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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Thriller of the Human Condition,
By RDHawk "rdhawk" (Midwest) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pick-Up (Paperback)
***½ Pick-up by Charles Willeford Ever open up the paper and read a reported story -- not more than a column long -- about a crime, or near-crime, of tabloid interest, that you know has more involved details than what is reported? This is a book that could be based on one of those true-life experiences, deserving of more than a cursory reporting in the paper. This is a psychological tale with a thriller's edge and a suggestion of criminality. The story centers on two seemingly blue-collared alcoholics attempting to find validity in lives that once promised and should mean and hold something more. As any good noir fiction, this is a story about an attempt to find a connection, with another like-minded individual, which comes close but ultimately fails. And of course, as any good noir fiction, it deals with a connection, which could have worked, if not for unfortunate and ill-fated timing. The central character, Harry Jordan, if not admirable, is likeable and identifiable as a man who has not succeeded in failing; although, he has fallen markedly short of his own expectations. Jordan is an over-qualified greasy spoon counter-man, who has a surprising artistic pedigree. By happenstance, he meets Helen, who is a blueblood scion cum alcoholic attempting to escape herself and her heredity in each new town she encounters. Initially, the couple finds commonality in their mutual and separate love for alcohol. How can two people who have so thoroughly disappointed themselves, join together and succeed as a couple - that is the obstacle faced by Harry and Helen. The suspense lies in whether they, as a couple, can salvage the remainder of their lives together. The fate of their love is pre-ordained. The mystery is how they ended-up at this level in the first place. The unraveling of the relationship of Harry and Helen is secondary to the development of the back-story, illuminating the circumstances that allowed them to meet in the first place. The ending is not a surprise development, as much as a surprise detail, which forces you to re-examine all previous thoughts and conclusions arising from the psychology of the drama. This is the 3rd Willeford book (Burnt Orange Heresy and The Woman Chaser) I have read, and on each occasion, I have been most impressed by Willeford's creative story telling. Unlike even the best noir writers, Willeford's books are not the product of a effectively patterned brand of story-telling; rather, each novel tries a new approach at telling another unusually rare tale. In most respects, the storyline of Pick-up is fairly straight forward with little plot elevation; Willeford's devil is in the details behind the story. Willeford is not only expert in developing the details of his characters' lives, but conveying his personal expertise on a wide variety of circumstances, topics, and subjects - most notably art. As a novel, you may be easily forget the particulars of Pick-up's plot, but you will not be able to leave it without feeling as you have learned something about the human condition. ** As an aside, I would personally recommend the Black Lizard edition of this book if it can be found and is available for a reasonable price. For my money, the Black Lizard edition of this book is a work of art in itself. The cover is noir photography at its finest, and the print format is exceedingly readable. For me, the edition itself is a collectible, not to mention Willeford's novels themselves are becoming increasingly harder to locate.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Was the world ever like this?,
By
This review is from: Pick-Up (Paperback)
This is another strangely absorbing novel from a unique writer. In his later works, Charles Willeford seemed to view the world as greedier and more desperate, and society seemed to be falling apart. He used sardonic humor to chronicle the desperation of various unsavory characters, and no one appears to be uninfected by ulterior motives. Disturbing scenes of sex and violence occupy more pages. The earlier work Pick Up takes place in a much kinder world. People are more civil to each other, and not everybody has a hidden agenda. The main character in this book, Harry Jordan, wishes to die, but he is so passive and ineffectual that his best hope of achieving it turns out to be a possibility of execution by the state when he is arrested for the death of his woman companion. In Willeford's hands, the prison where Jordan awaits trial resembles a well-run three-star hotel. Jordan is given a single room, which he describes as being quiet (there seem to be no other inmates in this facility), food is good, and there is a jailer who performs like a competent hall porter, providing Jordan with various amenities to make his stay pleasant. In one scene, Jordan finds his street clothes have been returned to him laundered, with his shirt in cellophane. Law-enforcement personnel are depicted as bent only on serving justice, contrary to the image accorded them in today's news reports and fiction. Although I lived during this time, the world didn't seem quite so benevolent. I read this book with more amazement at its sociological point of view than with interest for its characters, whose self-destructive aspirations seemed more affectation or the product of mental illness than the logical result of social forces or personal inadequacy.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
helpless people in a hopeless world.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Pick-Up (Paperback)
This is first class willeford all the way. He gnaws down to the marrow of the bone of the downtrodden people on the edge of the universe. Absorbing, passionate and brutal.
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