Customer Reviews

Rum Punch (Thorndike Press Large Print Paperback Series)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Rum Punch" is a sequel to Leonard's mid-70's classic, "The Switch," and while not nearly as tight as that taut psychological novel, it's refreshing to see Ordell Robbie, Melanie and Luis Gaza back in action. Robbie is one of Leonard's most appealing black villain-kings (this is not an ethnic slur; from "The Switch" to "Freaky Deaky" you'll see a long string of Leonard African-American heavies who are generally smarter, calmer, wealthier and more resourceful than the white cons with whom they partner), so smooth than he can run a crew while hobnobbing with redneck Nazis. Jackie Burke is the latest a logn line of appealingly pragmatic Leonard female characters. Max Cherry, a burned-out bail bondsman whose interacts beneficially and detrimentally with all the main characters, appeals with his sense of hard-boiled integrity. The only character disappointment in the story is Luis Gaza, so noble and honorable (for a kidnapper) in "The Switch," who comes off as a burnt-out loser, a shell of his former self. Maybe that's the point, but it's an ignoble fate.

As for the story, it's pretty standard Leonard fare about crosses, double crosses, money laundering, extortion, redemption and whatnot. It's pretty typical of Leonard's mid-90's work, padded with forced dialogue, a movie-like narrative arc, and the hanging-in-the-air resolution. Not one of his best, but still enjoyable.

Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch" (which was the basis of Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown") is a page-turner in the truest sense of the word - it's hard to put down. Leonard's has crafted a novel with his usual ear for fantastic and witty dialogue and fast, descriptive and fluent prose. Add a well-crafted and surprising plot and we have one of Leonard's finest works.

The story revolves around Jackie Burke (changed to Jackie Brown in the film), an airline stewardess who smuggles money between locations for Ordell Robbie, an arms-dealing hot-talking crook who uses everyone he comes in contact with for his own gain. The plot takes off when Jackie is caught by the police with the money for a delivery (along with some drugs she didn't know were in there) and Ordell is forced to bail her out through a bail bondsman, Max Cherry. Jackie sets up a sting operation which has the appearance of involving everyone -- the police, Ordell, even Ordell's discontented callgirl. In the end... well, you'll have to read it for that.

What makes "Rum Punch" a pleasure to read, like all of Leonard's novels, are the fringe characters which seemingly only he could dream up. The relationship between Louis, Ordell's dim-witted and short-tempered right hand man, and Melanie, Ordell's primary callgirl, is amusing, as are scenes like Ray Nicholette's bravado-style shootout with one of Ordell's arms-shipping lackeys. Leonard also intersperses interesting bits of character introspection, things like Max Cherry's contemplation about his relationship with his wife (with whom he's separated) and Jackie's three ex-husbands (although she only usually says there's two, because two of them were so similar, even in name, that they're hard to tell apart).

The plot itself goes off without a hitch. There's nothing profound, and probably nothing new, but the execution is suspenseful and works because of the strong characters involved.

Heartily recommended.

Matthew D. Johnston

If you've never read an Elmore Leonard book, you better get your ass up and get reading! For a man in his seventies it would be suffice to say that he isn't an out of touch old man, but quite the opposite. He's so observeant of peoples traits that his casts personas never miss a beat. The plot in this novel comes secondary to the sharp dialogue and the querky characters- as in all Elmores stories. He captures beautifully, the walk and talk of every character. A slow ex-con, a disenchanted bail bondsman, a cowboy ATF agent, a street smart gun dealer, a hopped up beach babe and last but not least-Jackie Burke; an air stewardess with brains, balls and panache to help get her through her problems with the ATF and the hip-cat killer Ordell Robie. So trust me on this, Elmore's one of the master writers out there today that deserves every word of praise he can get. And oh yeah if you're thinking of getting 'Jackie Brown' I'd advise you to get 'The Switch' first as it is the first story about Melanie, Ordell and Louis Gara.

Get Shorty and Jackie Brown are two of my favorite movies, and after the success I had with the book version of Get Shorty, I had to check out Jackie Brown's book, Rum Punch. In both cases, my appreciation of the book was greatly enhanced by my ability to picture the outstanding actors in the movies. It almost seems like Leonard wrote the book with the actors in mind, because the descriptions in the book so closely match the visual on the screen. The exception, of course, is Jackie Brown, who was a blond in the book and a black woman in the film, but similar in almost every other way in both the book and the movie.

