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Piccoli delitti del cazzo
Quando Tommy Russo, attore trentaduenne con il vizio del gioco, incontra nel parcheggio di un ippodromo newyorkese il maleodorante Pete, comprende che la buona sorte non si può attendere, ma va in qualche modo provocata.
Pete gli offre di entrare in società per l’acquisto di un cavallo da corsa, e per Tommy si presenta l’occasionedi lasciarsi alle spalle le delusioni di un mondo che non riconosce il suo talento artistico.
D’altronde, dopo l’ennesimo provino fallito, questa volta per una pubblicità di mangime per cani, sa di aver superato quel limite che separa il giovane di belle speranze dalla promessa mancata.
Ma come procurarsi in pochi giorni i diecimila dollari necessari, lavorando come buttafuori in un bar dell’Upper East Side? Dipende da cosa siete disposti a fare, pur di abbandonare l’universo dei perdenti e fare il vostro ingresso nella high class di Manhattan.
Attratto in modo inesorabile da un’umanità che sogna i soldi e il successo, le feste e le corse di cavalli, Tommy decide di sfruttare il suo aspetto affascinante e le sue abilità di attore, e finisce risucchiato in una girandola di menzogne, colpi di fortuna e cattiverie inattese, che lo spingono a percorrere a grandi passi la scala delle abiezioni, fino a varcare con una leggerezza e superficialità disarmanti la soglia del delitto.
Nel suo nuovo romanzo, Jason Starr mette in scena una commedia della falsità, cinica e spiazzante, in cui gli scherzi del caso trascinano a ritmo vertiginoso il protagonista, una sorta di American Psycho versione pop, incontro a tentazioni capaci di prevalere su qualsiasi morale e istinto sociale.
E se la spregiudicatezza sembra la via più sicura per arrivare al successo, il libro finisce per insinuarci un dubbio sottile: siamo proprio certi, in fondo, che il delitto non paga?
Pete gli offre di entrare in società per l’acquisto di un cavallo da corsa, e per Tommy si presenta l’occasionedi lasciarsi alle spalle le delusioni di un mondo che non riconosce il suo talento artistico.
D’altronde, dopo l’ennesimo provino fallito, questa volta per una pubblicità di mangime per cani, sa di aver superato quel limite che separa il giovane di belle speranze dalla promessa mancata.
Ma come procurarsi in pochi giorni i diecimila dollari necessari, lavorando come buttafuori in un bar dell’Upper East Side? Dipende da cosa siete disposti a fare, pur di abbandonare l’universo dei perdenti e fare il vostro ingresso nella high class di Manhattan.
Attratto in modo inesorabile da un’umanità che sogna i soldi e il successo, le feste e le corse di cavalli, Tommy decide di sfruttare il suo aspetto affascinante e le sue abilità di attore, e finisce risucchiato in una girandola di menzogne, colpi di fortuna e cattiverie inattese, che lo spingono a percorrere a grandi passi la scala delle abiezioni, fino a varcare con una leggerezza e superficialità disarmanti la soglia del delitto.
Nel suo nuovo romanzo, Jason Starr mette in scena una commedia della falsità, cinica e spiazzante, in cui gli scherzi del caso trascinano a ritmo vertiginoso il protagonista, una sorta di American Psycho versione pop, incontro a tentazioni capaci di prevalere su qualsiasi morale e istinto sociale.
E se la spregiudicatezza sembra la via più sicura per arrivare al successo, il libro finisce per insinuarci un dubbio sottile: siamo proprio certi, in fondo, che il delitto non paga?
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
9 people are currently reading
521 people want to read
About the author
Jason Starr
116 books244 followersJason Starr is the international bestselling author of many crime novels and thrillers, including Cold Caller, The Follower, The Pack and The Next Time I Die. He also writes comics for Marvel (Wolverine, The Punisher) and DC (Batman, The Avenger) and original graphic novels such as Red Border and Casual Fling. In addition, he writes film and TV tie-in novels including an official Ant-Man novel and the Gotham novels based on the hit TV show. His books have been published in sixteen languages and several of his novels are in development for film and TV. He has won the Anthony Award for mystery fiction twice, as well as a Barry Award. Starr lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
July 26, 2014
Tommy Russo, an out of work actor with a gambling problem working as a bouncer in a bar, gets a chance to be part owner of a race horse. Only, he doesn't have the ten thousand dollars he needs to buy in. What depths will he sink to to get it?
