go-along-feel to the Long Wait would seem to validate that point. But for what Spillane sacrifices in craft, he makes up for in just sheer force. This book is a crazed, maniacal trip into the imagination of a very entertaining madman. This is a book with absolutely no socially redeeming value and in the end, we're all the better for it.

I stopped in the middle of Chapter 5.The paced felt unbalanced, and a bit slow.

So many characters coming and going and it was difficult keeping track of who was who; and, it was difficult where the character was going, literally and metaphorically, in terms of clues he was following.

We are told that the police are told to be trailing the main character who was said to be framed for murder,the character who is named George Wilson, but also goes by Johnny McBride.

Judging from some of the other comments, there were those that enjoyed the book. For me, however, it didn't turn out to be my cup of tea.

So "The Long Wait" is the first Mickey Spillane book I have actually read, which is a bit odd since I love this style of writing so much. For some reason I never thought Mike Hammer was such an interesting character, especially compared to Spade, Marlowe, the Continental Op, Harper, etc. That impression may be based on the bad Stacy Keach TV show and I should probably read an actual book before deciding. Anyway "The Long Wait" does not feature Hammer but it is a very fun, crazy and memorable noir. I was really impressed with the way Spillane writes, the story is quite complicated but moves very fast and there is a ton of action. You won't find the most enlightened view of women here but that's hardly a surprise. This is tough guy fiction of the old school and I enjoyed it a lot.