Customer Reviews

Out of Sight

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Starting in a Florida prison, the opening few chapters of OUT OF SIGHT are set as a frenetic pace as bank robber extraordinaire, Jack Foley plans and executes a daring escape. Helping him in his bid for freedom is his former partner in crime, Buddy who is waiting with a car in the prison car park. Also waiting in the car park happens to be US Marshall Karen Sisco who is sitting in her car, preparing to enter the facility when Foley makes his unexpected appearance. Quickly overpowering her, they stuff her in the trunk of her car with Foley climbing in behind her and Buddy slipping behind the wheel to affect the getaway.

Unbelievably cool in the crisis involved in the jail break, Foley attempts to engage Karen in conversation, even wondering aloud whether it might be possible, if circumstances were different, for the two of them to become attracted to one another. Karen of course is incredulous and wants nothing to do with the escaped prisoner, apart from capturing him and delivering him back to prison. Thinking on the events later, after escaping from Buddy and Foley, she does find herself impressed with Foley's cool head under pressure.

There is a brief lull in the action as we recover from the excitement of the opening scenes and the thought of the next score is placed in Foley's head. This takes the form of a robbery target in Detroit, supposedly a low-risk venture made easier by some local help. After narrowly escaping capture from the US Marshalls that includes another run-in with Karen Sisco, he decides that it's time for a change of scenery and he and Buddy heads north.

By this time, it becomes obvious that there's some sort of weird fascination between Jack Foley and Karen Sisco taking place. They're somehow drawn to one another, even though they are on directly opposite sides of the law.

In Detroit, Foley and Buddy are out of their comfort zones. They don't know the city, they don't know the people and it's just started to snow. They hook up with a truly dangerous fellow ex-con named Maurice. He is their aforementioned local help, but they realise that the low-risk operation is shaping up as anything but. With nothing better on offer and against their better judgement, they go ahead with the plan but are extremely wary.

Meanwhile Karen Sisco has tracked Foley to Detroit after some very slick detective work, and after talking her way onto the Foley case. The inevitability of their meeting is obvious. What remains up in the air is what will happen after they meet and when it comes to plots created by Elmore Leonard, this means that the story could lead anywhere from here.

On the surface this is told in a light, breezy tone thanks mainly to the cool behaviour of Foley in times of crisis backed up by Buddy's comical acceptance of Foley's decisions, no matter how unusual they seemed. When the setting changed to the colder wintry city of Detroit, the tone darkened considerably to reflect the dangerous Maurice, with whom they have to deal. You get a definite sense that the significant scenes are going to take place in Detroit thanks to these strong mood changes.

Elmore Leonard mixes an easy conversational tone with tight, tough dialogue. He manages to give each of his characters their own distinctive voice thanks to his clever use of phraseology. Even though Foley and Buddy are ex-cons, in this book they can be considered the good guys and their language reflects this through a minimum of swearing and slang. In glaring comparison, we find that the Detroit "bad guys" such as Maurice, although also ex-cons, litter their dialogue with constant and extreme profanities. It's a simple but effective way to differentiate the difference between bad and downright evil.

Ultimately, OUT OF SIGHT is a love story. Sure it's an unusual love story in the extreme, but a love story just the same. With plenty of action taking place on the periphery of the Foley and Sisco mating dance, it's an absorbing book that provided me with an unexpected ending.

If you have never read Elmore Leonard, this is a good place to start. A bank robber named Jack Foley escapes from prison with the help of his longtime partner Buddy. Federal marshall Karen Sisco attempts to stop the escape, but Buddy thwarts her attempt and forces her into the trunk of the getaway car with Foley. In the trunk, Foley and Sisco make a connection talking about things like robbing banks and movies. Soon, Sisco gets away, and the remaining story centers on Foley attempting one last job and Sisco trying to catch him (all the while dealing with the romantic and emotional connection that she shares with Foley).

The story is pretty darn good. And there is a wide range of characters with well drawn criminals ranging from silly, all talk screw-ups like a stoner named Glenn to a real violent, psychotic bad guy named Maurice. The dialogue is funny, and the very quick, clever twists of story/plot make the story a pretty good, engaging read.