While the story entertained me, I hated Tommy and couldn't wait for him to get what was coming to. He's a slimeball. Lying, stealing, lying, etc. I actually felt dirty reading the story. Finding a protagonist that you actually like in a Jason Starr book is like trying to decide which shit sandwich you want to eat from a buffet of shit sandwiches. "Well, that one hasn't got so much shit on it..."
I guess to sum it up would be to say that while the story is full of twists and turns and well written, don't expect to get attached to the protagonist. I think I'm done with Starr's asshole slimeball characters for a while.
While the story entertained me, I hated Tommy and couldn't wait for him to get what was coming to. He's a slimeball. Lying, stealing, lying, etc. I actually felt dirty reading the story. Finding a protagonist that you actually like in a Jason Starr book is like trying to decide which shit sandwich you want to eat from a buffet of shit sandwiches. "Well, that one hasn't got so much shit on it..."
I guess to sum it up would be to say that while the story is full of twists and turns and well written, don't expect to get attached to the protagonist. I think I'm done with Starr's asshole slimeball characters for a while.
August 17, 2009
Between this one and the other Hard Case Crime novels that Jason Starr co-wrote, I think that he may be the king of creating unlikeable self-absorbed, delusional criminals as main characters. He's a little too good at it because reading an entire book featuring one of these morons makes me feel like my own IQ has dropped about 20 points, and I start worrying that I'll commit a crime out of sheer stupidity like Tommy Russo.
Russo is an aging actor-wannabe working as a bouncer while losing every dime he makes to his compulsive gambling habit. When he's offered a chance to buy into a horse racing syndicate, he thinks he'll fund it by stealing his bar's Super Bowl pool money. Since he's too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time, things start falling apart in a hurry, and Tommy's crimes and behavior get worse by the minute as he struggles to cover up his theft.
Another solid HCC novel, but spending an entire book in Tommy's warped head wore me out.
Russo is an aging actor-wannabe working as a bouncer while losing every dime he makes to his compulsive gambling habit. When he's offered a chance to buy into a horse racing syndicate, he thinks he'll fund it by stealing his bar's Super Bowl pool money. Since he's too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time, things start falling apart in a hurry, and Tommy's crimes and behavior get worse by the minute as he struggles to cover up his theft.
Another solid HCC novel, but spending an entire book in Tommy's warped head wore me out.
February 24, 2020
I'm a big fan of Jason Starr.
I don't believe I've ever ranked a book of his lower than 4 stars on GoodReads.
This one is another driving tale of a psycho-gambling addict who works nights as a bouncer at a bar up around 72nd-77th Street near York Avenue in Manhattan.
He spends his days in an OTB joint when he's not on call for an audition for an acting gig: walk on parts on soap-operas or try-outs for roles in TV commercials.
Poor bastard is slowly coming unglued when he learns of an opportunity to buy in on a race horse. All he needs is around twenty grand. So he steals fourteen grand from out of the safe in the bar he bounces for. He figures he can play the horses and at least double his money until he gets his earnest money on the racehorse.
You've read enough of these noirs to figure how many ways a smart-ass psycho like our lead character can screw his life up.
Minor thriller to some, maybe. I found it incredibly intense and suspenseful.
Enjoyed this novel a great deal.
Read this to come down after spending the afternoons reading Sam Wasson's
Recommended!
I don't believe I've ever ranked a book of his lower than 4 stars on GoodReads.
This one is another driving tale of a psycho-gambling addict who works nights as a bouncer at a bar up around 72nd-77th Street near York Avenue in Manhattan.
He spends his days in an OTB joint when he's not on call for an audition for an acting gig: walk on parts on soap-operas or try-outs for roles in TV commercials.
Poor bastard is slowly coming unglued when he learns of an opportunity to buy in on a race horse. All he needs is around twenty grand. So he steals fourteen grand from out of the safe in the bar he bounces for. He figures he can play the horses and at least double his money until he gets his earnest money on the racehorse.
