Customer Reviews

Pariah

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kyle Nevin, a psychopathic Boston gangster, is out of prison and out for revenge. Nevin is as vicious a bad-guy as you will find in contemporary fiction, except in Dave Zeltserman's audacious PARIAH, he's the hero. Nevin bares his dark soul to the reader in a chillingly casual, and often deadpan hilarious, first-person narrative. It is testimony to Zeltserman's skill as a writer that you not only get drawn in, but can't stop yourself from rooting for this monster, even as the body count grows.

And just when you thought you had a handle on the narrative, Zeltserman takes a hard left into the world of letters, when Nevin signs a contract with a New York publisher to pen the story of his most heinous crime, barely disguised as a work of fiction. A scathingly satirical swipe at a society where no bad deed goes unrewarded by a book deal.

In PARIAH, Zeltserman entrenches his position as the ranking neo-noirist, putting a contemporary spin on a tradition that goes way back to Jim Thompson and James M. Cain.

Dave Zeltserman is the Jim Thompson of the twenty-first century. It's clear from the first chapter of PARIAH that Kyle Nevin is a dark and disturbed character, but the extent of his psychosis isn't clear until you're deeply into the novel. Just when you think he can't get any worse, he does. It's a fascinating, shocking read, as well as an incisive commentary on our celebrity-obsessed culture.

Yes, Dave Zeltserman has done it again with Pariah. In my opinion, this is classic noir at its bleakest level.

The reader is spared nothing in this brutal and despairing story. You are taken on a journey through the frightening, corrupt and violent streets and forced to interact with the lowest of the low. There is nothing socially redeeming here. It is a story, after all, of an insatiable desire for revenge--pure and simple. Noone fights for right or honor or seeks their way to the light. It is all about getting back what was taken and then some. It is a look at the human spirit in its basest form. It is a gem and a half, and you will absolutely love it.

After eight long years, Kyle Nevin is finally out of prison. One of three men who basically controlled Boston before he wound up in prison the last eight years was hard. But, unlike others faced with long stretches of prison time, he never talked about anyone else. This South Boston Irish mobster kept silent about everyone which included his former boss Red Mahoney who set him up to take the fall. Red deserves special treatment and the plans for that allowed Kyle to stay strong no matter what prison he was in.

The welcome home is far different than he expected. The passing of the last eight years has had repercussions far and wide and nobody is what he or she was when he stepped inside. His brother Danny has fallen far economically and can't go back to the Southie neighborhood as he made his own plea deal with restrictions for life. Danny has gone legit, much to Kyle's disgust, and isn't looking to go back to a life of crime. Ma is dead too and Kyle's prison time and all the stress most likely caused that. His old girlfriend dumped him pretty quick after he went inside. Nobody messed with Kyle before he went in and got away with it. Now that he is back out, he intends to reassert control, get the money flowing again, and find Red Mahoney. He's going to need some competent and silent help and that is easier said than done.

Heavily reminiscent of his earlier novel "Small Crimes" also released from Serpent Tail, this novel also follows a con and his return to civilization. Unlike the previous book where the con was trying to follow the straight and narrow path, Kyle Nevin is all about getting back in charge and living large. Being legit is never part of Kyle's thinking. Revenge regarding Red Mahoney is the theme of the book from start to finish with Kyle trying various ways of accomplishing that ultimate task all the way through to the final twist at the end. An end that seems both a surprise and yet obvious when one considers the entire work.

Along the way there is plenty of dark humor, violence, and social commentary about what it means to be a celebrity these days. This is especially true in terms of publishing and media hype in these days of celebrity no talent writers and their ghost writer counterparts. An unseemly side of publishing and yet such tomes prove to be one of the most popular with the book buying public.

A heavily atmospheric noir style novel much like "Small Crimes" the book takes you deep into the world of Boston and its suburbs. Dave Zeltserman manages the rare feat of making a locale become a living breathing character. A locale often just as dark and twisted in its own way as the characters that populate it. In short, "Pariah" is another good book from Dave Zeltserman. Another good and depraved tale that is filled with plenty of atmosphere, dark individuals, and scathing social commentary all the way to the twisted and violent end.



Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009

Evil comes in all forms. The Hitler prototype is perhaps the one we're all best familiar with, but there have been others we can confidently label evil (even if their kill totals are on a much lesser scale). Certain serial killers fit the description and/or sociopaths in the business world guilty of bankrupting the elderly without an iota of remorse might qualify. There have been bad guys out on the streets, whether acting solo or in groups (organized or not) who've more than qualified (and some who've managed to bilk the system one further and cut deals to walk free again--trading off 20 or more murders for a little inside info the helpless feds might need).

