Moth (Lew Griffin) [Hardcover]

James Sallis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993 | Series: Lew Griffin

When a former lover is murdered, former P.I. and New Orleans teacher Lew Griffin is compelled to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the victim's daughter, who abandoned her crack-addicted infant. Reprint. NYT. PW.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although less structurally innovative than Sallis's first Lew Griffin mystery, last year's The Long-Legged Fly , this second in the series still offers plentiful satisfaction. Here, recovering alcoholic Griffin, a novelist, literature professor and ex-PI in New Orleans, searches for Alouette, the runaway daughter of his former lover, the recently deceased LaVerne Adams. Flashbacks detail Griffin's recent history before bringing the reader up to his efforts to find Alouette, whose crack baby is dying in a Tennessee hospital. Sallis explores themes of friendship and loyalty as Griffin ruminates on the works of Proust, Camus, Kierkegaard, Queneau and Robbe-Grillet, among others, while he repays emotional debts to LaVerne and seeks his own "quiet, constant eureka" of existence. Secondary characters sparkle--a gay counselor at a women's shelter, the French teacher who becomes Lew's latest romance, LaVerne's mother and the low-life barflies who aid Griffin's search. A final sequence links Griffin's attempts to help a colleague find a missing son to his own regret at a lost relationship with his own son. The novel's rewards reside less in linear plot than in rich characterization, captivating rhythms and lyrical voice.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"There is danger, violence, suspense; there are characters so vivid as to be documentaries in miniature and milieus as perceived by all the senses .... The reader has to hope the remarkable biography of Lew Griffin will continue."-- Los Angeles Times

"An intelligent, enigmatic book ... engrossing and disturbing."-- The New York Times

"Another walk on Louisiana's wild side ... even stronger than The Long-Legged Fly."-- Kirkus Reviews

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881849456
• ISBN-13: 978-0881849455
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #998,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tragic PI novel with cool lyricism and lucid despair, March 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Moth (Lew Griffin) (Paperback)

This is the second appearance of Lew Griffin,an Afro-Amrecan private detective in New Orleans. In Moth,Griffin searches for missing daughter of late LaVerne,his ex-lover. Griffin interviews and tracks daughter's trail,though,Mr.Sallis seems to be not interested in who done it nor why done it nor what is hiding behind the case. Instead,Mr.Sallis forcuses deep into Griffin. Mr.Sallis writes about despair and trauma of a person who chose to be a PI,a profession to inevitably touch and face the dark and evil side of the human soul. Mr.Sallis's previous novel,The Long- Legged Fly,was wrote on Lew Griffin's fall,how he fell into the dark pit of despair. And its sequel,Moth,is a story of recovery.In searching for a missing person, Griffin struggles to search and grab for the lost part of himself. Mr.Sallis's prose has cool lyricism,and with that,he draws Griffin's despair and the portrait of lonesome detective who tries to get over the despair. Not only the protagonist,but other characters are also well portraited,their life get resonant with Griffin's,and the sound of resonance must hit the emotion of readers. In the groomy rain of New Orleans,Mr.Sallis presents us a well-crafted story of a depressed man,a story of desperate hope. A private-eye novel played in blue note. Very original

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detective Work with Depth...and, uh color!, July 12, 2006

By 

K. Bowman "Arrowboy" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moth (Lew Griffin Mysteries) (Paperback)

Yes, James Sallis seems to have gotten it right. This detective story featuring private eye, Lew Griffin, presents more than your typical follow-the-trail-of-clues but rather it offers social commentary on the state of America (without being didactic), depth of character, as well as insights into how characters perceive themselves and the worlds in which they live.

Ironically, Sallis is described as a white author, and his protagonist is African American. As an African American myself who has read Walter Mosely, I have to say that Sallis' writing is more meaty.

Kudos to Sallis! I've already started collecting the rest of the books in this series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Noir detective story with a lot of feeling, February 6, 2008

By 

Chris Greenwood "Tree" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moth (Lew Griffin Mysteries) (Paperback)

At the outset Lew Griffin's former lover, Laverne, has just passed away. But she leaves a message for Lew asking him to find her recently pregnant and drug addicted daughter who has disappeared. Lew feels that he has to fulfill this request and gets pulled back into the work that he used to do, like a moth to the flame. This is a New Orleans college professor, missing work to go intimidate thugs and break some faces in the process of finding Laverne's daughter. What really made this story so intriguing was Sallis' ability to pack a lot of meaning into just a few words. None of the words felt unnecessary, and Lew emits such an aura of understanding people that he creates a lot of powerful moments without saying much. I loved this book and have since been seeking out all of Sallis' other Lew Griffin novels. How this series could slip so far under the radar is beyond me.