You've read enough of these noirs to figure how many ways a smart-ass psycho like our lead character can screw his life up.
Minor thriller to some, maybe. I found it incredibly intense and suspenseful.
Enjoyed this novel a great deal.
Read this to come down after spending the afternoons reading Sam Wasson's
Recommended!
November 12, 2011
This is another fine entry in the Hard Case Crime series. Tommy Russo claims to be an actor, but he rarely gets even an audition, let alone an acting job. While waiting for his big break, he works as a bouncer in a New York bar. Tommy is also a degenerate gambler with all of the character flaws that one would anticipate in such a person.
But Tommy dreams of bigger things, and his main chance arrives when, from out of the blue, he is invited to join a syndicate that is going to purchase a race horse. Tommy jumps at the chance and all he needs to make his dream come true is $10,000. The only small problem, of course, is that Tommy's already in hock and can barely put two nickles together, let alone ten grand. But for Tommy, this is a minor issue and he sets about the process of putting the money together. Of course, in a situation like this, bad things will almost certainly happen. Tommy Russo is hardly a sympathetic character, but those who like their fiction dark and their characters deeply flawed will enjoy watching Tommy pursue the dream of his lifetime.
But Tommy dreams of bigger things, and his main chance arrives when, from out of the blue, he is invited to join a syndicate that is going to purchase a race horse. Tommy jumps at the chance and all he needs to make his dream come true is $10,000. The only small problem, of course, is that Tommy's already in hock and can barely put two nickles together, let alone ten grand. But for Tommy, this is a minor issue and he sets about the process of putting the money together. Of course, in a situation like this, bad things will almost certainly happen. Tommy Russo is hardly a sympathetic character, but those who like their fiction dark and their characters deeply flawed will enjoy watching Tommy pursue the dream of his lifetime.
December 8, 2009
Tommy Russo is one of those people you casually meet at a bar or work. He's a sometimes actor, a full time bouncer, and a compulsive gambler. He's down on his luck lately, but that all changes when he meets a man named Pete one cold winter's day. Pete is also a small-time gambler, but he makes Tommy an offer he can't put away: for just ten thousand dollars, buy into a syndicate of investors and become the owner of a race horse. Tommy would nothing better than to join this group, but there is this small issue involving his lack of funds. No problem, the safe at the bar where he works has all the money he'll need and he has memorized the combination. And one other thing: Tommy is a clinical definition of a sociopath.
Jason Starr lists Jim Thompson as one of his influences and it's not hard to see The Killer Inside Me as an inspiration for this book. A friend once wrote that reading Killer was like having a conversation with a psychopath. Reading Fake ID turns you into a prison psychologist trying to figure out where this nice young man went wrong. But soon you discover the nice young man isn't such a good person. Not since KW Jeter's Mantis have I felt so trapped inside the brain of a seriously disturbed individual.
What makes the book outstanding is how everyone around Tommy can see him going over the edge. At one point he casually tries to hit on a police woman and the brief conversation is wrong on so many counts. Any fool can see the pick-up line is out of place and only going to put him into deeper trouble. Of course, from Tommy's point-of-view, a pretty woman is fair game and anyone opposed to him is an asshole. Tommy has had such a string of success with his natural acting ability and good looks, so he can talk his way out of any bad situation. But that luck is starting to run thin. It doesn'thelp that he's violent prone.
If I have one criticism of Fake ID, it would be the lack of background material on Tommy. How did he end up this way? Since the book is told from his POV, we don't get a lot of asides. There is some reference to child abuse as he remembers being knocked down the stairs by his father, but not much more.
Still, an excellent book and another fine production from Hard Case Crime.
Jason Starr lists Jim Thompson as one of his influences and it's not hard to see The Killer Inside Me as an inspiration for this book. A friend once wrote that reading Killer was like having a conversation with a psychopath. Reading Fake ID turns you into a prison psychologist trying to figure out where this nice young man went wrong. But soon you discover the nice young man isn't such a good person. Not since KW Jeter's Mantis have I felt so trapped inside the brain of a seriously disturbed individual.