It happened in Boston when Whitey Bulger in a deal to aid the FBI gave up the New England Italian mob. Later, with a little help from his friends (the FBI), Whitey went on the lam and hasn't been heard from since (and remains on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list). His FBI handlers didn't fare so well and are doing time, but that's a whole other enchilada.

Dave Zeltserman's latest entry to the world of noir (Pariah) features the victim of a Whitey Bulger-like character whose just been released from serving out his term (a conviction that was a set up from start to finish). Kyle Nevin is an anti-hero and a half and a weapon of mass destruction in his own right. His story is a train wreck that is very difficult to take one's eyes from (as I found myself reading forward at every opportunity ... on the train, the ferry, the next train ... the bathroom, etc.). A page turner from the moment Kyle is met by his brother Danny outside the prison he's just been released from, Pariah moves fast and furious through a series of events motivated by vengeance and a lust for the old life (and all the power) Nevin's been missing.

Upon seeing how much his younger brother has yielded to the legit life (i.e., driving the Honda {and brother don't I know that feeling}, living in a hell hole apartment, living under the bland girlfriend's rules, etc.), Kyle needs to bring Danny back and fast for he has a game plan that will not only set them both up for life, it'll facilitate his vendetta for the man that put him behind bars for eight years.

There's something else going on you won't get from this review but it has to do with a "fictional" book deal based on Kyle's game plan gone horribly awry. Author Dave Zeltserman also offers us some of good old fashioned male chauvinist sexual perspectives (what, say, the Queen of Noir, Vicki Hendricks, does for women) and it's a nice change to read something from a writer unafraid of offending the politically correct.

But back to that hint of the publishing angle to this missile of a read. Wannabe tough guys love to talk about themselves (it's a fact of street life); the more grandiose the tales, the less likely there's any validity to them, but talk they will. Civilians call them "tall tales" or "fish stories" ... street guys call them "war stories" ... but turning such stories (no matter where the genesis) into publishing gold is something special. Think it doesn't happen? A guy named Michael Pellegrino once passed himself off as a member of the Gambino crime family and got a $500,000 advance for a tell-all book (until he was exposed as a fraud and sued by Simon and Schuster). Somebody forgot to perform the due diligence, eh?

There are notes to an editor interspersed throughout Zeltserman's Pariah and they will keep you alert as to what is likely going down ... except then there's a sharp turn that sweeps the rug from under some feet (including the readers) and all (in the form of justice--no matter how it comes about) is suddenly not lost.

For those who prefer the darker slice of life, Pariah will keep you glued to its pages. The chain reaction of Kyle Nevin's release from prison on the world around him is the stuff of nuclear explosions. Violent, sexual and relentless, there are no holds barred anywhere in this wonderful launch into evil. The meek beware ... be-very-ware.

Reading Dave Zeltserman's PARIAH was a slam to the side of the head with a sledgehammer, and that's a good thing if you enjoy digging into the mechanizations of the criminal mind. I read everything he's written. It captured me from page one and never let go. The review by "Forever Reader" totally missed the point. He referred to the character as "not having a flicker of emotion." Apparently a true sociopath has never crossed his path, although statistically one out of 25 people are. He's either very lucky - or totally oblivious. The character in this book is a classic! The only flicker of emotion a sociopath feels is for himself. It is his incapacity for empathy and the feelings of others that drives him so easily into the dark places where a "normal" person would never dream to go. He lives in a world driven by how things effect him, oblivious to others except for how they might serve his own purpose. Dave Zeltserman perfectly captures what makes this guy tick and understands (unlike Forever Reader) the dark and dangerous psyche of the classic sociopath. He nailed it!

With most through the eyes of the main character reads, where they are violent criminals, readers find something to sympathise with the villain, no matter what crimes they are commiting. Not so with Zeltserman's creation of Kyle Nevin for Pariah. Nevin is a dispicable human being and will intimidate, beat or kill whoever is in his way to achieving his goals, men, women, children, family, it doesn't matter. If you don't give him the respect that at least in his mind he thinks he deserves, then you're going to pay.

Nevin's just done a lengthy stint behind bars, he didn't bother with any of that parole nonsense as he doesn't want anyone telling him what he can do or where he can go. Where he wants to go is straight back to South Boston and pick up where he left off, as Boston's most feared thug, who doesn't need to pay for a thing and for everyone to do whatever he tells them. Only South Boston has changed, his former mob boss is on the run, (and Nevin wants to get even with him for ratting on him). Danny his former thug underling to him brother, has now got a legitimate job and in Nevin's mind ugly girlfriend and is contempt to live in a run down flat and drive a piece of junk car. Neither are showing him the respect he would expect and Danny is even being hesitant about joining him with the caper he has been working on while behind bars. Nevin's girlfriend also never came to visit him while behind bars so unless she comes up with $10 000 she and her young family will pay.

