- Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Sep 1 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446610747
- ISBN-13: 978-0446610742
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 1.9 x 17.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 150 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #576,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Sixty years ago, in The Postman Always Rings Twice , James M. Cain established the drifter as a dark knight of American crime fiction. Pelecanos ( Nick's Trip ) continues that tradition here, following Constantine, an enigmatic wanderer who falls into a den of thieves and disproves the adage that there's no honor among them. Hitchhiking south from Maryland to nowhere, Constantine takes a lift from an old man who stops at a country mansion to get some money. There Grimes, an equally old but wealthy man who organizes heists as a hobby, invites the pair to help rob two D.C. liquor stores. Swayed by "the Beat" ("the Beat was knowing that he was into something wrong, and the fear of it, and the point when the fear was no longer there. It was a hot buzz . . ."), Constantine signs on as a driver. He and his colleagues, who are all being blackmailed by Grimes, drink, plan and pick up women, with Constantine dangerously zeroing in on Grimes's young lover ("there was a freshness in her like newly printed money"). The robberies themselves, marred by a doublecross, go down fast and bad, leading Constantine to avenge his fallen partners by taking justice into his own hands. All sinners, none saints, the small-time hoods in this authentic world are crisply limned here in their fallible humanity.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Constantine is a burned-out, jive-loving, booze-guzzling, sex-junkie, chain-smoking, longhaired druggie loner who's searching for something he'll never find. Leaving his Washington, D.C., home at age 17, Constantine has circled the globe, traveling light, sleeping in fleabags and flophouses, working every kind of odd job from slinging hash to cleaning toilets. Back in the U.S. after years of roaming, Constantine hitches a ride with Polk, an old geezer headed for Florida. But there's one stop Polk needs to make, and it turns out to be a stop that changes Constantine's life forever. Grimes, an old army buddy of Polk's, offers the two men big bucks if they'll rob a liquor store--an easy, quick, in-and-out holdup. But things go badly wrong, and in the aftermath of the violence come tragedy and death. In the best tradition of hard-boiled fiction, Pelecanos' haunting, gritty story works its way deep into his readers' collective psyches, simultaneously shocking, attracting, and repelling us with its unvarnished, unbeautiful realism and its explosive, stomach-churning violence. An exceptional, memorable book from a fine writer who is also the author of the equally impressive Nick Stefanos series, which includes Nick's Trip. Emily Melton
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Efficient heist thriller-harbinger of better things to come,
By F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
Ce commentaire est de: Shoedog (Hardcover)
Shoedog is the debut novel of George P Pelecanos and while it works perfectly well in its own right it has most interest to admirers of this splendid writer as a prototype for the bigger and more ambitious books to come-,more specifically the Nick Stefanos novels.Its protagonist ,Constantine,is very similar to Stefanos-a well educated young man of Greek extraction,possessed of an encylopedic knowledge of popular music and in thrall to wanderlust and working in mainly menial jobs,especially keeping bar.He falls in with veteran criminal Polk,who involves him in a double robbery of liquor stores in Washington D C. We are taken through the planning and execution of the robbery,witness the conflict between gang members who the author takes the time and trouble to delineate and render as individuals with their quirks and quiddities . Efficient plotting and crisp dialogue with a believable cast of characters.The book is reminiscent of what to me is still the best caper novel The Asphalt Jungle and the result is pleasing if minor Pelecanos,which is still pretty major by most people's standards
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you like crime fiction and can find a copy, read it,
By brazos49 "brazos49" (Sugar Land, TX USA) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Shoedog (Hardcover)
I've now read all but one of Pelecanos' books and, while I wouldn't rank Shoedog as even one of the top five, I still rate it a five star book. The author has so many tools to work with that he can produce a terrific book even if he's not hitting it on all cylinders. I thought this book was a little short, which limited the character and story development a bit. And, several of the heist characters were also not as interesting as many others I've encountered in this author's books.Having stated my criticism, I'll have to say I loved reading the book anyway. Randolph, the Shoedog character, was superb. The planning and execution of the robberies was gripping. The Washington, D.C. and music references were characteristically well done. The story had enough twists and turns and the ending was not that predictable. If you like crime fiction and can find a copy (it's kind of scarce), I think you should read it.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews) 10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Noir in DC,
By A. Ross - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Shoedog (Hardcover)
Pelecanos takes a break from the Nick Stefanos series to tell the noir tale of a drifter who, while simply hitching a ride south, gets caught up in shady dealings with deadly consequences. The protagonist, Constantine, is extremely similar to Pelecanos' Nick Stefanos (and even spends a night in Stefanos' bar) he's a loner, able to hold his own, at home with the underbelly of society and a keen sense of what is right and wrong. He gets caught up in with some petty criminals and their controlling boss and ends up in a sticky situation. As usual, Pelecanos uses Washington DC and environs as a backdrop for this gritty little tale.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
an early caper, worth the read,
By Simon Crowe - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Shoedog (Mass Market Paperback)
SHOEDOG is an early work by George Pelecanos, which I recently read for the first time when it was reissued in paperback. The plot involves a drifter named Constantine who stumbles into a half-baked liquor store robbery run for no good reason by a man named Grimes. There's really no reason Constantine can't leave at any time except for his attraction to Grimes' girlfriend.All of the Pelecanos trademarks are here - Washington, DC....old soul music....drug use described into detail, etc. While I enjoyed SHOEDOG, it lacks the thematic richness of some Pelecanos' Derek Strange books and the conclusion was somewhat unsatisfying....All of the characters, except Constantine, are pretty one-dimensional.... If you've read Pelecanos' other books this will be a fun diversion, but RIGHT AS RAIN might be a better place to start for the novice..... 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
just please rob the liquor stores,
By littlecatland "littlecatland" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Shoedog (Mass Market Paperback)
My first Pelecanos novel and won't be my last because I've heard such good things. But this stand alone heist novel is overlong. There is a great 100 page story in this book but the plot is dragged out to 300 pages with too many points of view and too many back stories for minor characters. You could skip the first 80 pages without missing much.The action sequences are riveting and well written but don't begin until chapter 20. |
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