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The Pull of Gravity
From USA Today bestselling author Brett Battles comes a different kind of novel, one Edgar Award nominated author Tim Hallinan calls, “a mesmerizing thriller of the heart.” It’s a story of love, tragedy, and those searching for redemption.
Jay Bradley thought he could leave the Philippines behind. But though he’s started a new life, with a woman he loves, he’s still tormented by questions from his past.
He returns to Angeles City where he once worked as the papasan watching over his bargirls. On the surface he’s there to sell his stake in a bar on the notorious Fields Avenue. In reality he’s come back to find Isabel—one of his old dancers, and the only person who can answer his questions, and quiet his demons.
Because death is seldom an ending, and always haunts those left behind.
PRAISE FOR BRETT BATTLES' PREVIOUS
“The best word I can use to describe his writing is addictive.”—James Rollins, New York Times best selling author
“Battles has a true gift…” — Crimespree magazine
“...gripping, and always engaging...” — Tucson Citizen“Battles is a master storyteller.” — Sheldon Siegel, New York Times bestselling author
Jay Bradley thought he could leave the Philippines behind. But though he’s started a new life, with a woman he loves, he’s still tormented by questions from his past.
He returns to Angeles City where he once worked as the papasan watching over his bargirls. On the surface he’s there to sell his stake in a bar on the notorious Fields Avenue. In reality he’s come back to find Isabel—one of his old dancers, and the only person who can answer his questions, and quiet his demons.
Because death is seldom an ending, and always haunts those left behind.
PRAISE FOR BRETT BATTLES' PREVIOUS
“The best word I can use to describe his writing is addictive.”—James Rollins, New York Times best selling author
“Battles has a true gift…” — Crimespree magazine
“...gripping, and always engaging...” — Tucson Citizen“Battles is a master storyteller.” — Sheldon Siegel, New York Times bestselling author
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 11, 2011
18 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Brett Battles
90 books1,058 followersBrett Battles is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling and Barry Award-winning author of forty novels, including the Jonathan Quinn series and its Excoms spinoff, the Project Eden series, and the time bending Rewinder series. He’s also the coauthor, with Robert Gregory Browne, of the Alexandra Poe series. He is one of the founding members of Killer Year, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He lives and writes in Ventura County, California.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 10, 2011
I have to admit, I was a little surprised once I started to read this. I believe I have read everything Brett Battles has written thus far, and I must say,if you are a fan of his work, this is a departure from anything he has done. Is that bad? No, how could anything this author turns out be considered anything but excellent? He really goes deep, really deep into the heart and soul of the matter in “The Pull of Gravity”. I was really drawn to the stark honesty of his characters and their quest, the brutal nakedness of their emotions and their desires.
“The Cleaner” this is not, but so what. The author has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that his abilities transcend any genre, that good writing is good writing. My take on this is if you are looking for a read that has plenty of emotion, conflict, distress, passion, and intensity, grab this, go for the ride.
Here is the synopsis:
“From Brett Battles comes a different kind of novel, one Edgar Award nominated author Tim Hallinan calls, "a mesmerizing thriller of the heart." It's a story of love, tragedy, and those searching for redemption.
Jay Bradley thought he could leave the Philippines behind. But though he's started a new life, with a woman he loves, he's still tormented by questions from his past.
He returns to Angeles City where he once worked as the papasan watching over his bargirls. On the surface he's there to sell his stake in a bar on the notorious Fields Avenue. In reality he's come back to find Isabel--one of his old dancers, and the only person who can answer his questions, and quiet his demons.
Because death is seldom an ending, and always haunts those left behind. “
July 30, 2022
Brought back a lot of memories
I was in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. We spent a lot of time in Manila and Subic Bay. This entire book could have taken place in Olongapo without missing a beat. While this book is fiction in reality it is full of real expeeiences of American service men and many who took up residence in the Philippines. I highly recommend this book - just realize that what you are reading is essentially the life of some expat American.
I was in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. We spent a lot of time in Manila and Subic Bay. This entire book could have taken place in Olongapo without missing a beat. While this book is fiction in reality it is full of real expeeiences of American service men and many who took up residence in the Philippines. I highly recommend this book - just realize that what you are reading is essentially the life of some expat American.
December 13, 2018
Definitely not my favorite
After reading every series up to date by Brett Battles, I was in need of more, so I read this standalone book of his. It was definitely not one of my favorites. I’ll give it two stars simply because he wrote it. Skip this one.
After reading every series up to date by Brett Battles, I was in need of more, so I read this standalone book of his. It was definitely not one of my favorites. I’ll give it two stars simply because he wrote it. Skip this one.