Pariah is written as the draft for a second book by the main character Nevin, intent for a publisher to read, edit and publish. You'll find out about the first If I did It OJ style book, as well as Nevin's disgust and violent reactions to the post jail South Boston. Nevin does correct some of his story after telling parts where he knows the publisher can go back and check the facts, of his sensational tale, which adds to the enjoyment as you don't know how much of what you've read so far happened, and how much was b s self inflated ego legacy telling. That what's make this such a good read, at no time do you ever feel a smidgen of like for Nevin.

Richard Stark's anti hero Parker, may be the most well known and popular ruthless villain in hard crime fiction, but Zeltserman's Nevin, he'd give Parker nightmares.
If you prefer villains you can like at least a little bit, Zeltserman's Small Crimes and Killer both have characters as ruthless and tough as Nevin, but who are much more likeable just released from jail characters who at least care slightly about other people.

After spending eight years behind bars in Cedar Junction, Kyle Nevin is released from prison. The Southie is angry at several people and he vowed everyday he was incarcerated rhat he would get vengeance against his former Boston gang and the Fed who betrayed him on the bank job. His brother Danny puts perspective to Kyle's time in jail when he mentions the Sox winning a World Series and the Patriots three Super Bowls.

He plans to take them down one at a time until he finishes his scheme with his former boss Red Mahoney. Nevin does what he does best beating people up and finding a woman Nola who enjoys sex with bad boys. Needing cash, he persuades Danny to abet him in kidnapping a child of a wealthy man. They succeed, but when they remove a tooth as evidence to send to the parents, the kid, a hemophiliac, bleeds to death while the two million dollar ransom is taken by the contact person Lorenz.

Nothing goes right for the siblings in this shocking mocking of SMALL CRIMES capers. The story line is fast-paced but driven by Nevin who has BAD THOUGHTS about almost everyone as he plots vengeance against Red who set him up to get killed in the bank job. Although the plot is thin, fans of bad boys character driven "dick lit" criminal thrillers will enjoy PARIAH.

Harriet Klausner

The main character, Kyle Nevin, is an Irish mobster fresh out of prison and seeking revenge against his former mentor who ratted on him. At times I rooted for Kyle, since anyone can relate to wanting revenge for a perceived injustice done, and at times I hated Kyle, for his senseless violent acts against innocents, including his own brother. Kyle Nevin is a true sociopath and a calculating, accomplished criminal. In any event, I felt that Zeltserman developed the character well. I enjoyed the voyeuristic view into the complex, honest and harsh inner workings of a criminal mind, and couldn't put this book down for long. The clever plot twists demonstrate that life presents many cruel ironies, yet, in the end, even Kyle Nevin learns that when you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

In his fourth novel, Dave Zeltserman has managed to outdo himself and created even more worthless characters than those who peopled his last book, "Small Crimes, perhaps best exemplified by its protagonist, Kyle Nevin. To say that Kyle is unsympathetic is to greatly understate the matter. The right-hand man of "the" mob boss in his South Boston neighborhood, he had done whatever was asked of him, e.g., killing people, breaking legs, picking up protection money, and robbing banks, the last of which put him in prison for eight years for armed robbery. Kyle served the whole length of the 5-8 year sentence imposed, so as not to be troubled by any potential parole conditions or plea agreements.

As the book opens Kyle, now 42 years old, has just been released from prison, fueled in equal parts by plans of revenge against the man who had set him up - none other than his former boss/mentor/protector [for whom he had worked since he was 11 years old], as well as straightening things out - one way or the other - with the woman he had loved, who had broken off all contact with him the day after his sentencing. Self-described as being "like a pit-bull, all he needed was the smell of blood to bring out his true nature," seemingly comprised in equal parts of rage and sang froid. And just when you think things can't get any worse - well, you know how that tune goes.

One of the things that sets this book apart, in addition to the fast-moving plot, is that its narrative form is apparently a proposed manuscript being written by the now celebrity-gangster-turned-author for whom the public has apparently developed a voracious appetite. The satire invited by this is done to a turn. But the book is unquestionably very dark, and its protagonist utterly despicable. Although very well-written, it is so difficult to find any redeeming quality in any of the characters that I am ambivalent about recommending it, but nevertheless find that I am doing just that.