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The House of Whacks: A Novel
Chicago, 1950. An S&M supermodel, a visionary mafioso; a dying editress of pulp fiction, a legendary horror novelist; a screenwriter stuck in a war zone, a crippled stunt woman; a McCarthy blacklisted cinematographer-turned-pornographer; two warring godfathers; and a heap of Nazi gold. Three perfect heists--same day, same place. The House of Whacks --it'll knock you sideways.
- GenresFiction
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 18, 2010
With a picture of Betty Page on the front cover and the words, “S&M supermodel” on the back cover, how can this not be a good erotic book? Easy, it's called bait and switch.
This is a poorly written mystery novel that lures you in with suggestions of sex then bores you to death with background and set-up. Mr. Branton wastes 200 pages introducing the characters and setting up the plot so that, when the action finally starts, we don't care anymore. The characters are shallow and unlikable and the plot is just plain weak.
The story follows four groups: two models, the Chicago mob, a group of writers, and a stunt woman and her husband. They all collide at the end of the book when the writers try to rob the mob who have stashed the booty where the models are being photographed. Do you really care?
So why is Betty Page on the cover? Two of the characters, Susan and Alice, are 1950's pin-up models who hire-out to camera clubs, like Betty Page used too. They even refer to some photo sessions with bondage themes, but are not really described thoroughly in the book.
Boring
This is a poorly written mystery novel that lures you in with suggestions of sex then bores you to death with background and set-up. Mr. Branton wastes 200 pages introducing the characters and setting up the plot so that, when the action finally starts, we don't care anymore. The characters are shallow and unlikable and the plot is just plain weak.
The story follows four groups: two models, the Chicago mob, a group of writers, and a stunt woman and her husband. They all collide at the end of the book when the writers try to rob the mob who have stashed the booty where the models are being photographed. Do you really care?
So why is Betty Page on the cover? Two of the characters, Susan and Alice, are 1950's pin-up models who hire-out to camera clubs, like Betty Page used too. They even refer to some photo sessions with bondage themes, but are not really described thoroughly in the book.
Boring
January 9, 2015
3 women working in the film industry in 1950s Chicago attempt to steal from the mob. I liked it.
October 2, 2016
With this book, Matthew Branton brings together the world of failed Hollywood, S&M publishing, gangsters, real estate, pulp scribes, cancer clock-watchers and Nazi gold. It's the sort of thing that'd usually have a ROLLICKING or RIP-SNORTING emblazoned on a cover that you'd notice in an airport bookstore.
Because that's what this is. Though it's sold as a pulp fiction - which is certainly is - it's very much an Airport Book. Something you can read on the plane, that's engaging and detailed and eminently forgettable: a brain defragger, a time-passer. Something you'll enjoy and then leave on the shuttle bus afterwards and not feel too bad about it.
There's some great truisms scattered throughout the book, and some of the characters' thoughts make it clear that Branton is writing in a style, rather than at the limits of his abilities. The House of Whacks is a period piece - Chicago 1950, to be precise - though it also has Los Angeles and New York in its sights. But Chicago - with all the gangster manoeuvring that name entails - is the focus. It's where the shit comes down, and where the plan - to nick a load of Nazi ingots - is hatched by a couple of groups at the same time.
The prose zips along, mostly staying out of the weeds. A couple of places felt a little overwrought, but they moved along fairly quickly. If there's a criticism, it's that the end of the book can't quite fulfil the promises made in the lead-up to the grand finale - it sort of just... ends... but I was happy enough with what I'd read to not feel gypped by such failings.
This book receives a bit of stick for the simplicity of some of the language, and its repetitive nature. I guess this is justifiable, but to indulge it is perhaps to approach the book in bad faith. It's a pulp knockoff; a book whose main characters are hacks, molls and gangsters. It's not high-lit, and crucially, Branton's not trying to make it so. This isn't tarted-up noir. It's a little knowing, yes, but its simplistic recitation is, I think, a conscious choice rather than evidence of shithouse technique.
Let's face it: if you're looking at adverb variation as a marker of quality in a book about an S&M/gangster/writer/Nazi gold heist, then you probably aren't its target audience. If you can deal with that chain of ridiculous world-collisions without having your disbelief prodded, you'll enjoy it.