November 2, 2011
Following a career in the Navy, expat Jay Bradley finds himself in the Philippines working as a papasan at The Lounge, a go-go club in Angeles City. He takes his job to watch over the girls in the club seriously, but gets especially close to young Isabel, who reminds him of the step-daughter from his failed marriage.
Like most of the girls working the clubs of Angeles City, Isabel dreams of meeting a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away from the life of a club dancer – and “escort” – on infamous Fields Avenue. When businessman Larry Adams comes into their lives, suddenly both Jay and Isabel are complete. The three of them form a bond – Larry and Jay as friends, Isabel and Larry as lovers – that seems too good to be true.
And of course it is. Told primarily in flashbacks, the book opens and sets the scene with an older Jay returning to the Philippines to sell his part-ownership in The Lounge, as well as to track down Isabel to find closure about the events that ripped their lives apart, and cost Larry his. (That is not a spoiler.)
For most people (I presume) the seedy world of the sex-trade in the Philippines is about as foreign as it gets. Author Brett Battles, however, manages to paint such a vivid picture of Angeles City and Fields Avenue the reader not only feels as if they were there, but actually has a feeling of comfort about what should be an uncomfortable locale, coming to both love and hate the place as much as the characters. Battles also pays such amazing attention to character development I honestly not only felt as though I knew these people, but I legitimately cared about them. Reading the flashbacks about how their lives unfolded – and knowing something ominous was going to happen to destroy it – became an exercise in both love and dread.
The Pull of Gravity is a candid look at love, loss, and healing, and though it is undeniably a very different work than Battles’ previous action/thriller novels such as the Jonathan Quinn and Logan Harper series, it stands as irrefutable proof that a talented author isn’t hemmed in by a genre… a good writer can just flat out write, and The Pull of Gravity is just flat out good.
Like most of the girls working the clubs of Angeles City, Isabel dreams of meeting a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away from the life of a club dancer – and “escort” – on infamous Fields Avenue. When businessman Larry Adams comes into their lives, suddenly both Jay and Isabel are complete. The three of them form a bond – Larry and Jay as friends, Isabel and Larry as lovers – that seems too good to be true.
And of course it is. Told primarily in flashbacks, the book opens and sets the scene with an older Jay returning to the Philippines to sell his part-ownership in The Lounge, as well as to track down Isabel to find closure about the events that ripped their lives apart, and cost Larry his. (That is not a spoiler.)
For most people (I presume) the seedy world of the sex-trade in the Philippines is about as foreign as it gets. Author Brett Battles, however, manages to paint such a vivid picture of Angeles City and Fields Avenue the reader not only feels as if they were there, but actually has a feeling of comfort about what should be an uncomfortable locale, coming to both love and hate the place as much as the characters. Battles also pays such amazing attention to character development I honestly not only felt as though I knew these people, but I legitimately cared about them. Reading the flashbacks about how their lives unfolded – and knowing something ominous was going to happen to destroy it – became an exercise in both love and dread.
The Pull of Gravity is a candid look at love, loss, and healing, and though it is undeniably a very different work than Battles’ previous action/thriller novels such as the Jonathan Quinn and Logan Harper series, it stands as irrefutable proof that a talented author isn’t hemmed in by a genre… a good writer can just flat out write, and The Pull of Gravity is just flat out good.
September 6, 2011
When Brett asked me to read this & then write a review, he warned, not just me but others as well, that this book was different from his other books. Not a thriller. He was right. This was entirely different then his Quinn series (which I love), Little Girl Gone, & Here Comes Mr. Trouble. Different, but in a good way.
The story starts off with an introduction to Jay, who has returned to the Philippines & a part of his past that still haunts him. With a new life waiting for him, Jay has come back to sell his part in a bar where he worked as a papasan & where he hopes to find answers to the past. A past where he met a bargirl named Isabel who he forms a special bond with. More than with his other bargirls. Where Jay meets & befriends Larry, a customer who's new to the Philippines bar scene; where the three form a friendship that will end in tragedy. Although these three people are not the only ones involved in this story, they are the main players in this tale of love, friendship, jealousy, betrayal.
Brett does such a wonderful job in describing the location & scenery where this takes place; I was immediately transported to it. I could imagine myself being there in the middle of Angeles City. Sitting in the bar he ran as a papasan. Watching the customers mingle with the bargirls & feeling like I was a part of the story. And then there are characters. The people that make this location & the scenery come to life.
I found these characters opulently written; full of color & life. I related to these people as if they were friends I knew. I was moved by their emotions, touched by their hardships, saddened by their loss.