What makes the book outstanding is how everyone around Tommy can see him going over the edge. At one point he casually tries to hit on a police woman and the brief conversation is wrong on so many counts. Any fool can see the pick-up line is out of place and only going to put him into deeper trouble. Of course, from Tommy's point-of-view, a pretty woman is fair game and anyone opposed to him is an asshole. Tommy has had such a string of success with his natural acting ability and good looks, so he can talk his way out of any bad situation. But that luck is starting to run thin. It doesn'thelp that he's violent prone.
If I have one criticism of Fake ID, it would be the lack of background material on Tommy. How did he end up this way? Since the book is told from his POV, we don't get a lot of asides. There is some reference to child abuse as he remembers being knocked down the stairs by his father, but not much more.
Still, an excellent book and another fine production from Hard Case Crime.
July 26, 2016
This is just the second Jason Starr novel that I've read but on the strength of what I've read so far I'll definitely be exploring more of his titles.
Tommy Russo is an out of work 'actor' whose day job is as a bouncer/bartender in a Manhattan bar and he also does the 'supers' duties in the building where he stays, in order to keep the wolf from the door. However Tommy dreams of bigger and better things but the problem is he has a gambling problem and just doesn't know when to stop. When the chance to buy a share in a race horse comes his way, Tommy sees this as the answer to all his prayers but the problem is the stake money is $10,000 and Tommy literally doesn't have a nickel to his name. He sees an answer to his problem but is he willing to take it and what will the consequences be ?
Jason Starr seems to have cornered the market for unlikeable protagonists and Tommy is another right 'piece of work'. His treatment of women is shocking, he has a violent temper and he can lie his socks off too. He may not get many acting parts but his acting skills manage to fool a lot of people, especially his boss at the bar, who treats him better than his son. Tommy also makes some terrible decsions regarding the women in his life, as one minute he is making love to them and then he is ripping them off. He is also very erratic when trying to cover his tracks too, as in some instances he will go to great lengths to extricate himself and then he makes some huge blunders as if he just doesn't care and its these mistakes that ultimately lead to his downfall.
Another good addition the the Hard case Crime series.
Tommy Russo is an out of work 'actor' whose day job is as a bouncer/bartender in a Manhattan bar and he also does the 'supers' duties in the building where he stays, in order to keep the wolf from the door. However Tommy dreams of bigger and better things but the problem is he has a gambling problem and just doesn't know when to stop. When the chance to buy a share in a race horse comes his way, Tommy sees this as the answer to all his prayers but the problem is the stake money is $10,000 and Tommy literally doesn't have a nickel to his name. He sees an answer to his problem but is he willing to take it and what will the consequences be ?
Jason Starr seems to have cornered the market for unlikeable protagonists and Tommy is another right 'piece of work'. His treatment of women is shocking, he has a violent temper and he can lie his socks off too. He may not get many acting parts but his acting skills manage to fool a lot of people, especially his boss at the bar, who treats him better than his son. Tommy also makes some terrible decsions regarding the women in his life, as one minute he is making love to them and then he is ripping them off. He is also very erratic when trying to cover his tracks too, as in some instances he will go to great lengths to extricate himself and then he makes some huge blunders as if he just doesn't care and its these mistakes that ultimately lead to his downfall.
Another good addition the the Hard case Crime series.
April 30, 2012
Jason Starr rekindles the ghost of Goodis in this modern day rendition of noir at its peak. Edging closer to self made oblivion, Starr's Goodis inspired protagonist, Tommy Russo burns all good that comes his way. A compulsive gambler by trade and bouncer by night, Tommy also has aspirations of making it big as an actor. Unfortunately for him, dog food commercials are far from the big time and he's left with little more than a damaged self esteem and the jewelery of a promising partner.
In Fake ID, we witness a man who's given opportunity, women, a chance at life only to shy away to master his own delusions. One cant help but question Tommy's mental stability after he takes up an offer to join a syndicate to become a part owner of a racehorse by a stranger. Its that irrational decision making that sets the tone for the novel leads Tommy down a shadowed path where light shines dim and whispers on the wind are the closest things he has to friendship.