I did. Like I say, it's a resolutely airport book, and a nice sniffer of pulp's stocking hem.
Because that's what this is. Though it's sold as a pulp fiction - which is certainly is - it's very much an Airport Book. Something you can read on the plane, that's engaging and detailed and eminently forgettable: a brain defragger, a time-passer. Something you'll enjoy and then leave on the shuttle bus afterwards and not feel too bad about it.
There's some great truisms scattered throughout the book, and some of the characters' thoughts make it clear that Branton is writing in a style, rather than at the limits of his abilities. The House of Whacks is a period piece - Chicago 1950, to be precise - though it also has Los Angeles and New York in its sights. But Chicago - with all the gangster manoeuvring that name entails - is the focus. It's where the shit comes down, and where the plan - to nick a load of Nazi ingots - is hatched by a couple of groups at the same time.
The prose zips along, mostly staying out of the weeds. A couple of places felt a little overwrought, but they moved along fairly quickly. If there's a criticism, it's that the end of the book can't quite fulfil the promises made in the lead-up to the grand finale - it sort of just... ends... but I was happy enough with what I'd read to not feel gypped by such failings.
This book receives a bit of stick for the simplicity of some of the language, and its repetitive nature. I guess this is justifiable, but to indulge it is perhaps to approach the book in bad faith. It's a pulp knockoff; a book whose main characters are hacks, molls and gangsters. It's not high-lit, and crucially, Branton's not trying to make it so. This isn't tarted-up noir. It's a little knowing, yes, but its simplistic recitation is, I think, a conscious choice rather than evidence of shithouse technique.
Let's face it: if you're looking at adverb variation as a marker of quality in a book about an S&M/gangster/writer/Nazi gold heist, then you probably aren't its target audience. If you can deal with that chain of ridiculous world-collisions without having your disbelief prodded, you'll enjoy it.
I did. Like I say, it's a resolutely airport book, and a nice sniffer of pulp's stocking hem.
December 24, 2012
As a couple of the other reviewers commented, this book was hugely misleading. The cover and synopsis made it sound like the ultimate wiseguy action read, but it failed to live up to its own hype.
The premise was great, but the author's writing style kind of killed it. I was distracted by the frequent sentence-starters "I was like", "he was like", "she was like". It felt as though a modern teenager had got hold of the keyboard. Perhaps the intent was to make the language rough, but it didn't work. The most exciting part was actually the last few pages. After finishing the book, I was confused and not satisfied. I wondered where a few of the characters went, who got pages and pages of introduction. But I also didn't really care. I was just happy to be able to move onto a more engaging read.
If I'm totally honest, every day when I dutifully toted this book into the staff room on my break, I spent the whole time reading articles online and rarely even opened it until bedtime, when I needed to wind down. I only persisted because I actually paid for it - used - instead of using the library like I normally do.
The premise was great, but the author's writing style kind of killed it. I was distracted by the frequent sentence-starters "I was like", "he was like", "she was like". It felt as though a modern teenager had got hold of the keyboard. Perhaps the intent was to make the language rough, but it didn't work. The most exciting part was actually the last few pages. After finishing the book, I was confused and not satisfied. I wondered where a few of the characters went, who got pages and pages of introduction. But I also didn't really care. I was just happy to be able to move onto a more engaging read.
If I'm totally honest, every day when I dutifully toted this book into the staff room on my break, I spent the whole time reading articles online and rarely even opened it until bedtime, when I needed to wind down. I only persisted because I actually paid for it - used - instead of using the library like I normally do.
October 25, 2014
This started off as a promising read. A Chicago gangster, noir style book compared directly to the likes of Pulp Fiction. It's not... the story is so weak I found myself over half way through trying to figure out if there was actually any storyline to the book, as opposed to a long drawn out description of nothing. The book quickly turned into a struggle and was painful to the bitter end.
August 27, 2012
A heist in 50's Chicago centered on a mob enterprise.
April 15, 2014
This is so boring. I had such high hopes for it but no, nothing happens and I just can't continue reading it (I'm about 3/4s of the way through) and it has been a right mission to get this far.
October 15, 2016
I couldn't get into this book. Though it sounded like an interesting story, I couldn't finish reading it because the amount of slang used made the dialog really difficult to understand.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews