- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Serpent's Tail (Oct 1 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1846686431
- ISBN-13: 978-1846686436
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 200 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #648,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"'So noir... all the way to a surprisingly bold ending... zips along' Laura Wilson, Guardian 'Zeltserman delves deeply into his specialty, an unorthodox look at the criminal mind - the 'unlucky' guy who can fool himself way too long. It kept me turning pages and glancing over my shoulder.' Vicki Hendricks 'Pariah is the perfect pitch of reality, history crime, celebrity, plagiarism, and sheer astounding writing.... If every writer has one great book in them, then Dave can rest easy' Ken Bruen"
Product Description
“What a sick puppy of a writer Dave Zeltserman is!...a doozy of a doom-laden crime story that not only makes merry with the justice system, but also satirizes those bottom feeders in the publishing industry who would sign Osama bin Laden to a six-figure contract for his memoirs, if only they could figure out which cave to send their lawyers into...I'd say Zeltserman can't top Pariah for its sheer diabolical inventiveness, but he probably will. And given that the corrupting vision of his work is so powerful, I ought to know better than to read the next novel he writes. But I probably will anyway.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
“This fusion of hardboiled and bitter satire is brand new territory for noir and I suspect that it will be one of the most talked about novels of 2009.”—Ed Gorman
“ Pariah will keep you glued to its pages. There are no holds barred anywhere in this wonderful launch into evil. The meek beware . . . be-very-ware.”—Charlie Stella
“ Pariah is sure to catapult Zeltserman head and shoulders above other Boston authors. This is not only a great crime book, but a gripping read that will crossover to allow greater exposure for this rising talent.”— BOOKGASM.com
Praise for Dave Zeltserman's Small Crimes :
"[ Small Crimes ] deserves comparison with the best of James Ellroy."— Publishers Weekly , starred review
"The plot of Small Crimes is a thing of beauty"— The Washington Post
"A strong piece of work, lean and spare, but muscular where a noir novel should be."— The Boston Globe
Once part of the holy triumvirate ruling the South Boston Irish Mob, Kyle Nevin is set up with the Feds by head mobster Red Mahoney, who leads him to a court case and a stretch in the slammer. Now out of prison, Kyle wants revenge on his old boss and mentor and, just as importantly, to reclaim his former glory.
A kidnapping gone wrong leads, bizarrely, to a major book deal and a newfound celebrity status for Kyle. However, it also brings about bigger problems for both himself and anyone unlucky enough to cross his path.
With this dark riff and contemporary theme, Zeltserman shows why he is the heir of Jim Thompson and James M. Cain.
Dave Zeltserman lives in the Boston area with his wife. His previous novel Small Crimes was included in The Washington Post 's best books of 2008 and was one of NPR's top five crime and mystery novels of 2008.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pariah,
By
This review is from: Pariah (Paperback)
In his fourth novel, Dave Zeltserman has managed to outdo himself and created even more worthless characters than those who peopled his last book, "Small Crimes, perhaps best exemplified by its protagonist, Kyle Nevin. To say that Kyle is unsympathetic is to greatly understate the matter. The right-hand man of "the" mob boss in his South Boston neighborhood, he had done whatever was asked of him, e.g., killing people, breaking legs, picking up protection money, and robbing banks, the last of which put him in prison for eight years for armed robbery. Kyle served the whole length of the 5-8 year sentence imposed, so as not to be troubled by any potential parole conditions or plea agreements.
As the book opens Kyle, now 42 years old, has just been released from prison, fueled in equal parts by plans of revenge against the man who had set him up - none other than his former boss/mentor/protector [for whom he had worked since he was 11 years old], as well as straightening things out - one way or the other - with the woman he had loved, who had broken off all contact with him the day after his sentencing. Self-described as being "like a pit-bull, all he needed was the smell of blood to bring out his true nature," seemingly comprised in equal parts of rage and sang froid. And just when you think things can't get any worse - well, you know how that tune goes. One of the things that sets this book apart, in addition to the fast-moving plot, is that its narrative form is apparently a proposed manuscript being written by the now celebrity-gangster-turned-author for whom the public has apparently developed a voracious appetite. The satire invited by this is done to a turn. But the book is unquestionably very dark, and its protagonist utterly despicable. Although very well-written, it is so difficult to find any redeeming quality in any of the characters that I am ambivalent about recommending it, but nevertheless find that I am doing just that.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews) 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pariah is dark, violent and subversive,
By Roger Smith - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pariah (Paperback)
Kyle Nevin, a psychopathic Boston gangster, is out of prison and out for revenge. Nevin is as vicious a bad-guy as you will find in contemporary fiction, except in Dave Zeltserman's audacious PARIAH, he's the hero. Nevin bares his dark soul to the reader in a chillingly casual, and often deadpan hilarious, first-person narrative. It is testimony to Zeltserman's skill as a writer that you not only get drawn in, but can't stop yourself from rooting for this monster, even as the body count grows.
And just when you thought you had a handle on the narrative, Zeltserman takes a hard left into the world of letters, when Nevin signs a contract with a New York publisher to pen the story of his most heinous crime, barely disguised as a work of fiction. A scathingly satirical swipe at a society where no bad deed goes unrewarded by a book deal. In PARIAH, Zeltserman entrenches his position as the ranking neo-noirist, putting a contemporary spin on a tradition that goes way back to Jim Thompson and James M. Cain. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gritty, Gripping Noir,
By H. Davidson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pariah (Paperback)
Dave Zeltserman is the Jim Thompson of the twenty-first century. It's clear from the first chapter of PARIAH that Kyle Nevin is a dark and disturbed character, but the extent of his psychosis isn't clear until you're deeply into the novel. Just when you think he can't get any worse, he does. It's a fascinating, shocking read, as well as an incisive commentary on our celebrity-obsessed culture.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Noir at its darkest!,
By J. F. Juzwik - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pariah (Paperback)
Yes, Dave Zeltserman has done it again with Pariah. In my opinion, this is classic noir at its bleakest level.
The reader is spared nothing in this brutal and despairing story. You are taken on a journey through the frightening, corrupt and violent streets and forced to interact with the lowest of the low. There is nothing socially redeeming here. It is a story, after all, of an insatiable desire for revenge--pure and simple. Noone fights for right or honor or seeks their way to the light. It is all about getting back what was taken and then some. It is a look at the human spirit in its basest form. It is a gem and a half, and you will absolutely love it. |
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