Customer Reviews

Who Killed Art Deco?: A Novel

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Chuck Barris Fans - Take Art Deco to the beach

Those of us who are lifelong fans of Chuck Barris will find Who Killed Art Deco to be the icing on the cake in his prolific career. He draws you inside the character's personas, paints backdrops that are perfect accompaniments to the story and weaves a tale that makes one not want to put the book down.

It is a love story, a satire, a comedy, a mystery, a commentary on modern life and a fun read for any sunny beach.

It started out with a-fixing a permanent smile to my face.

When I got to page 23, the line: "Eddie Cantelone was a twenty-five-year old lying, sleazy scuzzbag" brought about my first out-loud chuckle.

By the time I was a third of the way into the book, the people at the next table were giving me weird glances. By halfway, the task of holding back the tears and trying to stop my sides from heaving were too much so I had to go home. That's Chuck Barris.

Of course Chuck has always made me laugh, even when he isn't writing, but Who Killed Art Deco is bound to please everyone. Art Deco Jr. is the reluctant heir of Deco Industries who despises his father, his siblings, and everything about his wealthy lifestyle. To compensate, he undertakes the bohemian lifestyle in New York and engages a variety of misfits, any of whom could be responsible for his demise. Seeking vengeance, Deco senior persuades a novice investigator to find the killer. And as Chuck would say, the chuckles keep coming.

Besides being entertaining, the book is easy to read, has an interesting little mystery connected in it, and a variety of characters who he develops just enough so that you can structure a fine superficial opinion about them.

I suppose to really appreciate Barris you have to see life from his point of view, and from his point, there are a lot of funny, misfit people and situations in the world.

What a wonderful read; funny, engaging, a bit of a mystery but nothing scary, and a sordid tale thrown in for good measure. The family of Art Deco is a cast of curious characters. His life and ultimate death leads the reader on a fantastic journey. I just wish Barris would write more books like this!