This is a superb example of Brett's adaptability as a writer. I love this new novel & though it is not fast paced & action packed like The Cleaner, it moved me. It will move you.
Thank you, Brett. I hope I get to read a few more like The Pull of Gravity.
The story starts off with an introduction to Jay, who has returned to the Philippines & a part of his past that still haunts him. With a new life waiting for him, Jay has come back to sell his part in a bar where he worked as a papasan & where he hopes to find answers to the past. A past where he met a bargirl named Isabel who he forms a special bond with. More than with his other bargirls. Where Jay meets & befriends Larry, a customer who's new to the Philippines bar scene; where the three form a friendship that will end in tragedy. Although these three people are not the only ones involved in this story, they are the main players in this tale of love, friendship, jealousy, betrayal.
Brett does such a wonderful job in describing the location & scenery where this takes place; I was immediately transported to it. I could imagine myself being there in the middle of Angeles City. Sitting in the bar he ran as a papasan. Watching the customers mingle with the bargirls & feeling like I was a part of the story. And then there are characters. The people that make this location & the scenery come to life.
I found these characters opulently written; full of color & life. I related to these people as if they were friends I knew. I was moved by their emotions, touched by their hardships, saddened by their loss.
This is a superb example of Brett's adaptability as a writer. I love this new novel & though it is not fast paced & action packed like The Cleaner, it moved me. It will move you.
Thank you, Brett. I hope I get to read a few more like The Pull of Gravity.
August 22, 2011
Full disclosure - I requested a copy of this from the author, since he was giving ARCs away the weekend before he released the eBook.
The basic premise to the story is interesting. A retired guy returns to the Philippines to sell off his share of a bar where he used to work, and to look for a woman who more is revealed about as the book progresses. The main issue I have is in the telling of the story. It is told in this first person, past-tense way, so that even the protagonist seems incredibly detached from the story. There is no emotion! There is a lot of focus on unimportant details in the present. He walks to a bar, it is raining, he orders a drink, he waits for a drink, he gets the drink. The details aren't building tension or leading anywhere, just filling space to delay the next chapter, which will inevitably be going back in time again to tell the back story.
The real interesting bits happened in the past, so why not set the story in the past? Or why not tell the story from the woman's perspective, instead of the friend of the lover of the woman? It felt like the most interesting elements were glossed over, and I wanted to peel away those layers to get to them.
The basic premise to the story is interesting. A retired guy returns to the Philippines to sell off his share of a bar where he used to work, and to look for a woman who more is revealed about as the book progresses. The main issue I have is in the telling of the story. It is told in this first person, past-tense way, so that even the protagonist seems incredibly detached from the story. There is no emotion! There is a lot of focus on unimportant details in the present. He walks to a bar, it is raining, he orders a drink, he waits for a drink, he gets the drink. The details aren't building tension or leading anywhere, just filling space to delay the next chapter, which will inevitably be going back in time again to tell the back story.
The real interesting bits happened in the past, so why not set the story in the past? Or why not tell the story from the woman's perspective, instead of the friend of the lover of the woman? It felt like the most interesting elements were glossed over, and I wanted to peel away those layers to get to them.
October 1, 2011
Excellent story. Somewhat of a departure for me since I've been reading mostly crime fiction of late, and though there is a crime in this novel, it's more a love story and the story of a man who temporarily loses himself in the unreal world of the Philippines. The last half of the novel had me turning the pages almost faster than I could read them. This novel is full of atmosphere--I felt completely immersed in the exotic setting: Angeles, Philippines, and the bar girl culture. A fine job, Mr. Battles!
May 7, 2012
A very interesting portrayal of the Philippine subculture of bar girls and their clients. Surprisingly engaging, considering that you know the end from the very beginning. I wasn't quite convinced by the portrait of the evil cousin Mariella and in the end the narrator, Jay, doesn't seem all that sympathetic either (although possibly I'd feel differently about him if I were a man). But definitely a good read.
January 31, 2013
This book is completely unlike books I usually like. It was a stretch for me. The filipino culture depicted in the book is so well-drawn that it makes me feel like I understand the characters and their motivations. The story-line is not at all predictable. The writing is brilliant. Although the characters are completely unlike anyone I know, they are written so well that I connected with them quickly.
It was an unusual reading experience for me, but I enjoyed the book.
It was an unusual reading experience for me, but I enjoyed the book.
April 20, 2016
A kind of plodding story winds its way to an unlikely and bitter ending. I was, essentially, bored for almost the entirety of this book but lived in hope something interesting would occur. It did not.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews