- Hardcover: 218 pages
- Publisher: McSweeney's Books (March 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1934781541
- ISBN-13: 978-1934781548
- Product Dimensions: 38.2 x 20.3 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #399,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
The second novel from the critically acclaimed author, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and World War II marine, "Misadventure" is a serpentine murder mystery written with a style and flair that's reminiscent of the best noir.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon Canada
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly entertaining, April 19 2010
By Ella Hill - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Misadventure (Hardcover)
This was the second (and last, as he died before it was published) book by Kaufman, who wrote Bowl of Cherries in his nineties. Liked Bowl of Cherries better -- I found it's craziness a little more entertaining and the vocabulary/word choice was just fantastic (in a $10 word kind of way). That, said, this was still a very enjoyable book (and unlike Bowl of Cherries, had a good second half). Whereas Bowl of Cherries was more Vonnegut, this is more Coen brothers.
Noir genre, ambiguously set in the 80s in LA, murder mystery: Jack Hopkins is a real estate agent with a checkered past, an obnoxious boss, whiny girlfriend, and what seems to be a life of a hit man in front of him. A real estate mogul wants Jack to kill his wife, while his wife (our femme fatale) has offered to pay Jack $10 million to kill her husband. But then she turns up dead. Add in private islands, monkeys, illicit affairs, murder, rubies, backstabbing and dealmaking and it's an interesting, fast-paced read. This is more than just a murder mystery -- the characters are great in and of themselves and the ending is more than a "voila the murderer is revealed" type of ending (it's deeper).
I'd give this a B+. It's a rare combination of a quick read with actual substance, the characters are great, and I was entertained. It's a pleasant weekend read, but not life-altering or going to stick with you for years to come. Kaufman is such a great storyteller, you wonder what he would've done with an A+ plot.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hated To See This End, Jun 30 2010
By W. Ravenel "yellow-dog democrat" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Misadventure (Hardcover)
A dark tale for the 21st century. Suspenseful, sexy, and beautifully-written homage to the 1940s noir novels of James M. Cain. A mind-blowing achievement by a gifted writer.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Noir fans should take a chance..., Dec 17 2011
By Mej - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Misadventure (Hardcover)
Solid Noir from Millard Kaufman. I didn't really have any knowledge of him prior to this novel and I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. The plot was well thought out and the web of characters are is weaved in a manner that sheds light on the peculiar nature of each person.Kaufman is a damn wordy writer. I meant this in good way. His choice of syntax is elegant but often had me reaching for a dictionary. He reminds me of Chabon in some ways.
I liked this book a good bit. The ending was a bit meh, but I'd still recommend this to book pals.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
