Customer Reviews

Shotgun Opera

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Shotgun Opera" is pure, escapist thriller fun. The first few pages have all the expected touches of a serious thriller. Dan and Mike Foley are hitmen who clean up for the mob with no concern for the innocent who might be in the way. Until tonight. Mike does something that wakens his conscience and brings a bloody career to a close.

That was 1965. Fast forward to 2005 where Andrew Foley, son of the now deceased by natural causes Dan Foley helps two mob connected buddies with a small cargo diversion job on the waterfront. Whoops! As the corpses start piling up, Andrew needs to run before he is terminated by an unknown enemy. He dials the number given him by his late father, the number for his Uncle Mike who grows grapes in Oklahoma.

From this point on the plot has huge holes and disconnects; the characters are delightfully outlandish. Nikki Enders, hitwoman extraordinaire. The mystery man who provides her contractors. Nikki's mom, Middle Sister, Litte Sister, all of whom are murderous and more than a bit oit of the mainstream of Ameican life. Ortega, an illegal immigrant with a dream of a crime empire; Enrique Mars, self-confident murderer. Jack Sprat, contortionist and part-time killer and his 300 pound alligator wrestling wife.

And poor old Mike Foley, long retired hitman who just wants to be left alone with his guilt, grapes and bad back in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma.

It is not to be.

Nephew Andrew shows up seeking safety and the assorted killers aren't far behind.

There is no pretense to seriousness in this thriller: it is simply a fun romp filled with interesting (if bizarre) characters, mayhem, murder, the occasional surprise and, of course, a happy, if violent, ending.

Jerry

Shotgun Opera is Gischler's most mature book, to date. It's not as racously irreverent and grotesquely funny as his previous books, but you'd have to go a long way to find another book as wicked as Gun Monkeys or as sly as Suicide Squeeze.

In Shotgun Opera, Gischler takes a shot (and a stab and a helicopter gunship) at the crime story convention that hard guys can never really retire. You can run but you can't hide--from yourself. Mike Foley was a hard man in the 1960s in New York, but a "simple" job broke his nerve and he ran for a new life making wine in Oklahoma (can you believe it? You will, 'cause Gischler's that good.) Mike thought he was out, but when his nephew in New York gets marked for death, Mike finds himself back under the gun and caught between the desire for peace and the duty to blood. And plenty of both come into play on all sides of this convoluted and fast-paced tale as big, rich, and blood-soaked as any grand tragic opera. And it ain't over till the fat lady sings. It's quite a perfromance.

Downside: Like many operatic pieces, it has moments of excess and a tendency to draw minor characters too small and flat. Some very poor copyediting and a few detail errors left me shaking my head and knocked me out of the flow of the story, unfortunately. For these reasons, I can't give an unreserved thumbs up to this book. Don't get me wrong: it's a terrific book, a fun, consuming read, and has a great ending that really satisfies, but I had the feeling it was rushed to print and didn't give it the care it deserved in the editing process.

Still, if you like Gischler or gritty, outrageous noir crime with a dash of humor and a ton of engaging personalities, you should check it out. It's a real showcase of Gischler's skill as a story teller and an icon of the "new noir." And be a stand-up guy and buy it new, 'cause writers need to eat--it's only $7 (such a bargain!)

That quote from the Godfather movie characterizes Mike Foley's dilemma in "Shotgun Opera". Mike and his brother Dan were low level hitters and clean up men for the mob when a job gone wrong so wounded Mike's psyche that his guilt compelled him to retire, abandon his family and move thousands of miles away to Oklahoma. For the past forty years, Mike has led a solitary isolated life learning to grow grapes and make wine while trying to bury his sins which he can find no way to expiate.

His brother's son, Andrew, suddenly drops into Mike's life and turns it upside down as he seeks Mike's assistance in escaping from retribution for having seen something he was not supposed to see. Andrew is now being pursued by "the most dangerous woman in the world", Nikki Enders, an uber- assassin from a family of assassins, all of whom also see action before this story is resolved. Also appearing are subcontracted assassins that include a malevolent Cuban hit man and a husband and wife team directly from a midway carnival, Jack Sprat and his enormous wife.

Throw in a few double crosses, familial and sibling rivalries, and competing hit squads and soon the reader needs a score card to keep up with the mayhem. Mike and his neighbor Linda are the most developed of the characters as they struggle to understand what is happening to them and to try to protect themselves as well as Andrew. Mike ultimately understands the code of the hard man compels him to seek out his tormentors and cut off the head of the snake in order to kill the rest of the snake.

I have ambiguous feelings about "Shotgun Opera". To be sure, it is well written in a terse economical style that moves the reader along at a breakneck pace at times. Certainly there is violence and suspense galore for the reader. Mike's psychological struggles with his past and the guilt that resides there were both illuminating and exhausting for me. The juxtaposition of the aging killer from the past engaging the younger modern killers was entertaining and perhaps under developed.

