David Goodis

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Merry Christmas!

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby

Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League by Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortune of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by Jonathan Pearson

The Blonde on the Street Corner by David Goodis

December 26, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Having been busy with Christmas prep, avoiding Delta and Omicron, and other various things, I haven’t had the time to write long, 250+ reviews for these books. I figured I’d just cram them all here since I know I won’t finish Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate before New Year’s Eve. The Fortress of Solitude *** This clears the 3-star threshold but just barely. I appreciate what Lethem is trying to do here and I usually enjoy his work. But this was a […]

Two Duds

The Wounded and the Slain by David Goodis

Doctor Lovebeads by Gary Reilly

January 21, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

How much does it suck when you read two books concurrent with one another by authors you normally like…and they turn out to be complete duds? I took time to write this review after finishing both books to wonder if it was just me. Nope. Both were not good and very close to bad. The Wounded and the Slain There are good ideas in this David Goodis noir tale: ideas about marriage, accountability, colonialism, loss, sense of place and justice. But they’re buried underneath Goodis’ […]

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Black Friday by David Goodis

December 6, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

A few months ago, a journalist whose newsletter I follow posted about how much he loved David Goodis’ books. We had exchanged e-mails in the past; he turned me on to the fabulous Martin Beck series (bless him forever). Hearing him laud Goodis made me want to read more of the man’s work. When I saw a Black Lizard (bless them forever) copy for sale, I pounced. My favorite avenue to explore existentialism is not in the philosophical novels of graying old men but in […]

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