The author of the blockbuster The Bridges of Madison County blends passion and adventure in the story of an American novelist in Mexico and his young lover, who take a trip with a killer.
Puerto Vallarta Squeeze
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Lighting out for new territory but going badly astray, Waller (Border Music) mixes his usual conceits with the outlines of a thriller. Looking for inspiration and a cheap place to live off his dwindling royalty check, over-the-hill writer Danny Pastor has come to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he spends most of his time having steamy sex with Luz, a young peasant notable for her sordid past as a prostitute, her dreams of one day reaching El Norte and her obscene way of eating ice cream cones. The book opens with Danny witnessing the murder of an American naval officer; later that same night, he and Luz run into the killer in a bar. The "shooter" (which is how he is identified for most of the novel) offers Danny $3000 to drive him to the border, and Danny, sniffing material for a book that could remake his name, agrees. As the narrative progresses, it is the "silver-haired" shooter, Clayton Price, who emerges as the Waller hero, a man who honed his skills as a sniper in Vietnam, was captured and tortured by the Vietnamese and who became an assassin largely, we gather, out of loneliness. That particular problem is eventually solved by Luz, who teaches the shooter to dance (among other things). Meanwhile, various branches of the U.S. government are organizing a manhunt: the shooter, it turns out, had been working for a covert operations unit but had let his "one personal vendetta" get in the way of professionalism. As the trio make their way towards the border, they are slowly surrounded by a small army, allowing Waller several occasions to demonstrate his complete inability to write an action scene. These characters are flatter than cardboard, their situation is extremely unconvincing and the book is singularly devoid of suspense. But these weaknesses are nothing compared to the prose, which reads like an illiterate's imitation of Hemingway. Even the faithful may want to think twice about this one. Author tour; simultaneous Time Warner AudioBook.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In Waller's latest, his hero, Clayton Price, is the ultimate loner: a hit man. Of course, this killer is redeemed by Luz, the "whore with the heart of gold," who's not exactly a whore because she accepts pay only when she needs a new dress. The narrator Danny Pastor, a beer-drenched expatriate former writer, is Luz's abandoned lover. Danny and Luz are trying to get Price across the border to the United States before he's caught by the Mexican police or a CIA hit squad. The novel marries Waller's standard plot to an adventure chase, and the author claims the story is based on an actual event, going so far as to cite his research on the personality type of a sniper. One can only hope, however, that some day he'll research the personality of a three-dimensional woman. Waller has been unable to duplicate the success of The Bridges of Madison County (LJ 3/1/92), but he keeps on trying and his fans keep on reading. Most public libraries will need to purchase this book.
--Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, Kan.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, Kan.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
~A journalist, a hitman and a beautiful senorita~,
This review is from: Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (Hardcover)
I found this little book a pleasant surprise. Robert James Waller is difinitely a romantic kinda guy in more ways than one. His characters are so carefully crafted that one is sure they know someone just like them. The journalist, Danny is an American taking it easy for a while in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Living off his residuals enjoying the good live, he becomes involved with a beautiful young senorita, Luz, when one day a stranger comes into town and changes everything. Danny finds his world turned upside down but wonders if this situation, albeit a dangerous one, could be the start to a new project that might just bring him the fame and money he had long been dreaming of? If you are a fan of the author, check this one out it's a quick little run for the border.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great setting, plot, and writing skill,
By "neeterskeeter27" (http://www.neeterskeeter.com/new) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (The Run for el Norte) (Hardcover)
This book is by Robert James Waller, the author of Border Music and "Bridges of Madison County". I happened to buy this book on the way to Mexico, which was neat because the book takes place in Mexico. The only problem with this book is that it is too hard to find! I loved the plot: Danny is an American author who is down in Mexico, supposedly coming up with story ideas, but actually just lying around in the sun with all the other gringos. His girlfriend is Luz Maria, a Mexican peasant girl who has made her way up from a tiny village called Ceylaya, where she was the youngest of many siblings, all boys, which put her at the very bottom of the rung. Danny more or less takes Luz for granted and doesn't really go out of his way to make her happy. One day they are in a cafe and they witness a murder. The murderer asks Danny for a ride to the U.S. border, and Danny, thinking he could get a good story out of it, says yes. On the way, many unexpected things happen: the twisted life of Clayton Price, an expert shooter, Vietnam sniper, and a current "Shadowman" (aka hired killer) for the U.S. government, the complicated details of Danny and Luz's relationship, and many other side plots. Robert James Waller always writes realistic stories, never with a happy-ever-after ending that readers complain about but secretly hope for, and this book made me cry more than any other book ever has. It also gives a perceptive and seemingly accurate glimpse into the lives of Mexicans, especially the hardships of Mexican girls, which are humbling, frightening, and sad at the same time. Robert James Waller is an author of sad, romantic traveling tales, and if you are in the mood for a heart-breaking book, pick up "Puerto Vallarta Squeeze."
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just what the doctor ordered for a beach read in Mexico,
By
This review is from: Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (Hardcover)
On vaction in Sayulita Mexico. Being in Mexico, just north of Puerto Vallarta, I had to read this one. Even though it was by Robert James Waller who, after Bridges of Madison County, I swore to never read! Amazon's review concludes with:These characters are flatter than cardboard, their situation is extremely unconvincing and the book is singularly devoid of suspense. But these weaknesses are nothing compared to the prose, which reads like an illiterate's imitation of Hemingway. Even the faithful may want to think twice about this one. Good thing I was in Mexico and well away from any sort of connectivity when I read this one. It was an enjoyable beach read that I finished in an afternoon. Expecting Bridges kind of sappy chick flick writing, I was happily surprised when the main character is an ex-marine who is now a free lance hit man. While I must agree with the Amazon reviewer's comment about flat characters and an unconvincing situation, the book did deliver what I wanted in that place at that time: An entertaining read set in and around where I was at the time. The descriptions of downtown, latenight Puerto Vallarta were engaging enough to get me to leave our quaint little town early on the last day to spend some time exploring PV. My friend Chris McQuarie wrote a movie script about a sniper and got me interested in the ways of snipers. The portrayal of the Clayton Price, the ex-marine sniper, as a practiced, disciplined loner was interesting to compare to the characters I had read about in Chris's script. The lone sniper being pulled out of his seclusion by a seductive Mexican maiden, Luz, was at times hard to believe and not very convincingly written. But I wasn't looking to be convinced of the ability of such a guy to love. Or of her former boyfriend to mess it up along the way. What I was looking for was an easy beach read with guns and some local color from Puerto Vallarta. I got just that.
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