The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome

by John Godey

“The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome” details the journey of a criminal in and out of jail, through surgery to fix the deformities that have plagued him since childhood, and deep into the violence that Johnny surrounds himself with.

About the Author: John Godey is the author of many crime and mystery novels, including Nella, The Snake, The Talisman and the international best seller, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, was released as a film of the same name, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta

214 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

John Godey was the pen name of Morton Freedgood.

Freedgood was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York in 1913 and began writing at a young age. In the 1940s, he had several articles and short stories published in Cosmopolitan , Collier's, Esquire and other magazines while working full time in the motion picture industry in New York City. A WWII U.S.Army veteran he held public relations and publicity posts for United Artists, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and other companies for several years before focusing on his writing.

His novel The Wall-to-Wall Trap was published under his own name in 1957. He then began using the pen name John Godey — borrowed from the name of a 19th-century women's magazine — to differentiate his crime novels from his more serious writing.


Writing as John Godey he achieved commercial success with the books A Thrill a Minute With Jack Albany, Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Kill Today, and The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, his novel about the hijacking of a New York City subway train, was a bestseller in 1973 and was made into a hit movie starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in 1974. A remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta was released in the summer of 2009.He saw his Jack Albany stories turned into the 1968 Walt Disney film Never a Dull Moment, starring Dick Van Dyke.

Reviews

[WJEP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny Handsome was harelipped, Dumbo-eared, and he snuffled like a rooting pig when he spoke -- hence his nickname. He was a small-time crook who was double-crossed by his buddies. But this is the 1970s, not the 1950s. The do-gooders think that they can surgically rehabilitate Johnny -- that "ugly is as ugly does."

Godey isn't satisfied merely writing a thriller about heisting and revenging. He also tackles important sociological questions:

Will a bum always be a bum?
Are revenge and money irreconcilable?
When you double-cross a double-crosser, does it cancel out?

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago I saw the movie, and never knew there was a book. I mean, if I paid attention to openeing credits back then, I would have, but it was over 25 years ago. I came across the book and realized I had to grab it and then read it. It is, for the most part, a Noir story, written in the seventies. The book is divided into three parts, or three worlds, if you will, one is the set up, the background, and the execution of the plot. The second part concerns the transformation of the titular character in to someone who is normal. The book begs the question what is truly "normal"? Are appearances only just that, a surface thing, that goes no deeper than the dermal? I digress.

The book is a decent caper novel, and one of revenge. The book has an ambiguous ending. One can hope for a positive turnout beyond the last pages, but would that really make for a better story, or not? This is a noir after all, and if you are not sure what that is, well, then this book is not for you.

[C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Proof that sometimes, the book *isn’t* better than the film.
This book is a decent but a pretty unremarkable tough guy crime novel, very plot driven, very standard, it’s biggest crime is a lack of sympathetic characters and dialogue/prose that sometimes crosses into trying too hard.

[Carles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dividit en tres parts, la segona ―la de les operacions de cirurgia estètica―, m’ha agradat moltíssim, sobretot les converses que tenen ell i el metge, quin sarcasme, quines rèpliques intel·ligents, com se les tiren, en segones... també, quin respecte velat que es tenen, i que segurament cap dels dos reconeixeria.

―Pari de parlar en plural. Si vol dir jo, digui-ho i punt.
―És com parlem els metges. Suposo que és una manera de ser modest.
―O majestàtic.

I tota la part tècnica, mèdica, procedimental, farmacològica. Que ben explicat, quantes referències, l’autor devia de documentar-se molt bé.
I les sensacions d’ell en les operacions. Talment com si t’estigués passant a tu. Poques vegades he llegit quelcom de semblant.

Una història de traïció i venjança. Molt ben escrita. M’ha agradat molt aquesta novel·la.

[Magnus Stanke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third book by John Godey and a third 'winner'. He's turning into a new favorite of mine. Having said that, the book starts with some 'outdated' (shall we say, if we feel generous) descriptions of a racial divide that made me cringe but thanksfully moved quickly deep into more nihilistic, puply territory where every race and creed was described with equal cynicism... If you buy into the premise, it's a very entertaining ride (and presumably, anybody who reads 50 years-plus old crime fiction will be prepared for these 'outdated' descriptions (to put it generously). The writing in itself is a peach.

[Timothy Brasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this after watching the movie. Definitely a good 1970s crime story about a man with revenge on his mind

[Freddie the Know-it-all · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of Surprises

This is a terrific book and for the gullible or literal-minced, like me, full of surprises.

I really like Morton Freedgood now.

[Peter Panico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Diane Dunham · Rating 4 out of 5]

easy to read suspense novel.

[Gloria]

3 in 1 book, Odhams Press. Including “Nasty piece of work”, “The face of Jalanath”. Not sure when I finished reading this, but guessing about 1975.