This novel was later made into a movie by Steven Soderbergh. Even though the book is good, the movie is much better. While the tone and story are pretty similar, Soderbergh makes some welcome changes. First of all, the Leonard novel is told pretty straightforward. Soderbergh, however, mixes up the narrative using flashbacks that allow Soderbergh to develop the characters. Also, Soderbergh enhances certain scenes by adding suspense and humor (such as the climax that is really suspenseful and hilarious in the movie but by-the-numbers in the book). Finally, the film is shot well and features one great performance after another (George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Ving Rhames, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, Catherine Keener, Luis Guzman).

I gotta say that the book pales to the movie. If you've seen the movie, stop there. Read other Elmore Leonard novels like Rum Punch or Riding the Rap or KillShot. This one takes the same formula which is take 3 chapters, introduce the main sets of characters in the first two, and the conflict in the third, and let them wait it out with cultural references, odd dialogue, and comedic situations, and end it all in the end. The problem is the film makes the formula fresh by adding a great cast, nice camera work, nonlinear editing, a funky David Holmes score, and top-notch directing to tell the story. Here is it told from beginning to end and just seems rather bland and boring after seeing the film. And changing the races for alot of the characters (3 I'm thinking of right now) for the movie made it seem alot better. There is some latent racism in some Elmore Leonard books.

I've read about half of Elmore Leonard's novels and still think this is his best. Get Shorty may be his most entertaining and funny, but Out of Sight combines all of Leonard's best features in one novel. His dialog, one of his strongest points, crackles at his best. His cast of characters includes the usual misfits and freaks, but here they range from pathetically funny to unusually scary. Jack and Karen, his lead characters, are well developed and believable, and you root for them both from their first appearance. The plot moves at a steady pace; not breakneck, but it builds to a perfect crescendo. And Leonard's toolkit to fold in backstory to develop his characters is never more effective. If you've never read Leonard, this is the one to try first. If you like Leonard and haven't read this one, do yourself a favor and buy it.

"Out of Sight" starts so strongly--with the escape of legendary con Jack Foley from prison and his whimsical "kidnapping" of federal marshal Karen Cisco--that it's a shame that it runs out of steam so quickly. While Foley is a charming old-world criminal, and Cisco one of Leonard's strongest female characters--a complex mix of Rambo and Daddy's girl--that it's a shame how Leonard manufactures a series of threadbare plot devices to bring them together: stakeouts and near-misses; minor characters who fill up pages but amount to nothing; lots of south Florida "atmosphere." It's almost a textbook example of the Master running on autopilot--or on auto-Hollywood. Yes, it's worth reading, as almost all decent Leonard books are, but certainly not worth owning.

In OUT OF SIGHT, Elmore Leonard again investigates the psyches of quirky criminals, trying to share with us the reasons for their lives of shameless pillage. Jack Foley's bank robbing days seem almost like fun. As a criminal, Jack is thoughtful, non-aggressive, persuasive and cool. His friend, Buddy, this is a buddy story, is also quite nice, faithful, humorous and fey.

But the nasty, drug-crazed characters like Maurice cannot be understood. Jive-talkin', ready to kill instantly, these men are ultra-violent, ready to pop the unsuspecting citizen on a whim.

But the most interesting psyche in OUT OF SIGHT is Karen Sisco, Jack's pleasant, hard-nosed, U.S. Marshall fantasy woman. Karen is attracted to cool, whether the male be a criminal or a citizen. Cool is her description of Jack: he's laid-back, non-controlling, daring and manly, a criminal-type but still warm and gentle with soul mates. Karen's big decision involves Jack and her duties as a police officer. Her big question: can she due her duty and arrest Jack?

We have to wait to the last few pages to find out. And that's why the tension builds and why this book rates 5 stars. If you hate violence, you might want to shut your eyes during the final few pages.

Larry Rochelle, Author of the mysteries DEATH & DEVOTION, TRACETRACKS and DANCE WITH THE PONY

I am NOT a reader of bestsellers, thrillers or suspense books normally. I picked this one up on the recommendation of a friend, for a long plane ride.