The plot has tons of twists and turns and double crosses, but I found I was able to follow it fairly well. I recommend this as a companion to the movie. Fans of the movie should definitely check out the book, and vice versa.

Rum Punch is a pretty good representation of Elmore Leonard's style. The story focuses on a flight attendant attempting to bring half a million dollars into the country, and then in true Leonard style, all the colorful characters (some on the side of law, others not) who try to gets their hands on the money.

The book features some strong dialogue, particularly when the gun runner Ordell Robbie is speaking. Another strong element is the way that Leonard easily switches perspective--from the flight attendant to the gun runner to an ex-con to a bails bondsman. While the book is good, it is not on the same level of Leonard's Get Shorty. I think the book's one flaw is that while the twists are good and the story rings true, there is nothing particularly unique about the story.

The book was made into a movie titled Jackie Brown, which despite changing the title and locale (from South Florida to Los Angeles), is surprisingly faithful to the book. The movie is okay, but the book is better.

I'm a big fan of Elmore Leonard and Rum Punch is one of his best.

The plot: Jackie Burke, a down-on-her luck airline attendant is forced to help authorities nail gunrunner Ordell Robbie after she's caught sneaking cash into the country for him. Of course in an Elmore Leonard novel, double crossing is the name of the game and Jackie, with the help of bail bondsman Max Cherry, devises a plan to take the money and run.

This novel has everything we come to expect from a Leonard novel. Great dialogue, memorable characters, and a plot full of zigs and zags. The cops are a little shady and the criminals are as likely to kill one another as they are to kill the good guys. Rum Punch is an unpredictable, rollicking ride; sometimes laugh out loud funny, always entertaining. A great read, from cover to cover.

Like many others, I read this book after watching "Jackie Brown." I hadn't read a Leonard book before, so was unsure quite what the writing would be like. I was pleased to find that it didn't try too hard to be deep and descriptive. The story moved and was a quick read.

The interesting things about "Rum Punch" is also what makes "Jackie Brown" a really good film. Leonard has other side plots and stories happening that don't appear at all in the film, so there are still some surprises for those who watched the movie. Yet, for the movie story, it was definately good to cut those out as it really tightened up the flow of the story.

The best thing about the book was the ending. In "Jackie Brown," Tarantino takes the ending beyond "Rum Punch's" by a hair... making a conclution for the viewer that Leonard had let the readers make for themselves. I prefer the way Leonard doesn't make any definate conclution about whether Max goes with Jackie or if he stays with his bail bonds business.

Jackie Burke is caught with $50,000.00 and some cocaine. The police don't really want Jackie, they want Ordell Robbie, who she was taking the money to. Ray Nicholet and Faron Tyler, the two law enforcement people involved work a deal for Jackie to make another trip bringing money in and it will be marked when shegives it to Robbie. Max Cherry shows up and gets involved with Jackie, they come up with a way to keep the money. In steps Louis Gara and Melanie, friends of Ordell Robbie. They plan to have a plan to get the money in the exchange and keep it themselves. Any of this will leave Robbie out in the cold, he is a dangerous man to be left out. The book has many twist and turns. The people are confusing as there is so many involved but it finally all comes together. A fairly fast moving book. Who will end up with the money? You will be surprised.

I love Elmore Leonard and I think that this is his best novel. Everyone is a bad guy underneath, even the law enforcement officers. Again, Leonard writes excellent dialogue for all of his characters and writes a very entertaining story. If you liked the movie Jackie Brown then you should definately give the book that inspired Tarantino to make the movie. If you like stories where everything gets messed up and nobody really wins then give Rum Punch a read.

For obvious reasons, I say that this is so much better than the movie. First of all, it gives you actually FEELINGS the characters are experiencing. And thanks to Leonard's wonderful way of changing the point of view, you never lose interest. The events are fast and quick, the dialogue so good I wondered why Tarantino did a thing to it. The story is very simple, and the scenes drawn out mostly by the dialogue and a few descriptive terms to let your mind fill in the details. All I can say now is that the movie, if you have seen it, is nothing compared. This is a must-read for anyone who likes action and love and guns and a very intense ending. The last forty pages run through your fingers like sand. Vintage Leonard!