Of course, taken as pure escapist entertainment, the book succeeds as a fun and quick read. Most of its characters remain one dimensional in their roles as killers etc. The humor is dark and the action sometimes is "over the top" (stealing a convenient helicopter for which an assassin happens to be able to fly and using it to hit her target) but, if you know that going into a Gischler book, you aren't going to be disappointed. I quibble a bit with the ending...not that it was a surprise...but for the fact that all sins do not necessarily need to be expiated.

I'm not going to take the time to give an overview of the plot. Plenty of others here have done it, and probably with more accurate detail than I can muster. I'd just like to say that this was one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time, and is my favorite of the books I've read that were written by Victor Gischler (Go Go Girls of the Apocalypse, Gun Monkeys). From start to finish, this book is packed with action, twists and turns. The characters, though not well rounded or fully developed, are a surprisingly interesting and diverse group. The plot is classic - an action packed blood bath filled with crooks and betrayal, ending in an adrenaline fueled hail of gunfire that spans the last 1/3 of the book. When it all ends, the reader is left satisfied, and at the same time, is left wanting more. If you're looking for a fun, fast paced read, this book is highly recommended. If you're looking for a highly developed, cerebral masterpiece, get some tea and crumpets and read Pride and Prejudice.

I've read three Gishler books now, and this, I suspect, may be my favorite. It's a wonderful parody of the hit man novels becoming so prevalent. You have hitmen chasing hitmen, chasing hitwomen, all in a madcap over-the-top set of scenes. Every possible caricature is presented: a dysfunctional family formerly headed by a lunatic CIA operative, his three daughters (Big Sister, Middle Sister, and Baby Sister) the oldest of whom takes on the takes of eliminating witnesses to the exit into the United States from a ship's container of an Islamic suicide bomber. Their mother, another CIA operative has settled into dementia and is knitting a never-ending scarf (shades of Madame LeFarge.) At each step along the way, the actors in the soap opera subcontract their jobs to other misfits, including Jack Sprat a diminutive circus performer married to a 420 lb. alligator wrestler on steroids. In one really great scene, Middle Sister, now trying to go more or less straight, dons her uniform as an army major (but putting on the leaf cluster of a light colonel for good measure) commandeers a fully armed helicopter to attack Mike Foley, himself a retired hitman growing grapes for wine in Oklahoma!, and kill Andrew, Mike's nephew, who is the real target. She decides to strafe and while doing so gets a call from her husband wanting to know how to make his supper. I thought it was hysterical. You get the idea.

Very enjoyable and very clever. Gishler is worth reading.

After separating from his lowlife thug mob life and brother Dan, Mikey Foley has taken up refuge in Oklahoma, producing Scorpion Hill Wine from his self-taught vineyard. It's been 20 years when he gets a phone call from someone he's never met, his nephew Andrew. Seems Andrew has witnessed something he wasn't supposed to and there's a hit out on him. Enter Nikki Enders, slinky top assassin that is looking to get out of the game. Mix in a variety of over-the-top fellow assassins, all after Andrew and you're in for a fast paced, hectic trip in this action packed novel.

It's been quite sometime since I've actually read a book that was this hard to put down. Despite some realistic issues, I couldn't stop reading it. The characters are enjoyable and there's not an overabundance of them so there's little to no sidetracking involved. I found it similar in style to Smokin' Aces and Snatch. Would make a great summer action movie.

Wracked with guilt over losing his nerve and running out on his brother Dan, Mike Foley resolves to protect Dan's son Andrew as--for various reasons--the contract on his life is delegated from one colorful killer to the next.

This is another madcap bloodbath from Gischler, yet his nuanced take on each character made me care about them all, especially those trying to make new lives for themselves. The big question is, will they succeed?

I read a bunch of reviews of this saying it was a satire, and while I can see some satirical elements, I chose to just read it as a straight pulp novel. And it succeeded on that level. It's a good, solid slice of Noir. Interesting characters, lots of guns, backstories, interlocking arcs; all sorts of things to contribute to turning pages quickly to see what happens next.

Not a classic of modern literature, but I really don't think that's the point. I plan on picking up his other books, and already turned one friend onto this one.

I got this book without having read Victor Gischler before. I had been steered there by a friend who's taste I trusted. I started it while waiting for a plane. I honestly was upset when the plane landed because I had to put the book down. I described it to a friend as "the Marx Brothers do KILL BILL vols 1 and 2". Wild, wacky and totally fun. It will make you want more.

I've been unable to put this book down since purchasing a couple of days ago. It's loaded, cocked, & packin' heat! Okay, I am a bit biased, as I own all of Victor Gischler's books...but "Shotgun Opera" has quickly become my favorite. It has all the things we love in fiction: humor, over-the-top characters, violence, sexy ladies killing thugs, mobsters killing sexy ladies, mobsters killing mobsters, even more carnage, a rapid-paced action, eccentric carnival freaks, and all the taste of a good Pinot Noir. Like I said, everything. Buy this & every book with Victor's name on it!