Customer Reviews

Moon Over Manhattan

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

 

 

Larry King? The talk show guy? Wrote a mystery? Oh yeah --- and it reads like he had a ball doing it. The main guy is hip liberal talk show host Arthur Vandermeer, who resembles Mr. King in many respects. But if the famed TV host of Larry King Live is half the hypochondriac his creation is, he'd barely be able to get out of bed in the morning.

Larry Moon, a right-wing tabloid newspaper columnist, is pulled in as a last minute replacement to interview his nemesis, Vandermeer, for a fluff piece on spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline. Moon, whose career is nosediving, was angling for a front-page byline with a big star, but this doesn't sound like what he had in mind. Then he falls into an exclusive when Vandermeer's daughter, Allison, who knows how to push her father's buttons, announces while Moon is at the house that she's going to elope with Goonie, a kid from the projects. But she ends up missing, and Vandermeer, fearing a kidnapping, is distraught.

Some other New York types enter the story in a mirthful mix-up --- a monosyllabic private eye who hates the Disneyfication of Times Square; a hotel doorman from Queens with grandiose plans to strike it rich; throw in a madam, a pint-sized madman brawler and a befuddled, idea-a-minute media magnate and you have a Manhattan cocktail of mayhem.

In a Runyonesque tribute to the spirit of the characters who inhabit the Big Apple, King states in a forward that he hopes the love, admiration and affection he and his co-writer Tom Cook have for New York and its people shine through. It most certainly does!

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

As a born and bred New Yorker who now lives far away...my heart still belongs to my birthplace. Larry King and Tom Cook have truly written a valentine to the city I love so much. Wow! Larry King, Tom Cook and New York...three great ingredients...mix them togther and you get a fantastic read! I loved this book! After all the sturm und drang of these past few years, finally something I could laugh out loud at! It's not just light-hearted...it's really smart and timely too. And it's certainly not just for New Yorkers!

This book isn't a farce, it's just silly. It's not funny, it's insipid. The writing is poor. The characters are charicatures. The plot is non-existant. My respect for Larry King is gone.

This book reminds me of Carl Hiassen's novels. Quirky characters, clever satirical writing. A quick read that I enjoyed very much.

Were to start? I have never actually written a review for a book. Even if the book was bad, I figured it wasn't worth my time writing a review. This book on the other hand needs a review. I am surprised it got published. The use of the word "aforementioned" drove me up the wall. It appears on almost every single page. This is the first Larry King book I have read, and it seems that the impression it is leaving on me, it will be the last. I always finish a book that I start, but being only half way through this one, for a first, I am contemplating on setting it down...... in the bottom of the trash bin. Dont waste your money.

I hate to adopt such a negative view on anyone's work but I wish I could give it no stars. I bought this book thinking I should read some recent authors, taking a break from the "classics". I can't imagine anyone finding this book humorous, even though that was clearly the intention. The repeated use of little gimmick phrases weren't funny the first time and soon I was unable to even bear finishing the story. Run far far away!

Arthur Vandameer is a liberal hypocrite, preaching his causes on television while living an elitist life at home. His teenaged daughter, Allison, comes up with a strategy to overcome his plans to send her to Harvard--she'll pretend to elope with Goonie--one of the many annoyances she cultivates simply to frustrate her father. Her plan goes wrong when Goonie misses his appointment, Allison takes up with a con-man wanna be, and right-wing reporter Charlie Moon comes to interview Arthur only to find Arthur's life unravelling.

MOON OVER MANHATTAN is a sort of paean to New York's eccentricity. All of the characters are over the top as they pursue selfish and frequently self-destructive goals. When the entire cast of the novel ends up on the set of Arthur's television show, the scene is set for an explosion of epic proportions--which does happen although in a way that might surprise.

Authors Larry King and Thomas H. Cook keep the novel moving forward with smooth writing and cruel humor. The ordinary people are portrayed as idiots (as in the con-man's wife disguises herself as a gigantic peanut to track her husband), liberal Arthur as a paranoid hypocrite, and right-wing Charlie as a paranoid who can't get it up.

In its even-handed insults, MOON OVER MANHATTAN reflects at least some of the realities of New York. In the Foreword, Larry King writes that he was inspired by the events of 9/11. I think MOON misses the mark a bit if it's intended to portray characters as likable.

This book was a complete let down. I'm still questioning if the mystery part of the story was the climax. Where was it?

In short."I couldn't put it down...". This book I could put down, but I finished it . As quickly as possible!
A big disappointment.

THIS NOVEL COMBINES THE HUMOR OF "GET SHORTY" WITH THE KIND OF CHARACTERS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE DAMON RUNYON IN HIS HEYDAY.THIS BOOK IS AN INSTANT CLASSIC AND THE GREAT REVIEWS ARE WELL DESERVED.BRAVO,LARRY KING! BRAVO TOM COOKE!