Low Down

by Ian Truman

(Originally published as Tales of Lust, Hate and Despair)

Samuel Lee has known three days of freedom in the last eighteen years. Three days to come out of prison, see his daughter, settle a score with the mother of his child and her dangerous new boyfriend. Finding shelter in the unlikely company of a group of prostitutes, Sam will have to challenge his friends, his family, and ultimately, himself.

Told in the tradition of the best literary noir, Low Down is a modern and gritty take on the genre. Inspired by the cinema of Akira Kurosawa and Samuel Fuller as well as the music of Tom Waits, Sage Francis, Neurosis and Marilyn Manson, it is a novel that is sure to please anyone who has ever found themselves trapped and cast aside from the world.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2012

About the author

Ian Truman is a Franglais author the East-End of Montreal. He is a fan of dirty realism, noir, satire, punk, hardcore and hopes to mix these genres in all of his works.

A graduate of Concordia University’s creative writing program, he won the 2013 Expozine Awards for best book in English (A TEENAGE SUICIDE). His latest works include GRAND TRUNK AND SHEARER (Down and Out Books) and the Montreal Noir anthology (Akashic Press) as well as the upcoming DOWN WITH THE UNDERDOGS.

*Been inactive for quite a while on the author front, thanks you if you're checking up on the work but please don't write here and expect a reply. Sincerely, Yan*

Reviews

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think about it as a punk rock, modernized retelling of CATCHER IN THE RYE. Protagonist Samuel just left prison and takes a walk through his old life, realizing how adulthood corrupted whatever he used to believe in. Truman stands out by his vivid dialogue and his willingness to engage his reader into marginal cultures, which he visibly knows better than most.

Don't let the title fool you, it's not your run-off-the-mill hardboiled novel. It's the tale of a man with dreams, and a society who has no use for him. You will get more out of it than tales of lust, hate and despair.

[Mary Loesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a sunshine and roses book. It has no paranormal element to it or pages and pages of a romantic hero looking to ride off into the sunset. And none of that is a bad thing! I have to admit that I've been swamped with romance novels, historical fiction, and high fantasy books for review at All Things Writing so I was really looking forward to something with a little more grit to it.


And boy, did I get that.



If you read my interview with Mr. Truman at All Things Writing, you probably gathered that he is quite passionate in his beliefs. You can easily sense this in his writing as well. Tales of Lust, Despair, and Hate is a gritty, brutal novel that travels a dark path of self-discovery. Full of tough truths, this is the book that stays with you long after it's done.



Here’s the synopsis:


Samuel Lee has known three days of freedom in the last eighteen years. Three days to come out of prison, see his daughter, settle a score with the mother of his child and her dangerous new boyfriend. Finding shelter in the unlikely company of a group of prostitutes, Sam will have to challenge his friends, his family, and ultimately, himself.

Told in the tradition of the best literary noir, Tales of Lust, Hate and Despair is a modern, lowdown and gritty take on the genre. Inspired by the cinema of Akira Kurosawa and Samuel Fuller as well as the music of Tom Waits, Sage Francis, Neurosis and Marilyn Manson, it is a novel that is sure to please anyone who has ever found themselves trapped and cast aside from the world.



Cast aside from the world? Yeah. I would agree that is where we find Sam when the novel begins. He is a man looking for answers and looking for his daughter. He tries to be peaceable, tries to mind his business and walk a straight path, but his internal struggle with himself does not make that easy. Oh, and then there's that little liquor problem he seems to have. He doesn't exactly make the best impression on people when he's been drinking.



I had mixed feelings about Sam as a character. On the one hand, I liked him and wanted him to stop daydreaming about what he could do with his life and just do it! He often wanders into flights of fancy where he imagines himself living the good life or where things are perfect. Yet, he doesn't allow himself the opportunity to follow through with those thoughts and make them a reality. This was frustrating for me as a reader,and unfortunately, very true to life. There are so many people like Sam who think about how great their life could be, but yet do nothing to make it happen. The author really had me here!



There is quite an eclectic group of characters within this story ranging from Alice (Sam's drugged up ex) to Josie who fits the prostitute with a heart of gold stereo type. I particularly liked how the story of the European client who beats the prostitutes unfolds. I liked Mikey (the best friend) because I could feel his concern for Sam. So all in all, great character development!



There is a lot of backstory which guides the reader to the present day situations that are occurring. While I think backstory is important, I did feel that at times it slowed the forward motion of the novel. The descriptions of the city were vivid and painted a picture, but once that picture is painted, I want to move on. Occasionally, I felt like some of the setting stuff was taking away from the pace of the tale. I also loved the narrative style of the author, but there were times when the tense changed and some head hopping occurred. I spotted quite a few typos and misspellings--not enough to make me stop reading, but enough to make me think the book needed one more pass with a line editor. On the other hand, I was reading the Kindle version and I always find more mistakes in that format.




