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Title: Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0-06-008394-8 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 31 December, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (57 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Vintage Leonard
Comment: I ordered Tihomingo Blues before it was released, hoping that I would get a vintage Leonard novel, but prepared to have my hopes dashed. As I started reading, I was beginning to think I got a dud. The characters and the situation sounded a little too corny - the dixie mafia, red necks involved in high crime, and a diving show?
However, I stuck with it, and I am glad I did.
Once the story really gets into gear (when Dennis Lenahan witnesses a shooting from 80 feet, and I'm not giving anything away here, read the jacket of the book), it takes off. As the protagonist, Lenahan gets dragged along by confidence man Robert Taylor from one confrontation to another until the dramatic finale in a Civil War re-enactment.
Beyond the protagonist and Taylor, there are a dozen other great characters, from Charlie the ex-baseball player, who can't resist working a reference from his baseball days into every situation, to Jerry Germano the ex-bomber turned money laundering genius.
The ending is what you should expect from Leonard: a dash of humor, several characters "taking care" of each other conveniently, and a few questions unanswered. That's what Leonard novels are frequently about: a moderate narrative with distinctively differnt elements, coming together in a punch line of sorts in the last two pages of the book.
My favorite bit from the novel was about "Rose" the dog. Don't ask, I don't want to spoil it for you. Just read.
If you ever wanted to get into Leonard, but didn't know where to start, this is as good a place as any. The characters are all unique to this novel. Once you start reading Leonard, you'll keep going.
Rating: 4
Summary: A CON MAN'S GAME IN CIVIL WAR UNIFORM
Comment: Unlike a lot of other reviewers here, I am not that familiar with Elmore Leonard's work. I am at a disadvantage because I can't compare this novel to his other writing, but that works as an advantage too. I came to it without any preconceived notions based on his other writings.
What Leonard has done in TISHOMINGO BLUES is to set a gangster war in the center of a re-enactment of a Civil War battle and located the whole thing in a semi-rural, somewhat redneck, contemporary southern city; albeit, a city with gambling resorts. To add spice to this setting, the main protagonist, Dennis Lenahan, is a carnival daredevil who dives into a tank of water from a height of 80 feet. Further added to the mix is protagonist number two, blues lover and con man extraordinaire, Robert Taylor from Detroit.
There is no shortage of "evil-doers" in TISHOMINGO BLUES. Even the good guys are bad guys, just more likeable. They're our bad guys. On the side of our good bad guys is Germano "Jerry" Mularoni, Detroit gangster. On the other side, the first rank "baddies" are Arlin Novis, Juniper "Junebug" Owens, and Jim "Fish" Rein. Non-aligned is John Rau, a member of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. For color, we have Charlie, a one subject huckster, whose only subject of conversation is the two innings of Major League Baseball he once pitched. There are also several other lesser characters includingling Tonto, an aptly named side-kick. For love interest there are a few Southern Women with names like Verline and Loretta. Put this whole bunch in Civil War Uniforms, both Union and Confederate, arm them, and give every one of them a reason to "do in" some or all of the others, and you have Leonard's plot in a nutshell.
There are no clean motives in this book. There are no moral issues to be decided. This said, Leonard does work up our sympathies for the two protagonists and before the sun sets on the battlefield (actually, even before it rises) we know for whom we're rooting, whatever their motives. That's one of the beauties of Leonard's writing, we know who our crooks are.
I found TISHOMINGO BLUES worth reading just to find out who does what to whom and how and when.
Rating: 4
Summary: Liked this book
Comment: I liked this book, and I also like Mr. Paradise. Leonard is an acquired taste, in my opinion, but everyone should try at least one of his books. Leonard's writing style is always a pleasure, full of wit and sly observations that most of the rest of us miss. The premise was interesting in this book also, as was the connecting of the different characters. Also liked "The Last Juror" by Grisham and "The Bark of the Dogwood" by Jackson McCrae.
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Title: Unknown Man #89 by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060082216 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Bounty Hunters by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0380822253 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: When the Women Come Out to Dance : Stories by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060083972 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 19 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen ISBN: 044661193X Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Valdez Is Coming by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0380822237 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 05 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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