Customer Reviews

Serpent Girl: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I should have listened to the guy at the book store who said I should not spend the twenty bucks on this book. I figured the salesman must be an embittered unpublished author because after all, on the back of the book there are props from the likes of Elmore Leonard, it's called "funny" by the very funny Mike Myers and John Ridley claims it's got the "best opening line in modern American literature and just gets better". The best thing about the book is that it's short and simple so at least MC doesn't seem to take himself as seriously as his supporters do. By the time I was done I couldn't help but wonder if the fact that Helen Hunt is this guys girlfriend not only helped him to get the blurbs but a publishing deal in the first place. It's not the worst book I've ever read, just very half baked. Aside from a thin story, the characters are nothing but faded caricatures. Not only does the writing show MC is far from a literary genius but his return to his Hollywood roots provides a predictably flat ending. It just occured to me that MC reminds me of a grungier male version of Gigi Grazer in that they both writes books with potential but no ambition.

First of all, be aware that this is not a novel, it is a novella that has been padded out to 200 pages via generous line spacing, broad margins, and a small book size. This is not a criticism in any way, just a forewarning that I read this book cover to cover in well under two hours. To Carnahan's credit, he doesn't waste a lot of words and manages to stuff a fair amount of vivid imagery and wacky action in a small package. When a book comes blurbed by Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassan, and John Ridley, you pretty much know you're going to get an outsize crime caper populated with bizarro characters, snappy dialogue, and some kind of anti-hero -- and that's just what Carnahan delivers

Protagonist Bailey is a 22-year-old slacker on break from college and in the midst of a run of larceny. From the moment we meet him, lying in the desert, holding his genitals, whacked out on peyote, and bleeding from his neck, we are propelled into an ultra-lurid cartoon underworld. The story flashes back and forth between Bailey's actions after getting off the desert floor, and giving the backstory as to how he got there. Basically, the story revolves around a payroll heist Bailey planned at the skanky circus he was working at. This was going to be the long con that would pay his college tuition and allow him to return to the normal world. It's a pretty standard neo-noir genre tale, with Bailey on the run from some nasty circus freaks (owners of the circus, they want their money back plus a pound of flesh), while also trying to track down his double-crossing partners in crime.

This quest leads him to LA, where he meets an awfully nice hippie-chick/recovering addict named Sissy. She ends up tagging along with him to a Tarantinoesque climax at a SoCal biker meth lab where the freaks also manage to catch up with him. There's a rather predictable bloodbath of an ending, and it all ends rather neatly. The one major complaint I have with the story is that Sissy's presence at the end proves vital, but makes no sense based on her character. Carnahan establishes her as being tough, common-sense, and heavy into recovery, and yet after a single night with Bailey, she's going to tag along to a meet with some heavy biker meth dealers out in the middle of nowhere? A meeting that even Bailey admits has a good chance of ending with him dead? Even cartoons need to have internal consistency, and this is the one part of the ride that doesn't work.

In any event, it's a mostly fun little diversion, if somewhat disposable and forgettable. The outsize characters are almost all given enough personality to stand on their own. I especially liked the weirdo who picks up hitchhiking Bailey at the start, and the titular Serpent Girl (a woman with no arms and legs) is a creepy but affecting character, and Carnahan manages to fulfill the clown stereotype with extreme nastiness. In the end, although the characters are pretty nifty, and there's some really nice descriptive moments and dialogue, the book still manages to feel derivative and lacking in something. It's perfectly fine pulp fiction, but not something I would recommend to anyone I know unless they like to read anything and everything relating to circuses.

This circus-heist-gone-wrong makes nods to Hunter Thompson and Carl Hiaasen, as others here have said. But this stylish Gonzo road trip leads into Elmore Leonard territory. As with Leonard, the dialogue is laconic and on-the-nose, and the three main characters transcend genre. For example, the Serpent Girl herself is a limbless circus freak capable of unspeakable violence – but just try to get through Carnahan’s story without seeing her as poignant, authentic, and at just the right moments, desirable.

There are at least 2 books worth of page-turning plot, thick with meth-dealing biker gangs, evil circus freaks, gang-raping clowns (suspicions confirmed), and enough betrayals for a Sopranos marathon. We’re steered through this surreal terrain by good-natured anti-hero Bailey Quinn. Bailey’s a smart slacker who’s simultaneously selfish, amoral, and basically decent, while dishing out the best comic political incorrectness this side of Southpark. Several times, when I caught myself laughing out loud, I had to scramble to avoid telling others the embarrassing passage I’d found so damn funny. And as dark as the story gets, Carnahan’s tone is as fatalistically breezy as Vonnegut whistling a funeral mass. More, please.

I picked up this book after a recent obsession with the circus and circus performers. The cover looked promising as did the description. This book was hardly about the circus apart from the description of "boning" the limbless girl. I always find it concerning when I read a book I know I could have written better. The book read like a rough draft. There were very unsatisfactory descriptions and blunt, womanizing depictions of sex.
The names and character profiles were even beyond belief, save your time don't read!

Like wacky plotlines? How about a cast of characters living on the off-side of the morality, honesty, and decency? A bit of volcanic violence? Then there are fifty books you could read. What sets this book apart, and what makes it one that you should read, is the quality of writing that Carnahan brings to the table. This is not just another comedically twisted tale of crime and revenge. Carnahan's wonderfully evocative prose and clean, no nonsense style strikes me like a Raymond Chandler for the new century. But there's really no mystery here. If you like the first couple of paragraphs, buy the book - you'll enjoy it - but only for a little while because it reads so fast you'll be done before you know it!

It was different, tautly written, highly entertaining and intelligent, too. Though short for a novel (just under two hundred pages), its pace was consistent and a startling amount of story and character was conveyed to the reader. Were it not for the whole circus aspect, it would make for an excellent film (I think it would be just too offensive on the big screen for most audiences). I really enjoyed this debut novel and will definitely be keeping an eye out for any future books produced by this unique talent.

I came across this in the library and it looked like fun. It isn't. It's a hipster diary, but I've never felt less sorry for a "victim". Just because you justify stealing as "copping free" doesn't mean it's cool, and the hideous disregard of all fellow humans is distasteful. Do yourself a favor and read "The IHOP Diaries" instead for a funny, sweet, sad, wonderful memoir.

I sat down to read this book as of yesterday. Up until page eight, it crossed my mind that I was reading yet another book I would regret having picked up. You see, I like detail. Unanswered questions drive me mad. But even worse than lack of detail, is lack of sense. Above all, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g must make sense. And last, but not least, fluidity. It must flow like the falls of Niagara.

As I rounded page 8 I soon realized I was in err. As a matter of fact, I finished this book in one sitting. I haven't done that in years. With two kids, it's next to impossible to read the directions on the back of a box of Betty Crocker cake mix in one sitting, much less an entire book's worth.

No stone is left unturned in this fast moving novel. Mr. Carnahan has tied everything up with an expertly fashioned bow.

I must know more about Eelie. The freaks were absolutely fascinating, and Carnahan's ability to write about them was very real. I felt, in the end, that HE must have known an Eelie somewhere in his life.

Excellent writing. I withhold the fifth star in the hopes there will be a sequel.

Sincerely,

Rubber "Robert" Duckie