Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Corruption and unrest in 1964 Los Angeles, August 1, 2004
This is the first book I've read in the "Easy Rawlins" series of detective novels. I heard Mosely speak once in a panel discussion of the legacy of Raymond Chandler, and since then I've been looking for an opportunity to read his stuff. Chandler wrote novels about corruption, about institutions that you expect to be stalwart and only gradually find out are corrupt to the core. In Mosely's books, the corruption is taken for granted up front. This is a book about relationships, about the ad-hoc institutions and problem-solving methods people put together by themselves when they KNOW the legitimate system is crooked. Easy Rawlins isn't a paid detective; he's a problem-solver doing a favor for a friend. This puts a fresh new face on the detective genre. I've never read the first Rawlins book, Devil in a Blue Dress, but I think that I'll be looking for a copy soon.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Easy Rawlins and the Civil Rights Movement, October 14, 2002
The mystery in "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" serves as a device through which the black perspectives of the 60's civil rights' movement are explored. The people in this story ranged the full spectrum of attitudes, from the apathy of the older generation through noble ideals to the militant actions of youth. Never once does the narrative avoid the honesty of portraying the times. In the midst of all this, Easy Rawlins strives to rescue Brawly Brown from the troubles of the times. While still coming to terms with the death of his best friend, Mouse, Easy Rawlins accepts a request to find Brawly Brown and help him. Easy's long time friend, John, asks him to find his girlfriend's boy, Brawly, whom John had hired on at his construction site. Since becoming involved with the Urban Revolutionary Party, Brawly had dropped out of touch with his family. His mother was scared that he might be in serious trouble. For the fee of one home cooked meal, Easy agreed to look into it. Throughout the novel, black culture is presented in all its colors. Dialogue varies with the education level and social status. "'I'm no cop brother. I heard about this place down at Hambones. They said you guys do a lot a talkin' and I decided to come on down and hear you out.' My diction and grammar slid into the form I wanted junior to hear." Status is determined as much by the shade of skin color as well as well. The darker a black person's skin is, the more African he is, and the more trusted he is within the black community. Those with paler skin are shunned for betraying their race by the accident of birth. Filled with distinct characters, there is no room in "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" for stereotypes. If there is any weak aspect of "Bad Boy Brawly Brown," it is that the cast of characters is simply too large. Even though all the characters have distinct voices, many of them are not heard enough to leave a lasting impression. Beyond Easy, the most memorable character never actually appears in the course of the events of the story. Raymond "Mouse" Alexendar, Easy's lethal sidekick through six previous books died three months before the events of "Bad Boy Brawly Brown." Easy's guilt and an unreasonable glimmer of hope (since when has hope ever been a product of reason?) breathe vitality into his living memory of Mouse. At every turn, Mouse's voice whispers violent solutions to every difficult situation in which Easy becomes enmeshed. Easy bounces from one situation to another as the plot meanders along. Several times the story threatens to stall as Easy talks to yet another person about Brawly's past, present and uncertain future. Many times Brawly's personal situation is less compelling than the evolution of the Urban Revolutionary Party. These glimpses of the individual emotions and actions behind the civil rights movement hold the power of living history. "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" is a compelling tale more because of the insight it offers into the civil rights activities of the '60's in the Watts district than as a murder mystery. With vibrant dialogue and vivid descriptions, this episode of Easy's life is still a richly rewarding tale.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flesh and Ghosts, September 20, 2002
By A Customer
Mouse is not dead. In "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" Mouse's spirit pervades nearly every page, certainly every chapter and, ultimately, Mr. Ezekiel Porterhouse Rawlins finds that, whether dead or alive, Mouse has given him the solution to the problem of Brawly Brown. And Walter Mosley offers a solid hint that Easy's quest to purge himself of his guilt over Mouse's death will be continued in the next installment in the series.I can't believe that I'm saying this: This book was worth every day I've waited for it over the past six years. After completing the book moments ago, even as a dedicated Mosley fan I was struck numb by the power of his words and his vision here. Other reviewers have commented on that already. But because Mosley is writing about a now well-documented period of history and my life when secret police "intelligence" units along with the FBI ant others were concocting provocations and committing extra-judicial murders much as Mosley describes them in his novel, perhaps it resonated with me more than it might with other readers, or at least resonated differently. I knew people such as Mosley describes in this novel in the late '60s and early '70s, people filled with the desperate passions of revolutionaries and dreams of a greater freedom for their humanity. Mosley honors the memories of many members of a generation that struggled and dreamed by allowing their many voices to speak through his characters with all their flaws and strengths. The brightest threads of Mosley's multi-textured and intertwining plots are those which reveal Rawlins, the man, unobstructed by the ferocious shadow of Mouse, and the torture of human relationships, especially those of family. One reviewer commented that this novel did not provide the action and thrills (s)he expected from a mystery novel. Mosley's novels are not thrill-a-minute rides any more than James Lee Burkes'. They are stories of the human condition and how it traps us, for better or worse, into behaving in ways that we would prefer to avoid but cannot because of duty or honor or responsibility or love or obligation or fear. Seen in this perspective, Mosley does not write mystery novels,he writes literature. And the fact that he so captures and exposes elements of African-American culture and experience and history places him as a writer in the first rank of ethnic spokespersons, in the company of Chester Himes, John A. Williams, James Baldwin, Ishmael Reed, and many other men and women who seek to celebrate triumph over suffering even when that triumph is celebrated by simply returning home, alive, and wiser. I have heard that Mosley is working on the next Easy Rawlins experience and that we will not be required to wait another six years to savor the words that describe them. I fervently hope that this is true. In the meantime, I will ponder what I have read today and I will remember when so much of it was life and not fiction. Bravo, Mr. Mosley. And thank you.
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by Walter Mosley
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