Lush Life

Okie doke, next one on the list was Lush Life by Richard Price, an Academy Award winner for literature and critic favorite, according to what I've heard.

Lush Life was, essentially, a crime novel about people pursuing "lush life" on the Lower East Side. The haves and the have-nots, and how crime links them.

So the good stuff first. Price is a brilliant social author. He writes the way people speak, in convincing scenarios, with realistic characters. I absolutely believe that so much of his story was taken from truth- the police department's beauracratic nonsense, the perception of the rich (and of the poor), the media gluttony that surrounds crimes, what people will do to get and stay rich, etc. I most loved the cop scenes- the red tape they went through to try to solve a crime and the way the department handled it... it was fascinating. The main cop on the case, Matty Price, shows this perfectly in a scene with his immediate supervisor, Berkowitz:
" 'This isn't good.' Berkowitz's voice an urgent murmur.
(Matty)'So you said.'
'They're all trying to find a way out.'
'I'll bet.'
'So. Who authorized this arrest?'
'(Chief)did.'
Exhaling through his nose, Berkowitz quickly scanned the barren corridor, then brought his face even closer.
'Who authorized this arrest?'
'You did?' Matty knowing what Berkowitz wanted to hear.
Another exhalation, another walleyed scan.
'One more time.'
'Are you kidding me?'
Berkowitz glared at him, Matty thinking, Okeydoke.
'I did.' (p161)"

Now, I'm not (at all)saying all departments are like this, but I thought Price did a great job of showing a subordinate's issues within a department like NYPD- in theory.

Here's the bad news, though. For an Academy Award winning author, this was a snooze fest. It was true to life, sure, and real life isn't always spectacular and grandiose. Sometimes it is what it is- going through the motions, crimes that fit the pattern, a diverse but still typical group of people... yeah, that's all true and real and Price does that wonderfully, but *yawn*... I read because I want to escape real life, all right?

So, it's up to you. I tend to lean towards slightly unrealistic books if they're more interesting, but hey, that's me. What about you? Have you read any of Price's other books? Would you read this one?