Well, this book sure beats the inflight movie! In fact, I haven't seen the film made from it, but the book does read just like a film.

The plot is fairly simple; a jail break, and a fatal attraction between a cop and a suave criminal. This book is particularly fun to read in light of the recent jailbreak in Tennessee, where the criminals ended up on the lam for weeks.

These criminals are cut of a different cloth and the anti-hero is totally fictional; too intelligent and gentle to be real. But the characters are excellently drawn, the pace swift, and the book is diverting enough to keep you happy on any cramped flight. One of Elmore Leonard's better books, in my opinion and very enjoyable.

OUT OF SIGHT by Elmore Leonard.

STORY BRIEF:

Jack has robbed hundreds of banks. He's smooth, charming, and likeable when talking to the tellers he's robbing. Karen is a Deputy U.S. Marshall. She arrived at the prison to deliver something and is getting out of her car when she sees Jack crawl out of a tunnel. He has just escaped and his getaway driver Buddy is parked next to Karen. They take Karen with them so she can't help authorities catch them. Jack gets into the trunk with Karen while Buddy drives. They have a nice conversation for about a half an hour in the trunk. Certain events happen, Karen gets free, and Jack misses her. He wants to spend time with her. He keeps thinking about what it would be like if they had met in a bar, what they would have said, what would have happened, etc. Karen gets herself assigned to the task force trying to catch Jack.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:

I was smiling many times during this book. I kept shaking my head with Jack's thinking and actions. He wanted to date her! He actually had contact with Karen more than once while she was trying to catch him. I've never read anything like this before. It was great because it was different, and unexpected things happened. I really liked both of these characters, Jack and Karen.

Because I was smiling so much, I wanted to give this 5 stars. But I didn't because 5 stars for me needs a wonderful feeling at the end of the book. But that kind of ending could not be. He is a career criminal. At one point he said talk about an honest job to a criminal and he'll jump out the window. She has integrity, and her job is important to her. They cannot have a happy ending together. But they care about each other. Given the set-up this was probably the best ending the author could do. It was reasonable. But it was a little bit of a letdown.

The book was a little slow in the middle concerning Glenn in Detroit, but I could see the need for developing that part. This book is shorter than most novels.

I agree with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which says it well. "Elmore Leonard's ear for dialogue and imagination for plot and character make life's likable losers endlessly entertaining."

The movie based on this book was made in 1998 staring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. One reviewer said the movie had a different ending from the book.

A sequel to "Out of Sight" was published in 2009 called "Road Dogs." It includes Jack plus characters from two other books. According to several other reviews the "Road Dogs" plot is weak. I have not read it.

NARRATOR:

The narrator George Guidall was excellent.

DATA:

Unabridged audiobook reading time: 6 hrs and 49 mins. Swearing language: strong, but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one, told not shown. Setting: current day Florida and Detroit, Michigan. Book copyright: 1996. Genre: crime fiction with a little romance. Ending: Sad yet sort of happy in a reasonable way.

GET SHORTY's Chili Palmer might be just a little bit cooler than this book's hero, bank robber Jack Foley, but Foley is still pretty damn cool. Only in an EL novel, would a felon on the run put the moves on a US Marshal. Their meet-cute moment in the trunk of a car is a hoot. Reviewers have complained that the movie version of OUT OF SIGHT with J. Lo and George Clooney tops the book, but I disagree. They're each good in their own way, but EL's writing has a wry, interior texture that's never adequately captured on the screen. As usual, the plot is inventive, the characters jump off the page, and the dialogue is better than eating chocolate.

It's been several years since anyone posted a new review of "Out of Sight." Well, I just read it for the first time, and it is vintage Elmore Leonard.

The book's plot moves along nicely, there are interesting characters and situations, there is typical excellent dialogue and there are some very funny lines - mostly from Buddy.

If you're looking for a "beach" or "airplane" book - this one is tough to beat. I strongly recommend "Out of Sight."