The speed and attention sucking nature of Fake ID is relentless; blink and you'll miss it - not in a derogatory way, this is so good you'll paper cut your fingers - I couldn't get through this quick enough! While a fast read, it's got a degree of emotional depth few others master. Tommy, the consummate train wreck that he is, is a joy to read as are bit players Debbie (his boss's drunken wife), Frank (his boss at the club he bounces), and Janene (the sometime girlfriend). This is one book that's criminal to miss for fans of noir, bygone era and modern alike - 5 stars.
In Fake ID, we witness a man who's given opportunity, women, a chance at life only to shy away to master his own delusions. One cant help but question Tommy's mental stability after he takes up an offer to join a syndicate to become a part owner of a racehorse by a stranger. Its that irrational decision making that sets the tone for the novel leads Tommy down a shadowed path where light shines dim and whispers on the wind are the closest things he has to friendship.
The speed and attention sucking nature of Fake ID is relentless; blink and you'll miss it - not in a derogatory way, this is so good you'll paper cut your fingers - I couldn't get through this quick enough! While a fast read, it's got a degree of emotional depth few others master. Tommy, the consummate train wreck that he is, is a joy to read as are bit players Debbie (his boss's drunken wife), Frank (his boss at the club he bounces), and Janene (the sometime girlfriend). This is one book that's criminal to miss for fans of noir, bygone era and modern alike - 5 stars.
August 22, 2016
Solid pulp featuring the type of sociopathic and unlikeable but fascinating protagonist you might find in a Jim Thompson novel.
August 2, 2023
A joy to read.
Not sure if it was the basic writing style, the underhanded personality of the MC or the amount of shit that he was trying to deal with at the one time, but it all clicked for me and I absolutely loved it and was genuinely sad to finish it.
Not sure if it was the basic writing style, the underhanded personality of the MC or the amount of shit that he was trying to deal with at the one time, but it all clicked for me and I absolutely loved it and was genuinely sad to finish it.
December 25, 2011
Tommy Russo is not making it as an actor. He's barely making it as a bouncer for a local pub, and whatever money he does make, he quickly loses it at the horse races. When he runs into an old friend with an "investment opportunity", Tommy is skeptical but desperate. The catch: he needs to find $10,000 right away. Jason Starr's "Fake I.D." is the epitome of roman noir. Gritty, dark, energetic, and about as funny as a heart attack, "Fake I.D." is a great crime novel that delivers a great illustration of how desperation can quickly escalate to murder. Russo is the prototypical noir anti-hero: a nice enough guy but hiding a dark side, one that soon takes over when things start going wrong for him. It's hard not to cringe with every misstep and poor decision Tommy makes. Even when he commits the ultimate crime, murder, it's hard not to feel a little sorry for the poor bastard.
December 11, 2015
PROTAGONIST: Tommy Russo, bouncer
SETTING: New York
RATING: 3.25
WHY: Tommy Russo is a bouncer at a bar who is addicted to gambling. He's always looking for the next score and is elated when he has a chance to buy into a share of a racehorse. Getting the money for that is an issue, but he has no problem ripping off everyone that he cares about and justifying it to himself. Reading this is like watching a car accident; you don't want to keep going, but you have to. A bit formulaic.
SETTING: New York
RATING: 3.25
WHY: Tommy Russo is a bouncer at a bar who is addicted to gambling. He's always looking for the next score and is elated when he has a chance to buy into a share of a racehorse. Getting the money for that is an issue, but he has no problem ripping off everyone that he cares about and justifying it to himself. Reading this is like watching a car accident; you don't want to keep going, but you have to. A bit formulaic.
January 21, 2018
Bert made me read this and it was stoopid. But I read it in a day and the bits about him wanting to be an actor were funny.
May 1, 2019
Relatively typical fare of a seemingly average joe a bit down on his luck that spirals out of control. It's definitely a page turner, but the main character does more than a few things that don't make alot of sense(Like visiting his boss' wife when he says she disgusts her, or going to Vegas with his stolen money), but it almost seems like maybe the author meant us to think he had lost his mind, which would make slightly more sense.
Not the strongest entry in the series, but worth a quick read.
Not the strongest entry in the series, but worth a quick read.