I agree that there is a cinematic feel to this novel, and I would recommend putting it on your reading list! I'm glad I got to read this one!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel Lee is in a Canadian federal prison serving a life sentence for murder. His daughter Melody wants to know why her father is in prison, and since she's almost eighteen years old now, he decides to tell her the story about his life and how he ended up in prison.

The story is set in Montreal, Canada, and told in the first person narrative by Samuel. Samuel has been in prison for sixteen years, and he weaves his sad dark tale from the present time with flashbacks to 1996, when his troubles began. In 1996, Samuel was released after two years in prison for attacking a police officer. He makes his way back to his hometown in search of his ex-girlfriend Alice and their two year old daughter Melody. When he locates Alice, he finds out that she is a junkie and living with a bad ass biker dude who is also a major drug dealer. When the bike dude refuses to let Samuel see Alice or Melody, he makes a plan to get his girls away from the biker dude, only to set off a violent chain of action that will ultimately change the course of their lives forever.

Tales of Lust, Hate and Despair is a gritty, dark, sad and violent page turner of a story. Author Truman brings Samuel's story to light in a brutally realistic way. The storyline is set in the seedy rundown streets of Montreal, Canada. The author provides rich detail and descriptions of the rundown sections of Montreal, from streets to establishments, you get the tourist guide version of a decaying town gone seedy with derelicts, prostitutes, drug gangs and the poor working class. His vivid descriptions of the town and Samuel's violent three days of freedom from prison in 1996 captivates the readers and leaves them sitting on the edge of their seats. The author provides a cast of characters that are realistic, complex and downright scary. The intriguing interactions and intertwining lives of Samuel, best friends Mikey and Matty, an Irish prostitute named Josie, Alice and the biker dude, are fascinating and make the story that much more powerful and compelling.

Written in an angry dark noir style, this story is one that shows the dark side of a town and its downtrodden inhabitants. If you're looking for any sunshine and roses in this story, you will be sadly left mistaken, for this story doesn't have a happy ending. Nonetheless, this intriguing story is one that true fans of the dark noir genre will surely enjoy.



Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book review blitz tour.

Virtual Book Review Blitz Tour: On Friday, June 29, 2012, in association with Innovative Online Book Tours, author Ian Truman participated in a virtual book review blitz with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlsizzlingbookreviews....

http://jerseygirlsizzlingbookreviews....

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel Lee writes a letter to his daughter from prison to tell her why he is in prison and why he killed a man. The writing is gritty, raw, emotional, and stark. It reminds me somewhat of a courser “Cannery Row” with its unbridled and stripped view of the underbelly of the large city in Canada, but it could really be any city that has a definitive poor or slum area. This differentiation between the classes is still prominent in large cities, despite our desire to eradicate this blight.

While it was at times difficult to follow the dialogue due to the dialect the story uses, the writing is emotionally powerful and exposes the soul of a man condemned to life in prison. It was difficult to read at times due to the nature of the topic, but powerful in the way that Steinbech’s novel explored the underbelly of society in his reaction to war.

I give this novel 4 out of 5 clouds for the writing and emotional tone, although I would not lightly recommend this novel to anyone because of the nature of the topic and the language used.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

[M.A Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally do not like this type of story. However it sounded interesting and so I wanted to venture out and see if I could pick up another alley of books. Sadly I was unable to do that with this book.

HOWEVER, for this type of book and those who enjoy the dark side of humanity where no sunshine and nothing lovely at all. Not even a happy ever after ending. Then you'll enjoy this book.

You follow the story of how a desire to regain ones ex-girlfriend and daughter rolls into a dark mind that ends with murder. Following a life on the bad part of town with bikers, drugs, and low blows. But it proves that even a bad guy is willing to do everything for the women in his life. And there is no obstacle that can't be removed.

[Jess(ToTheMoonAndBackReviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a fan usually of this genre, I enjoy giving every book I come across a chance. And so I did with this because there are those rare occasions that a genre will surprise me.

This book kind of fell into the middle.

You are placed in the middle of a tale where a man is released from prison after a long stint.

Anyone who is anyone knows that when you are let out of jail it is hard to adjust with the freedom, and that is perhaps why I didn't enjoy the book as much as I could have.

The transition was just to easy.

The book was a thrilling read and fans of the genre deffinetly should give it a try.

[Franjessca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Coming 7/9