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May 10, 2016A very well done Jim Thompson pastiche. Credit where due, Starr has the classic noir line pat—stupid person makes bad decisions leading to an inevitable collapse. It's nasty and dark and well-written and compellingly readable, but it also hews so closely to the traditional run of these things that it's sort of hard to get super excited about it. It almost seems more like a writing exercise rather than an independent work. Not at all bad, though. I'd keep my eye out for more from the man.
September 6, 2010
This is not one of Jason Starr's better books. I have read two others. They all follow the same trajectory...a very flawed character narrates his downfall. The character makes terrible decisions, and the reader wants to yell "Don't do it!!". But in this particular novel, the main character's idiotic decisions are just too blatantly stupid.
September 10, 2009
I very nearly put this book down because the protagonist was so vile and so despicable that I couldn't deal with all the horrible things he did. But I kept at it (and gave it 5 stars) because this is the best depiction of a sociopath I've ever read.
June 5, 2022
Jason Starr is a master at fabricating delusional, grimy, degenerate protagonists.
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October 1, 2022The fifty-sixth HCC novel finished #fakeid by #jasonstarr originally published in 2000. First person narration from a self deluded, selfish, narcissistic, psychopathic, gambling addict. Obviously a delightful human being with zero redeeming features. Lies to himself and everyone else. Makes bad decisions at every turn. An interesting character study and spiral into darkness. Not as much fun as starr’s HCC collaborations with Ken Bruen, but this is going for a different tone - still dealing with horrible people but removing all the comedy. It has elements that remind me of lehane‘s the drop and milch/mann’s short lived tv show luck.
June 8, 2018
Part of the Hard Case Noir series. After the poor charmed graphic novels managed to finish this one also at the library. Main character again a not so likeable person who is addicted the gambling and finds himself getting deeper and deeper into trouble. Story moved well and has some good parts but overall was not really impressed as this concept has been done before and better in the Hard Case Series. Still nice afternoon read if the room is cool and you have a few hours to spare.
November 24, 2020
Perhaps because I knew what I was expecting this time with Jason Starr and his venal characters, I wound up liking this one more than his other two efforts. It helps that this one focused on one singular guy, a total moron who treats everyone around him as disposable. Also, while even the bleakest of NYC mysteries can still make the city sound amazing, Starr does a great job at treating it like an Odyssean hellscape for his doomed characters.
June 24, 2023
The writing is good, and the story keeps your attention. But the main character and narrator is so unlikeable that you have to keep reading to see him get his comeuppance. At least, you hope he gets his comeuppance…
September 15, 2025
Another excellent read from Jason Starr and another horrendous protagonist. A real descent into the gutter mind of a bouncer with a gambling addiction and some extremely bad life choices. I don't know where the author gets his inspiration from for his characters but I hope I never meet them!
October 15, 2017
A decent read but no character likeability.
October 22, 2017
It's dark, but with an entirely unlikable protagonist, it becomes a slog.
July 18, 2023
An actor with a gambling addiction working as a bouncer, well that’s not good. Neither is the book.
July 20, 2023
Peter...The horse is here
December 14, 2023
Starr's characters are *so* unlikable. But he can write.
July 4, 2025
Couldn't finish - just not that interesting.
December 10, 2012
If you like noir where the protagonist starts off with a problem and descends deeper and deeper into the circles of his/her personal hell, you will be pleased with most of the novels published in the Hard Case Crime series. Sometimes, we get a bit of catharsis when a character with seeming little hope manages by an act of courage, fortitude, inspiration, or innovation to throw off the chains holding him like Prometheus for his circumstances to eviscerate him incessantly. At other times, we suffer with the protagonist’s hubris and watch the tragic flaw flay him layer by layer as the consequences of his/her arrogance filet her/him with one cut after another. I’m not going to reveal which formula Fake I.D. takes. The would-be actor, mostly bar bouncer, named Tommy Russo is creative enough for the former and arrogant enough for the latter. You aren’t sure which it will be until you reach the final pages. And that’s how it should be.
Fake I.D. takes its title from the bouncer’s job at, you guessed it, checking identification to turn away minors. Yet, one gets the sense that the eponymous term refers more to the protagonist’s image of himself than to this procedure (even though it is cited at several points in the book). The story begins in the parking lot of a Jai Alai fronton. While waiting for the doors to open and going over both the Jai Alai entrants and the Daily Racing Form, one of the racetrack habitués touts the possibility of getting into a syndicate for claiming a horse and becoming an owner. In spite of the fact that this “tout” looks and smells like a total loser, he turns out to be the rather eccentric owner of two shoe stores. And, in spite of the fact that Tommy doesn’t have enough money to invest, he agrees to get involved.
Of course, Tommy only has two ways to get that much money in a hurry—gambling or stealing. As he tries to earn it by gambling, one helplessly watches him go underwater, then ahead full, and, of course, losing virtually all of it. Then, one watches the dishonest things he does to get a bankroll to parlay into his dream of becoming a horse owner. What The Days of Wine and Roses did to illuminate the horrors of alcoholism, Fake I.D. does to illuminate the futility of a gambling addiction. Will he steal from people he cares about? Or, is he such a sociopath that he doesn’t really care about anyone? Is his facility with lying a result of his creative will to survive in crisis or is it more of an indication that he really is unfeeling and insensitive. At times, the characters around him really get sucked into the “reality distortion” field that is Tommy Russo.
To be sure, there are some plot holes big enough for an NFL back to run through. Why does Tommy drop by the apartment of a woman to flirt (and possibly fool around) when he really despises her on multiple levels? Why does he risk being caught at one thing by flying to Las Vegas on the spur of the moment when he would have to know that he needed to stay inconspicuous? How is it that he is “alone” in one location at one point and yet, conveniently seen by two different people? How is it that he can’t accept his good fortune at not being a suspect for one thing or another without trying to implicate others with not-so well-placed lies? Well, okay, that last one definitely fits his character and his “reality distortion” field.
Fake I.D. is artfully crafted and well-written. With heavy heart, I found myself following Tommy from disaster to disaster with that sense of foreboding. I wasn’t always right about what was going to happen. There were times I thought he was going to face problems sooner than he did and times when he faced problems on a delayed basis. Yet, even as I anticipated some kind of double-cross at the racetrack at the same time Tommy was dreaming of a transformation from loser to respected owner, I wasn’t prepared for the exact result. I was both surprised and vindicated. I felt both good and bad. It was worth reading to the end, but I sure am glad I wasn’t reading that book when I was going through one of my personal bouts with depression. Tommy Russo, even as a horse owner, is not someone I’d want to associate with for longer than the time it took to read this novel.
Fake I.D. takes its title from the bouncer’s job at, you guessed it, checking identification to turn away minors. Yet, one gets the sense that the eponymous term refers more to the protagonist’s image of himself than to this procedure (even though it is cited at several points in the book). The story begins in the parking lot of a Jai Alai fronton. While waiting for the doors to open and going over both the Jai Alai entrants and the Daily Racing Form, one of the racetrack habitués touts the possibility of getting into a syndicate for claiming a horse and becoming an owner. In spite of the fact that this “tout” looks and smells like a total loser, he turns out to be the rather eccentric owner of two shoe stores. And, in spite of the fact that Tommy doesn’t have enough money to invest, he agrees to get involved.
Of course, Tommy only has two ways to get that much money in a hurry—gambling or stealing. As he tries to earn it by gambling, one helplessly watches him go underwater, then ahead full, and, of course, losing virtually all of it. Then, one watches the dishonest things he does to get a bankroll to parlay into his dream of becoming a horse owner. What The Days of Wine and Roses did to illuminate the horrors of alcoholism, Fake I.D. does to illuminate the futility of a gambling addiction. Will he steal from people he cares about? Or, is he such a sociopath that he doesn’t really care about anyone? Is his facility with lying a result of his creative will to survive in crisis or is it more of an indication that he really is unfeeling and insensitive. At times, the characters around him really get sucked into the “reality distortion” field that is Tommy Russo.
To be sure, there are some plot holes big enough for an NFL back to run through. Why does Tommy drop by the apartment of a woman to flirt (and possibly fool around) when he really despises her on multiple levels? Why does he risk being caught at one thing by flying to Las Vegas on the spur of the moment when he would have to know that he needed to stay inconspicuous? How is it that he is “alone” in one location at one point and yet, conveniently seen by two different people? How is it that he can’t accept his good fortune at not being a suspect for one thing or another without trying to implicate others with not-so well-placed lies? Well, okay, that last one definitely fits his character and his “reality distortion” field.
Fake I.D. is artfully crafted and well-written. With heavy heart, I found myself following Tommy from disaster to disaster with that sense of foreboding. I wasn’t always right about what was going to happen. There were times I thought he was going to face problems sooner than he did and times when he faced problems on a delayed basis. Yet, even as I anticipated some kind of double-cross at the racetrack at the same time Tommy was dreaming of a transformation from loser to respected owner, I wasn’t prepared for the exact result. I was both surprised and vindicated. I felt both good and bad. It was worth reading to the end, but I sure am glad I wasn’t reading that book when I was going through one of my personal bouts with depression. Tommy Russo, even as a horse owner, is not someone I’d want to associate with for longer than the time it took to read this novel.
July 4, 2015
This book is a very subtle trap for the reader. It doesn't snap shut on you in the first 10 pages, or even the first 50 pages, but you'll get hooked and find yourself actually rooting for Tommy Russo, a clueless wannabe actor, who seems like an okay guy at first but who steadily reveals himself to be an amoral psycho. It's told in Tommy's voice and he seems to be telling the truth about what he did, step by harmless step. You notice though, that he seems to have a few, shall we say, personality defects. He's impatient, for one thing, and he can't seem to even remember the names of the various good-looking women who stand in line to go to bed with him. And then there's the gambling problem and he has these fantasies of how he's going to live when he gets rich, which are childish and let's admit it, low class. And his temper problem... is it getting worse? The reader can see that with only two walk-on parts in fourteen years to his credit, Tommy probably has no future as an actor, yet he can lie to all the people he knows and make them believe anything, to hell with their lying eyes. Why can't he see that these guys who want him to buy part of a race horse are setting him up? Or are they? I mean they seem like obvious con men but they keep missing chances to disappear with Tommy's money. Actually they seem more honest than Tommy, don't they? And the spiral keeps going down and Tommy, bless his heart, confesses all. He tells the truth except for the part he doesn't know, which is what kind of man he really is.
Elitist critics would say that this book is an example of the "unreliable narrator" technique, where a first person narrator deceives the reader but that's not actually what's going on here. Tommy levels with the reader. He tells you everything he did with no whitewashing, warts and all. He's a clueless narrator, with no self-knowledge. He admits what he did and still feels blameless.
The author reveals Tommy one slice at a time, paragraph by paragraph, and you want to know more and more about him until at the end you can't believe you spent so much time with such a disgusting criminal. But on what page did you first realize that he was that bad? When did you stop liking Tommy Russo? I think the voice is what sucks you in. Tommy tells his story as if you were talking to him in the bar where he works. There's not one word out of character. He's not educated, but he's eloquent in his own way. I could say that this book is a clinical portrait of a psycho fantasist, but clinical reports are boring and this novel is anything but. When you get to the end you know who Tommy is and you don't like him, but you feel sorry for him....somehow. In other words, the author played you. Perfectly. I'm going to read more by Jason Starr.
Elitist critics would say that this book is an example of the "unreliable narrator" technique, where a first person narrator deceives the reader but that's not actually what's going on here. Tommy levels with the reader. He tells you everything he did with no whitewashing, warts and all. He's a clueless narrator, with no self-knowledge. He admits what he did and still feels blameless.
The author reveals Tommy one slice at a time, paragraph by paragraph, and you want to know more and more about him until at the end you can't believe you spent so much time with such a disgusting criminal. But on what page did you first realize that he was that bad? When did you stop liking Tommy Russo? I think the voice is what sucks you in. Tommy tells his story as if you were talking to him in the bar where he works. There's not one word out of character. He's not educated, but he's eloquent in his own way. I could say that this book is a clinical portrait of a psycho fantasist, but clinical reports are boring and this novel is anything but. When you get to the end you know who Tommy is and you don't like him, but you feel sorry for him....somehow. In other words, the author played you. Perfectly. I'm going to read more by Jason Starr.
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